Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance

By City Clerk at 9:17 am, Feb 24, 2025 NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance Date: February 4, 2025 Time: 2 pm - 3 pm Meeting Location: ​ Virtual: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88294190778 APPROVED MEETING MINUTES FOR VIRTUAL MEETING Voting Attendees: g.​ Frank Marchegiani, Rowley h.​ Paul Sevigny, West Newbury a.​ Ann Marie Casey, Amesbury b.​ Jim Wilson, Amesbury c.​ Deb Ketchen, Amesbury & Merrimac Non-Voting Attendees: d.​ Chris Berube, Merrimac e.​ William Holt, Georgetown a.​ Erika Syokau, BME Strategies f.​ Deb Rogers, Newbury b.​ Meghan Russell, BME Strategies I.​ Call to Order a.​ Deb Ketchen motioned for the meeting to be called, and Deb Rogers seconded. The meeting was called to order at 2:10 pm with a quorum of 6/7 voting members present (Amesbury, Merrimac, Georgetown, Newbury, Rowley, and West Newbury) II.​ Approval of January 7th Minutes a.​ Chris motioned for the meeting minutes to be accepted as written, and Deb K seconded. The meeting minutes were approved with a vote of 5/6. Paul Sevigny abstained from the vote. III.​ Strategic Planning Discussion a.​ Erika asked the group if they had questions from reviewing the BME bid for strategic planning and that Meghan was in attendance to answer questions regarding strategic planning.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance b.​ Erika reminded the group that once questions had been answered Meghan and Erika would exit the meeting to allow the group to deliberate on the bid and make a decision. 1.​ Ann Marie had a question regarding the different pricing on the bid. a)​ Meghan explained that the scope of the work for different municipalities and price point b)​ Meghan also let the group know that she had a discussion with Ann Marie on the difference between the folks working on strategic planning and what Erika does as a shared service coordinator. Meghan asked if the group would like information on those differences. (1)​Ann Marie thought it would be helpful to share. (2)​Meghan stated that Erika manages the day-to-day of the grant including invoices, reporting, and procurement steps. Erika assists in the workplan initiatives and works with the group to complete these initiatives. The strategic planning workshop assists in the big picture of the grant work outside the day-to-day work plan. The workshop will help in translating the vision, mission, and goals of the MVPHA. c)​ The group had no further questions regarding the bid. Meghan and Erika exited the meeting to allow deliberation on the bid. c.​ Ann Marie Casey made a motion to accept the Strategic Plan proposal from BME Strategies in the amount of $73,765.63. Chris seconded the motion. A roll call vote was done: 1.​ Amesbury- yes 2.​ Merrimac- yes 3.​ Rowley- yes 4.​ Newbury- yes 5.​ Georgetown- yes  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance 6.​ West Newbury- abstain d.​ The strategic planning bid was approved with a vote of 5/6. With one abstention from the vote. e.​ Meghan and Erika re-joined the Zoom meeting and Meghan let the group know she looks forward to working on strategic planning and would like to meet in February with the group. 1.​ Erika will work on the procurement items with Ann Marie and Vanessa. IV.​ FPHS a.​ Erika reminded the group that she sent out instructions on how to access the tools in SharePoint. 1.​ Erika asked the group if anyone had any questions on FPHS or if anyone had tried to log into SharePoint. a)​ Chris asked Deb Ketchen if she was able to. Deb Ketchen has not logged in yet. Chris let Erika know she does not have access to SharePoint. Erika will ask the BME FPHS team to add Chris to share point. 2.​ Erika let the group know that February check-ins will be used to discuss FPHS. b.​ Janice Chen, the MVPHA BME contact, will be attending the February 18th meeting to give a presentation on FPHS. V.​ Trainings a.​ Erika reminded the group to register for the hoarding training on March 11th. Only 6 people had registered and the group can have up to 30 attendees. Folks should share this training opportunity widely within their communities. b.​ Erika shared that the 2025 Mass DEP/MHOA Seminar Dates and MEHA Title 5 Seminar registration links are up. The grant can cover these trainings for those who are interested. 1.​ Following the meeting, Erika will share the flyer and information. Those who are interested can let her know.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance VI.​ Meeting Cadence a.​ Erika reminded the group that on February 18th the group will be voting on adjusting the meeting cadence to once a month on the first Tuesday. b.​ Erika reminded the group to be in attendance for the meeting. VII.​ Hiring Updates a.​ Erika shared that Collin Schaefer, the candidate for the regional health inspector, had two subcommittee interviews with Deb Ketchen, Deb Rogers, and Chris Berube. Erika stated that Collin was prepared for the interview, he understood that he would have a lot to learn but was excited to work in the community where he lives. 1.​ Deb Ketchen shared that he showed that he was very capable of learning. 2.​ Chris shared that is hard to find someone who has a lot of experience. She liked that he lives in Amesbury and will understand the nuisances that come with living in this region. Chris shared that we should have a system set in place for monitoring his performance for the first 90 days. 3.