Wellfleet Board of Health
Minutes of Meeting of June 23, 2004
Senior Center, Great Pond Room
Present: Richard Willecke, Alex Hay, Ken Granlund, Jr.; Emily Beebe, Health Agent
Excused: Lezli Rowell, Anne White
Vice-Chairman Richard Willecke, acting as Chair in Lezli Rowell's absence, called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. The meeting was tape-recorded. Willecke noted that approval of the minutes of May 26, 2004 would be considered at the next meeting to achieve a quorum of those present at the May 26th meeting.
Tobacco Sales to a Minor--South Wellfleet General Store. Gerald Parent, owner of South Wellfleet General Store, appeared before the Board for discussion of two recent citations (3-18-04 and 5-24-04) of the establishment for tobacco sales to a minor; these infractions occurred during a round of compliance checks by the Cape Cod Regional Tobacco Control Program. Parent stated that his clerks are instructed that no minors are to be sold cigarettes, and that everyone "up to the age of 30" is to be asked for identification. He emphasized that he has no tolerance for this offense and that all his clerks are well aware of this.
To Alex Hay's question about clerks' training for cigarette sales, Parent replied that his 2 year-round clerks and his seasonal summer help are all instructed to ask for I.D. from cigarette customers.
Health Agent Beebe stated that the Wellfleet BOH regulations specify: Each employee working in an establishment licensed to sell tobacco products shall be required to read the Board of Health regulations and State laws regarding the sale of tobacco. She suggested that Parent have all clerks read the regulations and noted the existence of a ticketing process that could take place after the second written notice of violations, adding that the recent written citations from Barnstable County constitute ample warning.
Ken Granlund, noting that Parent had amply cooperated with the BOH in attending this discussion, felt that no other action was necessary; if it happened again, he felt, a warning that this was a ticketable offense should be issued. Chair Willecke suggested that a contract could be signed by the clerks attesting to their having read the smoking regulations.
Parent felt that there were numerous distractions which could have contributed to the violations, including the increasing pace of the summer trade; he said that he had no problem with getting his employees to read the regulations.
The Chair, taking the consensus of the Board, noted that the agreements of the above discussion made it unnecessary to begin ticketing but indicated that ticketing could be expected on next offense. Mr. Parent will be sent a copy of the BOH regulations to distribute to his employees to read.
Condominium Conversion--Surfside Colony, Ocean View Drive, Map #30, Parcel #s 609 & 610. The owners of Surfside Colony, John and Marcia Sexton, and their representative, Atty, Harry Terkanian, appeared to discuss their request to turn the cottage colony into condominiums. Terkanian noted that they had been negotiating the "regulatory obstacle course" of both the Town and the Seashore; he believed that they had satisfied the Seashore regulations regarding use of the property. In preparation of the Draft Master Deed (which, along with the original plan for site and sewage disposal, had been distributed to the BOH in the meeting packets), careful notice had been taken of previous condo conversions (e.g., Starfish Cottages), insuring that use did not change and that the number of units
did not change. Terkanian referred the Board to the plan for the septic system, constructed in the mid-1990's; the system will be thoroughly checked by a septic inspector. He added that the owners have not yet filed with the Zoning Board, since they wanted to get recommendations from the BOH first.
Under Section 12. Required Maintenance, Beebe suggested removal of "Zone 1" from the text; Terkanian noted that this had been removed from a more current draft. In the case of the existing storage of fuel oil (b) in the Protected Radius, Beebe suggested that any future replacing of storage tanks should be outside the Zone I, to which Sexton replied that this would move it across the street from the property; a brief discussion on this point followed.
Alex Hay suggested use of double-walled fuel oil storage tanks for protection as an alternative to moving the replacement tank out of the Zone I; the subsequent discussion established that the difference in cost between single and double-walled tanks is $400-500.
Beebe pointed out that a requirement for septic system inspection should be included in the text; Terkanian noted that it had not been included since Title 5 already calls for inspection every three years.
Beebe passed to the Board the Water Quality data on the cottage colony, stating that the water quality is good and that the cottages are designated a non-community public water supply based on flow data. She also distributed a SWAP report that stated that the Zone I radius appeared to be 170 feet, not 225 feet, and that the owners should clear this up with the DEP.
Chair Willecke moved, and Alex Hay seconded, that the Board of Health approve the condominium conversion of Surfside Colony, Ocean View Drive, Map #30, Parcel #s 609 & 610, subject to the following conditions:
There will be no increase in habitable area without BOH review.
