C h i l m a r k B o a r d o f H e a l t h
M i n u t e s
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Chilmark Town Hall
5 pm
Present: Katie Carroll, Mike Renahan
Also Present: Kent Healy, David Zolinger, Doriana Klunick, Reid Silva, Marina Lent (Secretary)
Minutes of November 12th adopted as amended.
Homeport (27.1-85) Reid Silva stated that Bob Nixon wants to know the views of the BOH to have the parameters within which he will be working when he opens next Spring.
Mike Renahan listed such measures as cutting down on the number of indoor seats, eliminating the porch seating option, and including the Back Door operation in the septic capacity calculations. Katie Carroll clarified that the issue is not number or location of seats, but rather the number of gallons as calculated by the State formula. Allocation of seats within that formula is up to the restaurant owner to determine.
Calculations under the old (1977)Title 5 yield a total daily flow of 5,250 gallons. This has been agreed and approved. However, there is a question as to whether the system as constructed can in fact handle a daily flow of 5,250 gallons.
Mike Renahan felt that this is the time to start over, bring in the State, and get a clear decision on what can be allowed. Did he take credit for the Fast tank? He felt that if the system is not capable of handling a daily flow of 5,250 gallons, the State should be involved in resolving the issue. The Board of Selectmen (BOS) must approve operation of this septic system, which is located on Town property. Reid Silva disagreed, stating that the State can only be brought in once a system has failed. He also pointed out that steep cuts in capacity could render the restaurant financially non-viable.
Reid Silva and Kent Healy affirmed that the Fast system credit was not involved in reaching the 5,250 gallon limit. There was general agreement that the agreed number of seats was 150 for a flow of 5,250 gallons. However, Mike Renahan pointed out that a 2-bedroom office, outdoor seating, and a substantial Back Door volume added significantly to the required capacity, and needed to be addressed. Katie Carroll reiterated that it was up to the owner to allocate the distribution of seating capacity, so long as the final gallon flow calculation was within specified limits.
Reid Silva asked how it had come about that the previous owner had been able to exceed capacity, and why the BOH had required the previous owner to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for an expansion. Mike Renahan explained that the ZBA had been involved to address the expansion of the area required for the Back Door business.
Katie Carroll noted that the BOH had only gradually become aware of the restaurant’s overextension of capacity, and had begun at that point to send out letters and establish a record of State requirements regarding this property, so that these matters could be properly resolved upon sale of the property and restaurant. She stated that the BOH will need a business plan from the Nixons bringing the Homeport into compliance with its septic capacity.
Kent Healy noted that, in order to do so, they would need exact specifications to be able to calculate gallon-flow for the Back Door take-out sales. Katie Carroll stated that a critical factor in this regard is the provision of seating outside: if seated, non-service dining is provided, it counts as 20 gallons/seat. If no seating is provided, there is probably some minor additional flow for kitchen work. Fully staffed outdoor seating has the same flow calculation as indoor seating, namely 35 gallons per seat. Each bedroom is calculated at 110 gallons.
Mike Renahan stated that it is important to get a good estimate on actual water use of the entire operation, and that this would necessitate installing the water meter in a location which will not exclude part of the flow, as is currently the case. He noted that a dinner-only operation cuts down the actual flow, and Reid Silva added that relatively inexpensive water-flow saving measures could also be considered, such as low-flow toilets.
Reid Silva welcomed the agreed-upon total allowable flow capacity of the Homeport Restaurant at 5,250 gallons per day. This meeting had clarified the conflicting information they were hearing. With this information, the owners can now proceed to draw up a plan to allocate their seating capacity accordingly.
Mike Renahan stated that Chilmark citizens have clearly indicated that they want a restaurant on that property. The BOH is committed to help achieve this goal. The mandate of the BOH is to do so in a way that protects public health and water quality.
Jason, (20-98.2) The well will be chlorinated and another potability test done. We are waiting to get the as-built.
Tabor (20-95) Frank Daly sent in a plan with the information sought by the BOH at its last meeting. We have photos of the test holes and the four corners of the field are marked. The BOH acknowledged the revised plan.
Baker (8-18, 8-52,55) A completely revised system was built by John Keene. The BOH received the as-built plan from Chris Alley, and filled out the certificate of completion. Building Inspector Lenny Jason was informed that the project is now complete and he can proceed.
Goldman (21- 44,45) well permit Lot 44 is a tiny strip of land adjacent to Lot 45, probably an easement. The proposal calls for one well to serve both houses. The other well will be abandoned. The BOH saw no problem with the well permit, and signed the permit. Mike Renahan noted that the garage has been built, and is not at the location indicated in the plan.
The BOH took note of the as-built received for Brandon (16-7.3), and for Kloos (4-23.3). The BOH signed the letter to Simon (19-7.2), granting an extension to the waste disposal construction permit through 9/7/2009.
Site Reviews The BOH took note of Site Review Applications from Newman (33-70) and Frank (33-63).
Invoices
- MV Refuse Disposal & Resource Recovery District 2008 Q3 Inspection $ 221.76
- MVRDD Central Facility, Chilmark and WT Q3 2008 Inspections $ 1,330.56
- Cooper Enviro Services LLC Inspect septic system upgrade $ 142.50
- Vineyard Nursing Association $ 772.50
The meeting adjourned at 6:55pm.
_____________________ _______________________ _____________________
Katherine L. Carroll, Chair Michael A. Renahan Janet L. Buhrman
Chilmark Board of Health Chilmark Board of Health Chilmark Board of Health
These minutes have been transcribed from a tape. The tape is on file and available for perusal.
| 
