The Ad Hoc Tick Borne Disease Action Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at the
C. H. Booth Library on Main Street in Newtown, Connecticut.
AMENDED MINUTES
Present: Michele McLeod, Mary Gaudet-Wilson, Mark Alexander, Peter Licht, Kirk Blanchard, and Neil Chaudhary.
Not Present: Robert Grossman, George Miller, Maggie Shaw, Kim Harrison, and David Delia.
Also Present: David Shugarts
Call to Order: Dr. McLeod called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes: Mr. Chaudhary motioned to approve the minutes of July 14, 2010 as amended. Motion seconded by Mr. Alexander. Minutes approved unanimously. Mr. Chaudhary motioned to approve the minutes of August 4, 2010 as amended. Motion seconded by Ms. Wilson. Minutes approved unanimously.
Ms. Wilson motioned to add the following matters to the Agenda. Seconded by Mr. Alexander. Motion approved.
Committee Report: Discussion Vaccination Recommendations
Dr. Licht led the discussion. Details can be read in The Vaccine Solution distributed to the Committee earlier and available upon request. Vaccine pros and cons were discussed.
VOTE on vaccination recommendations
- It is the consensus of this Committee that a safe and effective Lyme vaccine offers the best hope to combat Lyme disease. The vote was unanimous for those in attendance.
- The Committee recommends that the Board of Selectmen pursue the State and regional cooperation to facilitate the development and deployment of said vaccine, this could include financial assistance, some form of legal protection and community education. The vote was unanimous for those in attendance.
Committee Report: Vote on recommendations previously proposed that require more notice prior to vote
Deer-Vehicular Accident Report: Mr. Chaudhary suggested that speed is a big factor in vehicular collisions with deer. Dr. Licht did not think speed traps desirable. There is no data available to verify that speed reduction would have an effect on deer accidents. People react to deer and often swerve and hit something. Mr. Alexander suggested putting a notice in The Bee advising that during the season random check-points will be set up, similar to DUI, when people are forewarned. Ms. Wilson wondered if the police would enforce it.
The Committee recommends that the town engage in increased speed enforcement (particularly around high DVA areas) during rut. This would likely reduce DVAs or at least the severity of DVA crashes. All Committee members approved the recommendation except for Dr. Licht.
Review of Report content for completeness
Spraying:
Ms. Wilson noted that the town currently has a spraying program. Mr. Chaudhary suggested that the information and recommendations should be communicated to the public. Mr. Alexander suggested a need for specific recommendations. This matter should be under education.
Performance Metrics:
Mr. Alexander distributed Performance Metrics that was discussed. A copy is available upon request. Dr. Licht said it is difficult to get an accurate count of tick bites because not all of them cause Lyme disease. Mr. Shugarts said the data must be consistently done over a number of years in order to get accurate data. Dr. Licht said there are two issues: data and collection. Once the data is collected information can be gleaned from it. Dr. McLeod said they need a draft to discuss at a later date. Mr. Chaudhary volunteered to work on it noting that Ms. Harrison has some information that could be used.
Update on other sections of Report, schedule remaining sections to be discussed and voted upon. Time frame for completion of Report.
The Education Report should be ready for the next meeting that will be in two weeks. Dr. Licht advised the Committee of an app for i-phones with information on Lyme disease. Mr. Chaudhary downloaded the information, which costs two dollars. Mr. Shugarts said there is a need to enforce the urgency of getting treatment. He has information and is working on a complete report on the deer counts. The Committee agreed that votes should show reasons for the vote.
The Committee discussed the future of the Committee once the Report is complete. Mr. Shugarts said that some towns have continuing committees.
Public Comments – No public comments.
Final Comments – None
Executive Session – None
The committee adjourned at 10:00 pm.
| 