There will be no conversion of use without BOH review.
All conditions shall be recorded against the Master Deed for the property at the Registry in Barnstable, and proof of the conditions being deed-recorded shall be submitted to the Health Department.
The motion carried, 3-0.
Variance Requests: Menegay Realty Trust and Miller. Both agenda items for variances to upgrade existing systems have again been continued to future meetings.
Old Business:
Current Enforcement process/progress.
Agent Beebe reported on the Danforth enforcement process (see minutes of 4-14, 5-12, 5-26), for which the fines are now up to almost $9,000 (without any ticketing on weekends). Ms. Danforth's defense is that she claims she cannot obtain a contractor to do the work. Beebe suggested at a pre-trial conference in court on 6-22-04 that if the job (just the septic system, not the foundation) could be completed by August 1, the fines could be cut in half. Ms. Danforth refused the terms of the arrangement stating that she wished to have "her day in court" (after 21 days of unpaid tickets, this is automatic). The Assistant District Attorney has asked for a continuance of the matter to allow Danforth to submit a signed contract, with date specific, to the court. The
Board discussed alternate suggestions of legal solutions to the problem including (1) placing a lien on the house and (2) notifying the mortgage lender that the terms of the mortgage may have been violated by the absence of Title 5 compliance on the property.
Board members expressed that opinion that Danforth was openly challenging all regulations, noting that a shed that she has begun constructing without ConsCom approval is in the wetlands. Discussion of possible enforcement options included a question of whether the DEP could be brought in, the use of the State Sanitary Code to condemn the house because of a failed system and the contamination of groundwater, and the possibility of the transmittal of the information on the failed system to the mortgaging bank (members preferred this solution). The Board asked the agent to pursue counsel's opinion on enforcement options.
Beebe reported that Mrs. Manchuk (minutes of 5-12, 5-26) has now complied with regulations and installed smoke alarms for her tenants; however, she has appealed the tickets and is trying to get the fines dropped. The Board members agreed that fines should not be dropped completely, since the BOH needs to have people take ticketing seriously, but might be cut by no less than 1/3, which would place the total fine at around $3,000. The Health Agent will consult Town Counsel on this matter also.
Wellhead Protection Districts. Chair Willecke suggested that this agenda item be continued so that the Board could have the benefit of the full Board to discuss the matter.
Deed Restrictions. The Health Agent explained to the Board the recent difficulties with the variance approval letter format that the department had been having with the Registry in Barnstable; the traditional form was deemed no longer satisfactory, and the form that the Registry itself first suggested was then later rejected. Town Counsel has submitted for our use a Declaration of Restrictive Covenants which will be sent to the Registry along with variance approvals. Copies of the form were distributed to the Board, who agreed that it should be transmitted to the engineers for completion and submission to the Registry for their variance-requesting clients.
Collapsed cesspool, failed septic. Ms. Beebe noted a situation for concern; a cesspool (1 of 3) on the property of Sue Baker on Main Street has collapsed and the owner needs to upgrade to Title 5 in a stated period of time; citing the expense of a full installation, the owner has requested to fill in the collapsed cesspool and use the other two, not replacing with a Title 5 septic system at this time. The installer has suggested installing a septic tank and leaching to the two remaining cesspools. Beebe stated that she did not feel entirely comfortable issuing a permit for a cesspool and noted that there is a loan program for funding failed septics; this program takes only three days to get a loan, and any expense connected with the problem can be included. Such a loan would allow a bigger time
frame than 30 days for the owner to achieve a fully compliant septic system--time to get a contractor, get a plan drawn, etc. Chair Willecke moved approval of a simple repair to the failed cesspool on the Baker property, which will be replaced by a Title 5 septic tank with the flow going into the two remaining cesspools, pending submission of a Title 5 plan within six months and complete installation of the system within nine months. Ken Granlund seconded; the motion carried, 3-0.
Licenses. The Board signed several business licenses: Maurice's Campground (2), Harborside Village Cooperative Corporation, and R. J. Messina (disposal works permit).
Correspondence. Willecke reviewed the correspondence file, noting an article on tobacco violations in the Massachusetts Health Board's publication, a postcard from Chair Lezli Rowell from Alaska, an announcement of a MAHB Certification Course, and a notice of septic system installation at Massassoit Hills Trailer Park.
Alex Hay moved and Ken Granlund seconded adjournment; the meeting closed at 8:30.
Respectfully submitted,
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Frances J. Castillo, Committee Secretary
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