Board of Health

EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 May 16, 2023 MEETING MINUTES Meeting Call to Order – 5:35 PM Board President Christine Harris read the following Sunshine Law: This meeting, which conforms to the provisions of the Open Public Meeting Act, Chapter 231, and Public Law of 1975, is a regular meeting of the City of East Orange Board of Health. Notices have been filed with our official newspaper, with the City Clerk, and posted on regular bulletin boards. The public is permitted to participate at this meeting. Zoom Communication ID: 878 5127 8319 Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87851278319?pwd=VlpFT2FHTW5GaitCMmlUd2RHT2dDQT09 After the roll call, it was determined there was a quorum to convene the meeting. Board Members Present: Christine Harris, President Tobbia M. Corbitt, Vice-President Deanna Phillips Angela Jones-Williams Dr. Tonya X. Cook Council Liaison: Mustafa Al-M. Brent – absent City Council Members Present: Council President Awe Councilwoman Claybrooks Board of Health Counsel: Attorney Emeka Madubuogo - absent Health Department Staff: Yvonne Blake, Acting HHS Director Health Officer Vincent DeFilippo, Orange NJ pg. 1  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 May 16, 2023 Mayoral Staff: Jada Braime-Butler Guests: Michael Burton, East Orange Animal Control Officer Public in attendance: None Approval of April 18, 2023, Meeting Minutes: Approved Unanimously President Harris Updates: Board Action List President Harris reviewed the Action List that was provided with Board members. The review aims to ensure that proposed deliverables were met. Birth Equity Conference, Dr. Natassia K. Harris President Harris reminded the Board of Dr. Harris' Birth Equity conference, scheduled for May 19-21 and shared that the link has been provided to Board members interested in attending. Director Blake Updates: Health Department Budget President Harris asked for an update on the HD budget. Director Blake stated she just received the 2023 Municipal budget and will provide a copy to the Board. Health Officer Position Updates President Harris asked if there were any applicants for the Health Officer position. Director Blake stated she had received one additional application since the last meeting and plans to repost the position now that the budget has passed. President Harris asked if there was an increase in the salary for the position. HO Vinny stated Director Blake submitted for an increase in the HO's salary. Director Blake concurred, stating she generated a request for salary. Lead Hazard Control & Healthy Homes (LHC&HH) Updates President Harris asked for an update regarding the unmet quota for the LHCHH program. Ms. Blake shared she could not obtain Mr. Salaam's report as he was working in another municipality. pg. 2  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 May 16, 2023 Performance Assessments President Harris asked if Director Blake had an opportunity to determine whether staff had received performance evaluations. Director Blake stated she had collected data on how to begin reviewing the employees’ files and implementing evaluations as we advance. Homelessness Initiative & Sanctuary Status Dir. Blake explained that the homeless initiative is to develop a comprehensive plan to address the growing migrant population This program was previously under the leadership of Assemblywoman Brittany Timberlake, who advised her to review the ordinance, which outlines our role as a sanctuary city, to clarify what is expected of us when addressing the needs of migrant populations. President Harris asked if information could be shared regarding the ordinance and whether there are thoughts regarding integrating our growing immigrant population with your original homeless initiative. Director Blake shared that she has yet to see the ordinance, but she plans to proactively anticipate the number of immigrants who may come into the City and any aid that may be required to assist them during their transition. Dir. Blake shared that via funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP), she has retained a psychiatric social worker and specialist specializing in immigration reforms as Health Department staff to assist in this endeavor. Councilwoman Claybrooks offered her support as a member of the Council. She expressed interest in reviewing the ordinance as she does not remember it being presented during her tenure on Council. President Harris expressed concern over our being labeled as a sanctuary city and wondered whether we could undertake the massive responsibility that comes with the title. Many considerations must be followed, such as finding additional resources to support the structure for existing residents and those migrating to our City. Dir. Blake concurred, stating she specifically vetted individuals for the homelessness initiative with experience obtaining grants. Chairman Awe mentioned a regulatory document detailing how grant-awarded funds would be allocated for resources. Chairman Awe shared it behooves members of the community, the Board of Health, and members of the