Board of Health

Office of the Board of Health City Hall 166 Boulder Drive – Suite 108 Fitchburg, Massachusetts 01420 978-829-1870 An organizational meeting was held on November 14, 2019 at 5:00 pm. Present: Stephen Curry, Director; Sandra Knipe, R.N.B.S.N.; John Bogdasarian, M.D., Chairman; Ian Murray, Board Member; AKS Recycling, 15 Cobbler Dr. – Minor Modification of Site Assignment Discussion: Mr. Curry stated AKS Recycling is permitted to accept up to 500 tons of MSW a day. The BOH site assigned AKS in 2004 with several conditions. In 2008 AKS came before the Board of Health with a minor modification of a change of hours to the location. AKS is proposing to install a solid waste baler to reduce waste bulk volume. AKS is proposing to install a second storage building for overflow bale storage on the parcel. AKS submitted a permit application to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for review. Mr. Curry stated the BOH needs to discuss this proposal to store baled solid waste as proposed in the application for consistency with the conditions in the Site Assignment. Mr. Curry stated he reviewed the Solid Waste Regulations and cannot change the site assignment conditions unless there is a public hearing. This would involve hiring a public hearings officer, and a transcriber for the minutes.to comply with the Solid Waste Regulations. Mr. Murray made a motion to appoint John Shea as Hearings Officer for the AKS Recycling Minor Modification Site Assignment. Mr. Knipe 2nd the motion. All were in favor. Motion carries. Approve Meeting Minutes: Ms. Knipe made a motion to amend the minutes to read that she made a motion to table the issue of Fluoride in Municipal Water Supply. Motion was 2nd by Dr. Bogdasarian. All were in favor. Motion carries. Ms. Knipe made a motion to amend the minutes to read that she made a motion to table the Tryst Lounge Non-Nicotine Vaping discussion. Motion was 2nd by Dr. Bogdasarian. All were in favor. Motion carries. Sandra Knipe made a motion to approve the October 2019 meeting minutes as amended. Motion was 2nd by Dr. Bogdasarian. All were in favor. Motion carries. Letter to Chairman, Fitchburg Municipal Landfill Disposal Policy and Incident: Mr. Curry stated he received a letter from a resident in regards to the disposal of a television set at the landfill. This resident stated the day she went to bring the TV she was treated poorly by employees at the scale house. This resident is asking the Board of Health to examine the polices of issuing passes to drop off certain items to the Fitchburg Landfill, and also provide training to the employees to include communication skill and how not to discriminate against people as dictated by law to include gender, age, race, disability etc. After lengthy discussion regarding the current policies to drop off items at the Landfill the BOH will examine the policies and Dr. Bogdasarian will respond to the resident’s letter. Ms. Knipe made a motion that Dr. Bogdasarian write a letter to the resident in response to her concerns. Motion was 2nd by Mr. Murray. All were in favor. Motion carries. Staff Reports: Mr. Curry presented the Public Health Nurse report for October, 2019. Ms. Knipe made a motion to accept the Public Health Nurse report for October, 2019. Motion was 2nd by Mr. Murray. All were in favor. Motion carries. Mr. Curry presented the Substance Abuse Coordinator report for October, 2019. Ms. Knipe made a motion to accept the Substance Abuse Coordinator report for October, 2019. Motion was 2nd by Mr. Murry. All were in favor. Motion carries. Ms. Knipe made a motion to adjourn. Motion was 2nd by Dr. Bogdasarian. All were in favor, meeting adjourned at 6:15 PM.