BOH
August 15, 2011
Regular meeting of the Monson Board of Health was called to order at 6:09pm by Chair Gary Allard. Members present: Jane Jacobs, Peg Harrison, John Schneider. Member absent: Phyllis Click. Also present: Audra Staples, BOH Clerk.
The Board read and reviewed the minutes of the July 18, 2011 meeting. Ms. Harrison moved to accept the Minutes as presented, seconded by Ms. Jacobs and voted unanimously.
The Board read and reviewed the minutes of the August 1, 2011 meeting. Ms. Jacobs moved to accept the Minutes as presented, seconded by Mr. Schneider and voted unanimously.
Lorri McCool was not in attendance as she was on Vacation for the week. Audra read a letter to the board that she had written with the consent of Ms. McCool to the owners of 9 King Street in regards to their septic system being damaged by the June 1st Tornado. The board asked Ms. Staples to mail the letter with some wording changes.
Ms. Harrison went to a local drug store and they were selling the flu vaccines. She spoke to Lorri from the Senior Center and does not feel that the board of health should purchase the vaccines this year. Ms. Stacey informed her that CVS had contact the senior center and offered to run a flu clinic at the senior center for the town. Ms. Jacobs will check with Ms. Stacey to see if CVS is still willing to do this. The board will revisit this topic at their next meeting.
Board of Heath Responsibilities:
- Beavers – Mr. Allard- There was nothing to report.
- Bulky Day – Ms. Klick- Bulky day will be on October 1st, the space has already been reserved for the banner.
- Communicable Diseases – Mr. Schneider- There was nothing to report.
- Emergency Preparedness – Ms. Harrison- There was nothing to report.
- Finances – Ms. Klick and Mr. Schneider- There was nothing to report.
- Floor Drains – Mr. Allard- There was nothing to report.
- Food Safety – Ms. Jacobs- There was nothing to report.
- Hazardous Waste Day – Ms. Klick- The space has been reserved for the banner and Hazardous Waste Day will be October 15th. Ms. Jacobs has the sign and Mr. Allard will take it to change the date.
- Health Fair – Ms. Jacobs- Waiting until the spring to hold another fair. Still looking to see if the Town has any idea when the Hillside Gymnasium will become usable space.
- Housing Safety – Mr. Allard- There was nothing to report.
- Medical Reserve Corps – Ms. Harrison- Audra met with Liz Manley in the office to go through supplies that had been brought in the Board of Health office. Liz feels that a lot of the stuff here should be stored up at the school because it is stuff for the shelter. She said that MRC has an entire room above the pool in which they can store supplies and equipment. Ms. Staples asked the board if they had any feelings about this one way or another. The board was in agreement that if there was usable space at Quarry Hill than it would be an optimal place to store supplies and equipment for the shelter however if there are multiples or duplicates, some items could be kept in the office for BOH access.
- Outdoor Hydronic Heaters – Mr. Allard- the Board received their first application, which was approved by Lorri McCool, for one of the new EPA approved heaters. This is the first in our town and is supposed to be safer and significantly more efficient.
- Press Relations – Ms. Jacobs- the ads for Bulky Day and Hazardous Waste Day need to be posted. The board decided to go over the details of both events at their next meeting and make all the final decisions prior to posting the ads.
- Recycling – Ms. Klick- There was nothing to report.
- Tobacco - Mr. Schneider- There was nothing to report.
- Trash – Ms. Klick- Ms. Staples reminded the Board that a representative from Allied Waste would be at their next meeting to go over the contract with them. Allied waste is willing to make this year the 0% year and make it retro-active back to July 1st if the board decides to do an extension on their contract. The board asked Ms. Staples to prepare a copy of the current contract as well as a previously created file of issues with or questions about the trash program and a report showing the number of houses Monson lost from the Tornado for the meeting with Allied Waste.
- Wells – Mr. Allard- There was nothing to report.
The Board reviewed their correspondence. Ms. Staples will put an alert on the website about the EEE positive results in the area. She will also contact the local papers and see if they are interested in doing an article on the situation.
The board asked Ms. Staples to forward a complaint she received from a tenant on Main Street on to the building department. Mr. Allard asked for Ms. Staples to number each item of correspondence according to the cover page for easier navigation. This is the way it has been done in the past.
Mr. Allard asked where the Town was on the list he had made about improvements that were needed for the shelter. Ms. Staples told him she had not seen a list of improvements. Mr. Allard stated that they should have outlets that were specifically marked to run with the generator. He said the shelter should have universal cell phone chargers because communication is so important in an emergency and everyone may remember to grab their phone but most people forgot their chargers. He also said that the bathroom lighting was not on the generator and went out with the power, as did the phone system. He addressed the pet issues and that it was a necessity to create a plan for animals with the new EMD whenever the Board of Selectmen appoints one. Ms. Staples told the board that the Selectmen were currently
trying to fill the EMD position but had not made any appointments yet. Ms. Harrison said she would like for the new EMD to come to one of the Board of Health meetings some time after October. The rest of the board was in agreement. Ms. Staples is going to look into going to an Animal Friendly Shelter training that is being offered for Hampden County. She will also touch base with Lorri McCool next week about the group of animal volunteers that came to the shelter after the tornado.
Ms. Jacobs moved to adjourn the meeting, Ms. Harrison seconds, all voted in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 8:07 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
The Monson Board of Health
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