The Ad Hoc Tick Borne Disease Action Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at the Newtown Municipal Center, Land Use Agency Conference Room, 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
Present: Robert Grossman, Michelle McLeod, Kim Harrison, Maggie Shaw, David Delia, Mark Alexander, Mary Gaudet-Wilson, Neil Chaudhary, George Miller, Kirk Blanchard
Also Present: David Shugarts, Pat Boily, and three members of the public.
Call to Order: Dr. Grossman called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of February 3, 2010 & Special Meeting of January 21, 2010 were approved and accepted.
Teleconference with J. Mathews (Mat) Pound, PhD: Mr. Alexander introduced Dr. Pound (via telephone conference call) a Research Entomologist with the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Kerrville, Texas. Dr. Pound, who has an M.S. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Entomology, provided background information on tick related issues in Texas and explained how he came to invent the four poster device. Hard copies of Dr. Pound’s presentation was provided to the committee and it was reviewed page by page with his comments. The committee asked several questions.
Report on Meeting with First Selectman on February 5, 2010. Dr. McCloud provided a summary of a meeting she and Dr. Grossman had with the Ms. Llodra. Meeting notes were reviewed by Ms. Llodra before distribution to the Committee. It was noted that the Board of Selectmen are interested in looking at the data the committee compiled and not necessarily the different interpretations of the data. Ms. Llodra said the Board of Selectmen do not expect the committee to conclude with a single solution and emphasized that there will be a continuum of meetings to address the problem. The committee is asked to make a list of continued recommendations to reduce tick borne disease as well as other areas of concern. Dr. McCloud discussed writing a report that allows for the differences of
opinions. Ms. Llodra suggested that the committee should start with items where there are no disagreements and provide the best recommendations and best ideas to the Board of Selectmen.
Public Comments – A member of the public distributed a bulletin that covers topics in discussion. Mr. Boily noted that this was circulated to the committee previously. Elise Brady discussed how her family was effected by Lymes, stated concerns over the disease, and noted her family moved out of Newtown because of the infestation
The committee adjourned at 10:30 pm.
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