Administration to advocate for priorities that the Council should be considering. For example, we talked about ARP money, but it may be beneficial to present initiatives and strategic community partnerships that have been successful in other municipalities to help guide how we should move forward. The ordinance deeming us a sanctuary city was shared with the meeting attendees for their review. pg. 3  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 May 16, 2023 Health Department Renovations President Harris asked Chairman Awe if funding is set aside for HD renovations. Chairman Awe stated there is money allocated for the HD renovations in the capital improvement plan. President Harris asked if anyone had access to the plans developed previously for the old police station., Councilwoman Claybrooks indicated that during her tenure, she has yet to see any architectural plans for the old police building; however, even if there were, the usage for the building would have evolved since its initial inception creating the need for new plans. Councilwoman Claybrooks did share that the building is undergoing an environmental review since there has been continued erosion. So once the environmental review and the specs are done for that, then they can go into producing an actual plan. Once the site remediation works are done, they should commence the construction. HEPA Air Purifiers President Harris asked for an update on whether the air purifiers were acquired for the school district. Trustee Phillips stated Director Santos placed her order directly from the State. Ms. Santos also shared the information with all principals who placed orders. The air filters are only in some rooms but strategically placed throughout the schools. Trustee Phillips asked if further details could be shared on obtaining additional filters. Dir. Blake stated she shared the information with the superintendent but is unaware if the filters are still available. OSHA Report President Harris asked for a copy of the outstanding OSHA report. Chief REHS Henry gave an overview of the findings within the report and shared the official document with the Board. A suggestion was made to utilize the air filters to address some of the concerns regarding the air quality while the structural issues with the building are being addressed. Health Officer DeFilippo Updates: Outstanding Items HO DeFilippo reiterated that outstanding items must be pushed forward to keep that grant funding awarded to the Health Department. President Harris asked if there was a list of all the items you put forward that we are waiting for procurement to process. This data will allow us to access that information during our meeting with the Administration easily. Director Blake stated she has a comprehensive list. Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks stated she would support Chairman Awe in looking into why there has been a stalemate and getting these items processed promptly. Councilwoman Claybrooks explained the business administrator does not work directly for her. The BA serves at the Mayor's pleasure and the city council's confirmation but believes this can be brought up at the council level. Councilwoman Claybrooks suggested we reach out to the BA to ascertain whether something has gone wrong pg. 4  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 May 16, 2023 in the process or if there is a reason the items are not being approved. We have suggested that there be some other processes. So, we will continue to provide recommendations, but at this time, there has not been a specific answer about why health matters are slipping the desk of the BA and/or the law department. Director Blake thanked the Board and Council for their efforts and support in pushing these items to completion. Open Discussion: Health Department Tour President Harris shared with the Board her assessment of the Health Department. During her tour, she conducted confidential one-on-one conversations with approximately ninety-nine percent of the staff. The purpose of the tour was to ensure there was a comprehensive understanding of the issues in the Health department so that we can begin to create some corrective actions and measures before we meet with the City's administrators. President Harris shared that she and available Board members would meet with the Mayor, Business Administrator, Human Resources, Finance, and other applicable departments so that we can begin to address some of the significant issues in the Health Department. Her findings revealed that many issues need to be addressed apart from the building's structural damage. Trustee Dr. Cook shared findings on her previous health department tour, of its deteriorated state. Chairman Awe stated he was looking forward to the meeting. Still, he asked that they connect with Director Blake to share this as an agenda item to be presented to the remaining legislative body and Health & Education Committee. File Bank Tour Trustee Jones-Williams shared that she and President Harris attended a tour of the File Bank facility located in Oakland, NJ, on Wednesday, April 26. Trustee Jones Williams stated they asked for detailed information regarding the organization and storage of the files. Trustee Jones-Williams shared File Bank provided an overview of their storage and filing processes, such as scanning or holding original documents. Sometimes, a company may request scanned files, but in some instances, the original document may be needed, so they store both scanned and original copies. File Bank shared they are fully online and organize their documents via a coding system. Trustee Jones-Williams shared they were shown the safeguarding system in case of a fire or other threat to the documents. The facility can store over five million documents, and the storage environment is intentionally created to protect original documents. File Bank expressed its interest in a continued partnership with the City by adding the Health Department to its clientele list and shared its ability to tailor their system to meet our needs. President Harris added File Bank has the environmental capability to remove the air in the event of a fire and maintain excellent air quality control. President Harris shared that the pg. 5  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 May 16, 2023 presentation was comprehensive, and they have tremendous electronic capability to render services for the Health Department. VP Corbitt asked if it was necessary to bid for File Bank's services. Director Blake shared that bidding is unnecessary as File Bank is currently a vendor our Clerk's Office, Board of Education and Legal Department utilizes. President Harris expressed satisfaction with utilizing File Bank as a vendor and asked the Board to vote accordingly. The Board voted unanimously in favor of using File Bank. Permitium & WinWam President Harris provided an overview of Permitium's and WinWam's presentations and asked the Board to vote to utilize their services. The Board voted unanimously to use their services for the Health Department. Chief REHS Henry stated on the inter-departmental call Director Negron of Code Enforcement gave an overview of the GovPilot presentation he attended and shared the Administration may be looking to implement their service City-wide. Chief REHS Henry shared that using the GovPilot program would allow information sharing between all departments, such as Taxation, Code Enforcement, Planning, Health Department, etc., which could be accessed from any mobile device. 5th Ward Board Representation President Harris asked for an update regarding selecting a Board member to represent the 5th Ward. Ms. Jada stated the Mayor recently returned to town from his vacation but briefly discussed this. The Mayor reconfirmed that Councilwoman Holman has selected an individual, but their focus has shifted to the upcoming primary election. Councilwoman Holman will contact the Mayor with her selection once the election ends. Presentations: Michael Burton, East Orange Animal Control Officer Mr. Michael Burton, Animal Control Officer for the City of East Orange, shared an overview of feral cat programs. Mr. Burton shared that some municipalities would start a program where feral cats can be caught, spayed, or neutered to reduce the number of wild cat colonies. The programs usually involve continued management as these animals reside outdoors and cannot be housed as they are wild animals like squirrels, and racoons. In the City of East Orange, we last estimated the feral cat population to be 3-4,000+, which continues to increase. We do not have a feral cat program as they are costly to operate. We currently lack the staff to catch cats, but there is a lack of funding for spaying and neutering (approx. $150-250/cat). Per the last discussion, the City was not ready to move forward with that program because it requires a lot of funding. The feral cat population is more likely ~6000 as citizens are feeding them, and the recent milder winters have contributed to their increased reproduction. HO DeFilippo pg. 6  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 May 16, 2023 concurred with the acquiring the 3 proposals and urged rapid movement before the available funding expires on June 30th. Chairman Awe stated that Mr. Burton should connect with Director Blake to address the continued concerns regarding the feral cat population and wants to ensure we connect with animal control, so we are always in lockstep. Chairman Awe also shared City Council is hosting the Strut Your Mutt event the first week in June to promote dog registrations, and in general, the Council wants to take more of a leading role in the City's animal issues. Registering your pet is $10; this will reach existing and new residents. Residents will have an opportunity to showcase their pets. There will be giveaways, free rabies vaccinations, and animal checkups. They are still formatting a flyer for the event, which will be shared on our social media platforms, and asked that everyone chip in with promoting and get it out there. At the conclusion of Board business, President Harris adjourned the meeting at 7:42 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jo-Ann Lowe Board Clerk pg. 7