Wednesday
August 1, 2007
Regular meeting of the Monson Board of Health was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Dr. Richard Smith. Members present were Phyllis Klick and Robert Bator. Gary Allard was absent. Also present: Bonnie Lafayette.
Bonnie Lafayette met with the Board to discuss her application for a license to practice massage. Ms. Lafayette has had 900 hours of massage therapy training. She will go to the homes of her clients, but hopes to have an office eventually. She had several references and letters of commendation. The Board had no questions to ask Ms. Lafayette. Ms. Lafayette asked the Board if she could now advertise, etc. and the Board responded yes – her request for a license was approved.
The Board read the minutes of July 18, 2007. Mr. Bator moved to accept the minutes with the correction on page three – Dr. Smith is Chairman and Mr. Allard is Vice-Chairman, seconded by Ms. Klick and voted unanimously.
The next topic for discussion was setting FY2008 trash rate. Deborah Mahar, Finance Director, sent the Board a memorandum suggesting the rate of $228.00, which would be an increase of $.50 per month. After discussion, Ms. Klick moved to accept Ms. Mahar’s recommendation of $228.00 for Fiscal 2008 trash rate, seconded by Mr. Bator and voted unanimously.
The Board held a discussion of the outdoor wood burning boilers. Mr. Bator stated that he felt those with existing boilers should be more mindful with neighbor’s concerns/health issues. Ms. Klick felt that those who have them or wish to install them should own a large piece of land, so the boiler could be far enough from the neighbor’s house. Ms. Taft informed the Board that Health Inspector, Lorri McCool, would like to have anyone interested in installing one appear before the Board so all details will be covered before installation. Dr. Smith would like to ban the boilers and then grandfather those that are already installed and deal with these problems, but felt this wasn’t fair. Ms. Klick would not like to ban the boilers outright. Mr. Bator asked if many
towns had banned them. Dr. Smith stated several had banned them - with Longmeadow being one community. Palmer is now looking into the outdoor boiler issue. Ms. Klick would like to find a town similar to Monson and research their findings. Dr. Smith was not opposed to having the burning season begin after November 1st.
The Board received a letter from Attorney Johnson offering his services in helping to draft new regulations on the outdoor wood burning boilers. A letter will be sent to Attorney Johnson thanking him but declining his offer.
Ms. Klick informed the Board that she was unable to attend a seminar today with Arlene Miller from East Longmeadow. However, grant applications can be downloaded from the computer if towns want to apply. There is grant money available for towns to use to do studies on recycling.
The Board discussed the tobacco inspection done by Gregory Boyce at both of Mr. Nothe’s establishments. This is the first offense for both establishments and Ms. Taft was asked to contact Mr. Boyce to find out the status.
Ms. Klick informed the Board that when Ms. Taft is out on vacation, she and Barbara Moran have been covering the office. She feels that it is a worthwhile effort to have coverage and that the hours be consistent. Therefore, she is suggesting that Ms. Taft leave an hour early each Friday to make up for time spent at Board meetings (comp time). She would rather that comp time not be used in conjunction with Ms. Taft’s vacation time. Ms. Taft would not take a lunch hour on Fridays and leave at 1:00 p.m., allowing 1 hour each week to go toward Ms. Taft’s “comp time.” The Board asked Ms. Taft to consider this alternative.
August 1, 2007 Page 2.
Board of Health Responsibilities:
Beavers – Mr. Allard not available.
Body Art Regulations – Mr. Bator had nothing to report.
Bulky Day – Ms. Klick had nothing to report.
Communicable Diseases – Nothing to report.
Emergency Preparedness – Mr. Allard not available.
Finances – This was already covered.
Floor Drains – Mr. Allard was unavailable.
Food Safety – Mr. Bator had nothing to report.
Hazardous Waste Day – Ms. Klick had nothing to report.
Health Fair – Will be held next year.
Housing Safety – Mr. Allard had nothing to report.
Outdoor Wood Burning Boilers – Letter received from Richard Johnson offering the Board his services as an attorney. Attorney Johnson is offering to draft a proposed regulation, which would ban the installation of new units, but allow variances in circumstances where the Board determines their use might be safe/appropriate. Letter to be sent to Attorney Johnson thanking him for his offer, but the Board would be using Town Counsel for any wording of regulations, etc.
Press Relations – Dr. Smith had nothing to report.
Recycling – Ms. Klick had nothing to report.
Tobacco – Dr. Smith had nothing to report.
Trash – Ms. Klick had nothing to report.
Wells – Mr. Allard was unavailable.
The Board signed bills and necessary correspondence.
The Board mentioned that Nature’s Pantry at 178 Main Street had closed.
Correspondence was read and responded to.
Copy of a letter to Mr. Stephen Lamb, c/o Lewis Garriffa, from Health Inspector, Lorri McCool, was given to the Board. This was a result of an inspection conducted by Ms. McCool at 16 Mechanic Street. She had found a pool with standing, stagnant, water and the yard not maintained. A call was received today from Mr. Garriffa stating he was removing the pool on August 2nd and the lawn would be mowed.
At 8:35 p.m., Mr. Bator moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ms. Klick and voted unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Monson Board of Health
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