​ Deb Rogers also shared that Collin was willing to learn in the role and that he could be a good fit. b.​ Erika asked the group how they felt about hiring Collin as the regional health inspector. 1.​ Chris asked if there was a way we could monitor his progress through the completion of training certifications. a)​ Erika and Meghan stated they would confirm with the training hub on the specific training that could be completed by the 3-month mark. (1)​Erika stated that she could include this in the onboarding packet. 2.​ The group was okay with moving forward with hiring Collin as the regional health inspector. c.​ Erika asked the group the salary that should be awarded to the candidate. The salary was listed at 65k-75k depending on experience.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance 1.​ Chris asked if that was the salary that was posted a)​ Erika confirmed that it was posted at that salary. 2.​ Chris felt comfortable offering the candidate 65k due to the fact that he would be coming into the role with no experience. a)​ Ann Marie agreed. 3.​ Chris mentioned that she felt we could offer him 65k with a 3% increase after his 90-day review. a)​ Deb Rogers and Bill mentioned that it would be hard to track his progress by the number of inspections, completed trainings would be the easiest way. (1)​The group agreed. 4.​ Erika asked the group if they felt prepared to make an official vote on hiring Collin Schaefer as Regional Health Inspector for the Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance at 65k with a 3% increase after 3 months depending on the completion of his 90-day plan. a)​ Deb Rogers made a motion to hire Collin, and Chris seconded the motion. The group approved hiring Collin with a vote of 5/6. Paul Sevigny abstained from the vote. (1)​Erika will work on onboarding matierals. (2)​Chris asked if Erika would call Collin to offer the position before sending a written offer. (a)​ Erika confirmed that she would call Collin. d.​ Erika shared that she met with Melanie to discuss the Regional Epidomolgist Role. Melanie demonstrated and stated that her degree concentration in Epi would be an asset. She stated that she was open to working collaboratively and independently and is still open to relocating to MA if she receives an offer. e.​ Erika shared that the group received two nursing applications one hour before the meeting. The nursing candidates include:  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance 1.​ Pam Palombo (highly qualified previous public health nurse for Newburyport) 2.​ Leigha Carroll (qualified beside nurse expected to obtain her MSN degree this summer) f.​ Erika asked the group how they felt about moving forward with the nursing candidates. 1.​ Ann Marie stated that we should move forward and screen the candidates. It would be beneficial to have a regional nurse. 2.​ Frank stated that Pam is the nurse for Rowley, and she works 8 hours a week for the town. Frank asked if this would affect the support she provides. a)​ Meghan stated that the group could find an arrangement where we could offer a 32-hour position so that she could continue providing nursing support to Rowley. This has worked well in other coalitions. (1)​Frank expressed concerns that if she is no longer helping Rowley, he could lose that budget set aside for support. However, Pam is a great nurse and would be great in this role. (a)​ The group decided to move forward with screening the candidates. (b)​Erika will work on researching to finalize the budget for this year and next fiscal year for hiring a third person and what this role would look like. She will bring this back to the group at the next meeting. VIII.​ Community Updates a.​ Ann Marie shared that the IMA will be finalized by the end of February. 1.​ Erika shared that due to timing she will follow up with everyone individually IX.​ Next Steps: a.​ BME: 1.​ Erika will work with Ann Marie and Vanessa on procurement items for strategic planning.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance 2.​ Erika will begin February check-ins with each municipality this week. 3.​ Erika will share the training information following the meeting. 4.​ Erika to prepare an offer letter for the regional inspector. 5.​ Erika will scan the new nursing candidates and review the potential of a third position. 6.​ Erika to coordinate a meeting with Ann Marie, Deb Ketchen, and Jim Wilson to discuss office supplies 7.​ Erika will work on reaching out to the training hub to get information on trainings and timelines for the regional inspector. ​ b. MVPHA: 8.​ MVPHA should review FPHS and prepare questions prior to Janice attending the February 18th meeting. 9.​ MVPHA to work on finalziing the IMA. 10.​MVPHA to register for the Hoarding Training on March 11th. X.​ Adjournment a.​ Deb K motioned to adjourn the meeting. Chris seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned at 3:07 pm. Please Note: There will be no public participation in speaking at this meeting. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE MAY ACT ON ITEMS IN A DIFFERENT ORDER THAN THEY APPEAR ON THIS AGENDA. ALSO, IF IT SO VOTES, THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE MAY GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION DURING THE MEETING. PERSONS INTERESTED ARE ADVISED THAT, IN THE EVENT ANY MATTER TAKEN UP AT THIS MEETING REMAINS UNFINISHED AT THE CLOSE OF THE MEETING, IT MAY BE PUT OFF TO A CONTINUED SESSION OF THIS MEETING, WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE.