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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-02-081 1 1 315 BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING February 8, 1982 The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Health was held Monday, February 8, 1982 at 7:15 p.m. in Room G-1 (Recreation Office) of the Town Office Building. Members present were: Mr. James W. Lambie, Chairman; Dr. Linda Roemer and George A. Smith, Director of Public Health. Minutes of the January 11, 1982 meeting were approved as read. Mr. Smith told the Board that he had a little meeting the other day with MILK Joan Sidley, the new interim director of the Food & Drug Division, State REGULATIONS Health Department. He said the Food and Durg Division is in a real mess. As an example, the New England Milk Dealers Association got a law passed deleting all bacterial standards for milk and cheese. No one knows a thing about it and now they are trying to figure out what to do next. Mr. Smith said he did not know why they did that, unless they are going to do something about synthetics in the future. He said the milk now is anything but milk, these days the nu -form, diet, skim milk, etc. - it's crazy. The milk dealers sell the butterfat to other markets. Milk barely resembles milk anymore. The Food and Drug Division wants new standards for milk. Mr. Lambie asked if this new legislation went through the Legislature? Yes, said Mr. Smith, no one knew about it at all. Mr. Smith said, "At the moment we have no milk standards for this State. We could enforce our own Board of Health Regulations". Joan Sidley of the Food & Drug said their Division is going to try to come up with a new set of standards by summer, but Mr. Smith feels that will be pretty hard to do in that short -period of time. Mr. Lambie said that we could at this time go by the standards of the other New England States. Mr. Smith said that is probably what this State will do. He said if you look at what they do with milk that comes from the cow and is pasteurized, it is pretty safe to drink. Mr. Lambie reported that he had received a letter from Mrs. Wheeler of LETTER FROM Bedford Street, who lives near the pumping station. She feels that there MRS. WHEELER is a potentially serious health problem in the area. RE: PUMPING STATION - She stated during the heavy rains in January the pumping station was not SEWER SURCHARGE able to handle the amount of sewerage and had to pump excess of it into the open fields for several days and they have been subjected several times to sewerage odors even though the sewerage is being treated. 316 LODGING HOUSE 6 RAYMOND STREET T.B. ON INCREASE Mrs. Wheeler is concerned with the fact that there is not enough proper methods at this time to disposal of the sewerage and there are several more commercial buildings being constructed right in that area and this could create more problems. One of the members asked Mr. Smith if there were any back-ups at Chalet Sousse or Denny's. Mr. Smith said that there isn't at the present time but he as seen them in the past in their parking lot. Mr. Smith said, as far as the odors that Mrs. Wheeler said that she smells, it could possibly be the leaves being turned over at the landfill. He told the Board that they had been pumping from 2:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. this past Wednesday night but everything is back to normal right now. There is a prediction of rain for the coming weekend that may prove interesting. They all agreed that the millbrook Sewer Project will be the answer to this problem but it is very slow coming about. Mr. Lambie didn't feel that the Board could do any more at this time to push the project any faster, although Carol Amick of Bedford said that people should write their congressmen. Mr. Smith said that he would talk again tomorrow with Mike Hanlon, Town Engineer. Mr. Lambie said that the Board should reply to Mrs. Wheeler's letter and it was decided that he would draft a letter to be sent to Mrs. Wheeler with a copy to the Lexington Paper. Mr. Smith told the Board he had received a complaint about "no heat rented rooms" at 6 Raymond Street. He checked it out and found the cold. He went back the next day and found the heat had been turned in the rooms very on. This residence rents out rooms to seven people. There is no license to be operating as a lodging house. Mr. Smith sent a letter telling the owner to either apply for a license or reduce the number of roomers down to three. He has no heard from the owners since they received the letter. Mr. Smith said he felt that the Wild Acre Inn should also be licensed as a ' way house. Mr. Smith told the Board he had received a letter from the State notifying him of the increase of tuberculosis in Massachusetts. He said the State is blaming it on the increase of Cambodians. There are 52 more cases this year than there was last year. The total cases in 1981 was 504. He said that the State is trying to get away from inpatient care for T.B. and they are trying to treat it on an outpatient basis. Dr. Roemer asked if all cambodians are screened. Mr. Smith said most have been seen by doctors and the visiting nurses check up on them. Most cases are checked out at Mt. Auburn Hospital. 1 1 Mr. Smith mentioned the Blossomcrest Subdivision Tract had been turned down BLOSSOM by the Planning Board. He said there is sewer, water and drainage for this CREST tract. SUB -DIV. Mr. Smith mentioned to the Board that when the Board let Francis Smith SEPTIC SYSTEM put in the septic system on his property on Clematis Way they only agreed FRANCIS SMITI to it for six months until he could connect to Town sewer. The septic CLEMATIS WAY system was smaller than the regulations required so it was only on a temporary set-up. The lady living next door was to let him have an easement through her property so that he could connect to sewer when it came down Allen Street. She has since decided not to allow the easement to go through her property so Francis Smith will have to put in a larger septic system to service his house. Mr. Smith told the Board the Stop & Shop has a new thing in their store called AQUA -VEND Aqua -Vend. The people bring in their own jugs and buy distilled water or dis- tilled water with minerals. Mr. Smith has talked to Joan Sidley of the Food & Drug about this and she will get back to him about it. Mr. Smith feels that chemical & bacteriological samples should be taken and tested. One before the water goes into the machine and one after it is in the machine. It is M.D.C. water that is going into the machine and Mr. Smith said it doesn't seem to be harmful but where it is new it probably should be investigated. Mr. Smith told the Board that Dr. Howard Smith, D.V.M. has expressed an interest RABIES in doing the Rabies Clinic this year. Mr. Smith said if Dr. Smith does do it CLINIC this year he will do it on the Board's terms and not his, as he has done other VETS years. He told the Board that Dr. Smith was the vet. for the clinic the first two years that Mr. Smith worked for the Board of Health and the next year Dr. Smith was not interested in it and said he was "too old" to be doing the clinic. Mr. Smith then approached Dr. Chabot who was not interested at the time and so Mr. Smith went to the Air Base and made arrangements to have the Air Base vet. do the rabies clinic. The following year Dr. Chabot let his young associate do the clinic and he has been doing it each year since then, but now Dr. Smith wants to do it again. Dr. Roemer asked if weshould lay out a policy. Alternate,decide on a policy and stick to it. Mr. Smith said we shouldn't do more than 500 dogs this year as we have a 3 year vaccine now. The Board talked about the best way to go about this. They decided a letter should be drafted and sent to each vet. and offer it to both and if one re- fused then the other one could do the clinic or they could alternate each year. Drafting a letter to both vets was decided upon. 318 FITZGERALD'S Dr. Roemer said, "Well, we have all been up to the Fitzgerald's and HORSES observed at least five horses on the property when they only have a permit for four horses (three horses and a variance to keep one more). Lisa has applied again for SIX horses. Dr. Roemer read the letter dated December 16, 1981 that had been sent to the Fitzgeralds in regard to this animal permit. At that time, they informed her that tour horses would be the limit that she could keep on her property. Dr. Roemer read the letter dated December 16, 1981 that had been sent to the Fitzgeralds in regard to this animal permit. At that time they informed her that four horses would be the limit that she could keep on her property. Dr. Roemer said the Board has spent so much time and effort on this situation that she is not against revoking the permit completely. The Board discussed the situation at 342 Bedford Street. When she has a permit for a certain number of horses she always brings in more than the permit calls for. When she had a permit for three - she had four on the property, when she had a permit for four - she brought in two more horses. Dr. Roemer said if the Board gave her a permit for six horses, she would have nine there. Mr. Lambie said he is not against her having six horses but there have been problems with her before maintaining the property according to the rules and regulations. The Board discussed again at length the different ways to deal with this permit that is never abided by. They discussed filing in court to have the Fitzgeralds fined, or should they allow them to keep six horses, or should they revoke the permit because she never abides by the number of horses that the Board allows. Mr. Smith said that he would just as soon make them get rid of all the horses as Lisa is very irresponsible in regard to the animal regulations and her permit. Dr. Roemer said that the Fitzgeralds have been adequately warned, but pay no attention. Mr. Lambie said that he would go along with four horses, and he would also go along with fining them if the extra horse stays on the property. Dr. Roemer is not for fining them. She said she would pay the fine and then do as she pleases. The Board told Mr. Smith, the Health Director, to send a "certified" letter to the Fitzgeralds to reduce their number of horses to four (3 horses on a regular permit, plus one more with a variance) within seven days or any application to keep horses will be denied and all horses will have to be removed from the premises. 1 1 319 The following permits were signed by the Board: FOOD SERVICE; Canteen Corp. for Itek Corp. 9 Maguire Road, Lexington Cigarette Service Company for Burroughs Corp. 92 Hayden Avenue Temple, Barker and Sloane, Inc. Hayden Office Trust 33 Hayden Avenue ARA Services, Inc. for Honeywell 2 Forbes Road Bel Canto Restaurant 1715 Mass. Avenue. DAKA Food Service for Itek #1 10 Maguire Rd. DAKA Food Service for G.T.E. 128 Spring St. MOTELS Catch Penny Chalet Motor Lodge 440 Bedford St. Battle Green Motor Inn 1720 Mass. Ave. ANIMAL PERMIT Richard V. Goodman 5 Barrymeade Drive RUBBISH DISPOSAL Ace Disposal Service 22 No. Maple St., Woburn, Mass. Barry Bros., Inc. 105 Rumford Ave., Auburndale SCA Disposal Services, Inc. 530 East First St., South Boston Sorrentino Trucking Co. P.O. Box 405, Lexington Northeast Disposal 22 No. Maple St., Woburn