Minutes
Board of Health · from the Town's website · 1 page · 29 KB
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WINTHROP BOARD of HEALTH MEETING September 15, 2020 6:00 PM REMOTE PARTICIPATION (A. Weins, Host; Meeting Recorded) MINUTES CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Schmidt called the Board of Health meeting to order at 6:13 pm. ROLL CALL: BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair: Bill Schmidt; Vice-Chair: Astrid Weins; Member: Susan Maguire. TOWN of WINTHROP: Al Legee, Commissioner Inspectional Services; Meredith Hurley, Director Public Health and Clinical Services PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Schmidt explained that the Board experienced technical difficulties due to the problem with the Zoom link set up for the 9/8/2020 emergency meeting of the Board, however the meeting did proceed following Open Meeting Law per Governor Baker’s directive during the pandemic. As recommended by Town Counsel, the Board will vote again this evening on the Order requiring face coverings in certain public spaces which was passed at the meeting. Chair explained the rules for public comment: Public comment is an opportunity for the public to comment, but is not meant to be a back and forth discussion with the Board. Comments are limited to three minutes. B. Shane spoke on behalf of J. Kopek, a tattoo practitioner in town and his willingness to assist the Board in finalizing the Draft Body Art Regulation and referenced the email with the city of Cambridge Body Art Regulation he sent to the Board 2-3 weeks ago. S. Maguire did not recall receiving the email, however it was received by the Chair and Vice Chair. Action steps: A. Weins will post the current Draft Body Art Regulation on the Town website which Mr. Kopek can comment on should he wish to. Addendum: Mr. Kopek’s email was sent to outdated email address for S. Maguire. B. Shane has been in contact with retailers in town regarding the ban on single-use plastic bags effective 11/1/2020, and requested that the Board consider allowing an exemption of up to 60 days, and support retailers who may need one. M. DiLuiso, as a resident and a person required to wear an N95 mask for health reasons, voiced concerns about people not adhering to COVID-19 guidelines, stressing it’s important that we all get on board. As a Town Hearing Officer, though not a lawyer, he commented on Governor Baker’s Order #46 re: gathering size noting Section 2 may be exempt from Section 3, however doesn’t see any exemption for Section 4. W. Millar-Page attended last week’s Trump rally in town where few supporters wear masks/face coverings and explained that they claim to all be related and go by the name of Smith, hence are not required to wear them. If challenged, they argue it’s because of medical necessity. Counter groups (One Winthrop has joined) are situated across the street. S. Poulos recommends that if people fail to show up at the rallies, the organizer will move on. REVIEW of MINUTES: Chair Schmidt motioned, A. Weins seconded to approve, the minutes of the 8/18/2020, 8/26/2020, and 9/4/2020 Board of Health meetings. Board members voted 3-0 to approve the Minutes for 8/18/2020, 8/26/2020, and 9/4/2020. REVIEW of K. MILLER’S TATTOO PARLOR APPLICATION: Mr. Miller has been a tattoo artist for 14 years having practiced in Cambridge, Boston, and Quincy and now ready to open his own business. His proposed site is set up to comply with COVID-19 guidelines. S. Maguire had completed a review of the application and had one question regarding his liability insurance; otherwise found it complied with the current model regs. A.Weins motioned to approve the application, seconded by S. Maguire. Chair took a roll call vote with all members approving the application. Action steps: Mr. Millar to submit clarification re: liability insurance, and review the current model regulation. Inspectional Services will conduct the site inspection. COVID-19: Face Covering Order: As recommended by Town Counsel, the Board will vote again this evening on the Order requiring face coverings in certain public spaces which was passed at the emergency meeting held on 9/8/2020. Chair Schmidt read the Order and provided the background. To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the Order mandates that anyone over the age of 5 wear a mask/face covering in parks, playgrounds and athletic fields. The Board reviewed the comments from Town Counsel K and P Law and edited the Order. S. Maguire motioned to approve the revised Order, seconded by A. Weins. Chair took roll call vote with 3-0 approving the revised Order, effective 9/17/2020. A. Weins read into the record the rationale for wearing masks as documented in her email dated 9/21/2020. Per M. Hurley, a citation will be sent tomorrow to the homeowner of a large gathering of middle-age people recently and fined $100. Fines may be up to $500. The Board felt the fine should be greater. Chair took a roll call vote with 3-0 approving a fine of $300. Board inquired and learned that the Town does not have masks available to distribute to the public nor available to Enforcement Agents. M. Hurley has received one application for an agent but currently only the interns are available to provide any enforcement duties for 30-45 minutes per day. S. Maguire asked if we might engage some youth to act as ambassadors to encourage peers to comply with face coverings, etc. Action Steps: A. Weins will order and donate 500 masks to the town for distribution to the public. M. Hurley will forward CASA’s Youth Director contact info to S. Maguire. COMMISSIONER OF INSPECTIONAL SERVICES (ISD) UPDATE: A. LEGEE ISD is conducting site inspections of restaurants, grocery stores, and salons. Liquor licenses being renewed. Beraka Juice requesting permit to sell product at Winthrop Marketplace and Yirrell Beach. Action steps: Vanessa of Beraka Juice to schedule an appointment with Al to do an inspection of the set up to insure food protocols, e.g., sanitation, temperature are met. 44 Villa Ave: Cease and Desist letter was sent out yesterday. Owner has 10 days to comply, otherwise an administrative warrant will be issued. Viking Pub Trash: Letter has been served. Upon ISD inspection, site was found to be clean one day. Cottage Ave: ISD requesting a synopsis of the case from the town’s attorney. Beach Testing: No issues; numbers have been amazingly low. Rodent Control: ‘Status quo’. DIRECTOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLINICAL SERVICES UPDATE: M. Hurley COVID-19 onsite testing: 2500-3000 tests have been done. Testing site moved to Walden St McKenna Basketball Courts. Flu Clinics to start on October. Will be appointment-based. MRC is participating. NACCHO (National Association of County and City Health Officials) and BU are assessing the CLEAR Program. Four BU abstracts have been accepted for presentation by APHA (American Public Health Association). Working with Chelsea on a hi-risk domestic violence team. REGIONAL COLLABORATIVE: Environmental workgroup meeting tomorrow. MOSQUITO MANAGEMENT : Recent spraying reported as “successful’. Uncertain if weekly spraying will continue as no notification received to date. SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAGS BAN: Chair Schmidt will disseminate notice of 11/1/2020 start date via the Town Weekly, Transcript and WCAT. WALK WINTHROP: Chair Schmidt will follow up with A. Faison. ANNUAL REPORT: Chair Schmidt has submitted a report on behalf of the Board. ADJOURNMENT: A. Weins motioned to adjourn at 8:45 pm, seconded by S. Maguire, approved unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Susan Maguire