Minutes
Board of Health · from the Town's website · 6 pages · 335 KB
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Winthrop Board of Health Meeting September 13, 2022 at 6:30 pm Gathering Room 2, First Floor of Town Hall Call to order: 6:39 pm Roll call: Bill Schmidt, Chair; Jeanne Holgersen, Vice-Chair, Marianne Dalton, Member. Present: Betsy Shane, Executive Director at Winthrop Chamber of Commerce; Al Legee, Commissioner of Inspectional Services; Meredith Hurley, Director of Public Health and Clinical Services; Vasili Mallios; Linda Donohue; Rose Demarco; Alyssa Foley; Josh Aranov. Review of minutes—August 9, 2022: approved unanimously 3-0. Public comment: none. 76 Sunnyside Avenue—Status: Al Legee, Commissioner of Inspectional Services states that the property has reportedly been sold, no confirmation yet. Owner has been placed in public housing. Josh Aranov, neighbor to the property, states that in his opinion, as a former construction supervisor in MA, the home cannot be properly renovated without a significant outlay of cash. He expresses hope that the new owner will have the resources to do this. Alyssa Foley, another neighbor to 79 Sunnyside Avenue also expresses concern about the conditions there, the odor during the summer months, the fire hazard due to hoarding, and the continuing calls for police presence there. Bill recommends that the Town Manager be notified of the situation by both Josh and Alyssa. Mass DEP new waste disposal bans—textiles, ete: Bill reports that Wendy Millar-Page, Solid Waste and Recycling Manager has been placing notices in Winthrop social and other media about the upcoming November 1, 2022 textile and mattress ban. Director of Public Health and Clinical Services update: Meredith Hurley, Director of Public Health and Clinical Services reports bivalent vaccine has come in, and town-wide clinics will be held, to be announced. Rapid tests have arrived, 3600 to date. PCR tests will start to be administered in Meredith’s office, results will be available in MAVEN. Flu clinic to be held on October 1. Revere has partnered with Winthrop to assist in childhood vaccinations, d/t difficulty in Winthrop for proper vaccine refrigeration. CLEAR program is having an event for Recovery Month on 9/21/22, a candlelight vigil/procession through the town in memorial of those who have lost their lives to addiction. Meredith reports Zoriada Murray is a new full-time community resource navigator, coordinating housing, food, and other social issues for Winthrop. Her Spanish and Portuguese-speaking skills are being used extensively. Lack of affordable housing is a critical issue in Winthrop, d/t high rents and limited resources re shelters. Meredith reports a domestic violence/sexual assault grant has been awarded to Winthrop, $450,000, including monies specifically for emergency housing, food, transportation and childcare for those affected by domestic violence/sexual assault. This grant will enable hire of a case manager specific for domestic violence. DOJ will be visiting Winthrop end of September to observe and learn how Winthrop utilizes embedded peer recovery and social work services. Meredith reports that opioid settlement money has been distributed to her office. The General Fund has received a portion of this, she is unsure about the exact usage of the funds once it is sent there. Commissioner of Inspectional Services update: Oktoberfest, an event with live music and family activities, will be held on Michael’s Mall, sponsored by Drop Zone Brewery. Food to be provided by Drop Zone Brewery, Katie’s Kitchen, Bespoke Event and Thai Tiki. The event will be monitored and inspected by IS. Betsy Shane, Executive Director At Winthrop Chamber Of Commerce states that restaurants are going to be managing the food piece, which Al states will be easier for IS to monitor. 41 Putnam Street dumpster and dumpster regulation: Bill reports that he will be investigating revising the regulations. 97 Court Road: Al reports this issue is resolved, repairs done. 435 Shirley Street: Al reports work there is ongoing, inspections continue. 120 Hermon Street: Owner was hospitalized, now discharged, and is cooperating with IS concerning resolution. Virtual restaurants: No comment, none existing in Winthrop Grease trap regulations: Al and Bill report the history of grease trap regulation in Winthrop, regulations need to be formalized, inspections are ongoing. Black plastic regulations: Bill proposes a timeline for rolling out the regulation: deadline to be 1/1/23. Following this, a 6-month period where compliance will not be enforced. Establishments will then be able to request a further 6-month period for hardship (i.e. still having a large store of black plastic). This will provide ample time for businesses to comply and use up their current inventory of black plastic, having minimal impact on their revenue. Motion to approve this timeline is made and approved unanimously, 3-0. Swimming pool regulations: Bill reports minor changes to the regulations. Bill attempted to model the Town’s regulations more closely after the State’s sanitary code. The changes include the following: All "Public Pools" and "semi-public pools" as defined in 105 CMR 435.01, shall have a trained, certified lifeguard in attendance in the pool area at all times the pool is in use if the Board of Health determines that they are necessary for the safe use of the swimming or wading pool. Said lifeguards shall be trained and certified as required by 105 CMR 435.23. Any semi-public pool which is not required by the Board of Health to have a lifeguard, must, in the alternative comply with 105 CMR 435.23, and at the minimum, abide by the following safety regulations: A warning sign shall be posted in a conspicuous location and shall state “WARNING-NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY” in easy to read, legible letters which are at least four inches (ten cm) high. In addition, there shall be signs which are readily visible stating ‘CHILDREN UNDER AGE 16 SHOULD NOT USE SWIMMING POOL WITHOUT AN ADULT IN ATTENDANCE” and “ADULTS SHOULD NOT SWIM ALONE.” Rose Demarco and Linda Donohue both express satisfaction about the addendum to the regulations. Motion made to have these regulations become effective as of 1/1/23, approved unanimously 3-0. MRC update: no update, Jeanne Maggio not present. NSPHC Environmental Health Working Group: next meeting 9/21/22, Bill plans on attending. Chickens permit—keeping of animals regulation: Vasili Mallios voices frustration about the regulation concerning the placement of his chickens on his property. Bill reviews that permission was given incorrectly to Mr. Mallios to have chickens on his property without regard to placement of the coop. Bill states that the Board granted a variance until new regulations were drafted, to allow Mr. Mallios to continue with his chickens while the regulations were worked out. Now that the regulations are approaching finalization, Mr. Mallios will need to find a different placement for his coop in order to comply with regulations. Mr. Mallios does not agree with the Board’s position that chicken coops in front yards are a threat to public health. Bill makes a motion to pass the draft of regulations, present to the Town Council, and then have a public hearing. Motion passed unanimously 3-0. Trash, recycling and solid waste disposal regulation: Town ordinance committee is currently working on ordinance review commission, no new progress on trash regulation. Women’s Health Forum: Jeanne Holgersen, Vice-Chair reports that flu/covid clinic will be held in the gym during the event. She states that J. C. Moynihan has been secured as the keynote speaker, Katie’s Kitchen is donating half the food, and Senator Lydia Edwards will be approached for funding for the other half of the food. Planning continues, October 19 is the date. Massport Logan Airport safety project: Bill reports sending a letter, copies sent via email to board members. Next meeting: October 11, 2022 Adjournment: 8:04 pm. Respectfully submitted, Marianne Dalton, Member