Salem Board of Health
Minutes of Meeting
May 12, 2009
Date & Time: Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Meeting Location: Third Floor Conference Room, City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, Salem
Members Present: Vice Chair Marc Salinas, Barbara Poremba, Martin Fair, Gayle Sullivan, Noreen Casey, Larissa Lucas
Absent: Chairperson Paulette Puleo
Others Present: Janet Mancini, Acting Health Agent, Tracy Giarla, Public Health Nurse and City Councillor Steven Pinto
Marc Salinas called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
The minutes of April 14, 2009 were reviewed.
Barbara Poremba asked for clarification on section 3. Change sentence to “Other members stated…are not sufficient.”
Martin Fair suggested some minor corrections.
Marc Salinas made a motion to approve the minutes with corrections, seconded by Noreen Casey and approved (6-0).
- Public Health Nurse’s Report
Tracy Giarla reviewed the nurse’s report.
Larissa commended Janet and Tracy for their work on the Swine Flu information.
Discussion regarding Health Agent position
Marc Salinas had an opportunity to sit with Mayor Driscoll and Janet to review the FY 2010 budget. The Mayor is still working on the budget for the city and its departments. The Mayor still has a desire for the BOH to put together a group to review the prospect of regionalization. Marc feels that since it is unknown what the budget will be like, it doesn’t make sense to hire a health agent at this time.
Janet Mancini will be stepping down from her position of acting health agent. The transition will take place in about 30 days. Senior staff member David Greenbaum will be trained to take the acting health agent position.
Larissa thanked Janet for all her hard work and then questioned why Salem isn’t taking advantage of Peabody’s help and regionalization, especially now that Janet is stepping down. Noreen Casey remembered that a few members of the Salem BOH went to a Peabody BOH meeting and they said that the Peabody BOH wasn’t very encouraging. Barbara Poremba also suggested that now that Janet is stepping down, rather than retrain someone else, maybe we should re-visit using Peabody’s agent. Councillor Pinto said a budget may be in place around May 28th for BOH members to review. Janet Mancini thinks there is currently money in the budget but it depends on where to cut, and she feels Salem should have its own leader. Marc Salinas mentioned that since there are no candidates, they will have
to re-open the search for the position.
Larissa Lucas is concerned that if a decision isn’t made by June that they’ll lose the money. It was suggested to use Sharon, the Peabody Health Agent, and then hire another inspector. That way they won’t lose the money. Marc Salinas still feels the Board can’t make a decision without knowing about the upcoming budget. Gayle Sullivan felt that if the Board were to wait to discuss this at the next meeting (so they can find out more about the budget) they will be a month behind. She suggested putting together a committee now to begin looking at this. Janet Mancini mentioned there was a candidate in the running (Heidi) and also wondered if the Mayor has someone in mind, if so, bring them in for an interview.
Councillor Pinto said he spoke with the Mayor about regionalization and mentioned that there were originally 5 communities interested, so there could be other communities that we could work with. Barbara Poremba feels that since David Greenbaum needs to be trained it may make more sense to use Sharon who has been the health agent for Peabody for 3 years. Marc Salinas suggested putting this on the agenda for the next meeting and get all the information needed to enable Board to make a decision. Marc Salinas will reach out to the Mayors office regarding that we’re open to advice on options available and he’ll report back to board members.
Janet said she’s been working as hard as she can to keep it so that Salem has its own health agent, because it’s tough day to day to meet mandates. She doesn’t see using Peabody’s Health Agent as being good for Salem. She sees hiring our own health agent and feels once they go down the road to sharing with Peabody, it would be permanent. Some members agreed that once the BOH goes down a road with sharing leadership, that it wouldn’t be temporary.
Set date(s) for tattoo subcommittee to discuss permanent make-up/micro pigmentation, guest artist protocols, apprenticeship protocols, and allowing fish tanks in tattoo establishments
Marc Salinas suggested that (per Paulette Puleo) the committee set a date for their next meeting so that they can give a report to the full Board. Marc will set the date and contact the committee members.
Acting Health Agent updates to the Board-
- Janet Mancini reviewed Regulation 5- swine, cattle, fowl, etc. It states that people can have an animal as long as it’s not a nuisance. Since it’s an older regulation, Board members may want to update it. Larissa Lucas pointed out that cats and dogs require a license, so should fowl and other animals. Janet Mancini said that owners are required to have their animals tested and have paperwork to show it, but this isn’t stated in the regulation. Also, if people have chickens, they can sell the eggs as long as they’re not being graded. This item will be put on the agenda for the next BOH meeting for members to discuss this further and possibly update the regulation.
- Beth Rennard said the application for transfer station is not imminent. Beth will arrange a site visit. Councillor Pinto suggested they go to the Peabody transfer station on Forest Street so that they can see how one is run. There may be other transfer stations they can visit as well.
- Monthly Reports
The Administrative Report was available in members’ packets.
Marc Salinas made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Larissa Lucas and approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stacey Dupuis
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