Board of Health

CITY OF GARDNER OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH ROOM 29, CITY HALL GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS 01440 (978) 630-4013 FAX (978) 632-4682 To: Jennifer A. Susen-Roy, BA. - Health Director Dr. John Mulqueen, Chairperson Susan Avallone, Member Attorney Geoffrey Tobia, Member Minutes for the Board of Health meeting held on Monday, May 15th, 2017 __________________________________________________________________________________ 5:15 Meeting called to order 5:16 Reviewed and cited corrections to be made on minutes dated April 24th, 2017. 5:20 Alfred Fraumeni of Newburyport Realty Trust, owner of 142 Pleasant Street, requested a hearing before the board regarding the letter that he received stating his property at 142 Pleasant Street was in violation of the state sanitary code. Jennifer gave the board a brief history of the issues with this address. This property is owned by Alfred, (who was not present at the meeting) this building was identified by the Attorney General’s office to be part of the housing initiative program that the city takes part in. The Board of Health obtained search warrants from the court house for 124 Pleasant Street. Jennifer, GPD, and the Attorney General’s office, gained access into the property to conduct an inspection to assess and violations of the State Sanitary Code. Any and all violations were identified and pictures were taken. Board members have been provided the pictures that were taken at the above property, the property owner was notified of the violations. The Attorney General’s office and the Director of the Board of Health, Jennifer, will proceed with court proceedings to have the judge identify and put in place a receiver for the property. The receiver will fix the property and then be able to sell the property. 142 Pleasant Street was identified by the Attorney General’s office because there is a history with this property owner of not complying with any orders that has been put before him. Mayor Hawke wanted to attend this meeting but was unable, so the Mayor sent a letter for the board to read regarding this property and owner. Per the letter, the Mayor identifies Alfred Fraumeni as having a long history of not complying with orders to correct the issues and violations of the property that need to be corrected. Based on the letter that Alfred Fraumeni received from the Board of Health, Alfred requested a hearing before the board, but he did not identify his reason for a hearing. The Attorney General’s office suggests that the board uphold the order from March 20th 2017 to correct all violations in seven days. The Board will give Alfred Fraumeni 48 hours to comply with the original order dated March 20, 2017. Which ordered him to correct all violations within seven days. The Attorney General’s office will then continue with court proceedings to have a judge put a receiver in place for the property. The pictures before the board show the disrepair as well as the vandalism of the property. The property has also become an illegal dumping ground. These factors have made the property a potential hazard to the public. Alfred Fraumeni was notified of the meetings date and time, Alfred did not show for the meeting. Jennifer answered questions from the board members: Q: The order letter that was given to Alfred Fraumeni gave him how many days to comply? A: A letter was sent to Alfred Fraumeni in March giving him seven days to correct the violations that were identified on the property. Q: Are there water pipes in the building? A: There are no water pipes in the building.  Q: Has the building been deemed uninhabitable? A: The building department has not condemned the building or deemed it structurally unsound at this point. However, in 2014 the Attorney General’s Office deemed the property uninhabitable. Q: Are we being asked to review and uphold the existing order? A: Because Alfred Fraumeni did not come to the meeting, it is unclear why he wanted to go before the board. Not sure if he wanted an extension to the order or to dispute what he thinks the conditions are of the property. Motion was made by the board to act in accordance with the recommendation of the Attorney General’s office. Giving Alfred Fraumeni the 48 hours’ notice to comply with the original order from March 20th 2017 to correct the violations within seven days. Motion passes 3-0. Jennifer will notify Alfred Fraumeni by regular and certified mail of the board’s decision. 5:40 Old Business: Housing initiative for 59 Lemay Street, Last month the judge ordered the house into receivership. Someone has been looking around the property but Jennifer has not been notified that a receiver has been put into place. Once someone is, they will make the corrections and then they will put the property on the market for sale. Smoke Shops: Burkes Market has not said anything more about putting in a smoke shop. 5:45 New Business: Anything new with the edible Marijuana? No updates on this. Board wanted to know about mosquito and tick issues. Jennifer reported that there is a new breed of ticks. The new ticks are much worse and they could be deadly, they are least resistant to the medications offered once someone has been infected. Jennifer will provide notifications to the residents about the tick issue. Jennifer reported to the board that Central Mass. Mosquito Control has started up in the City identifying the locations where they will need to spray. Jennifer informed the board that there is gentleman, Adam Jankauskas, who owns and operates City Compost (a business that is not licensed by the city) operating illegally in the city. He would like a contract through the City to pick up resident’s food scraps. He is also reaching out to residents privately. He is not a licensed hauler in our city. Jennifer has concerns that once he collects the food scraps how will he store the scraps until he can get them to a compost site in Orange. How is it going with Waste Management? There have been some issues, Jennifer reported that they will be coming in for a meeting on June 8th 2017. A woman in town would like to breed crickets on Barthel Ave. They would be put into a deep freeze which will put them into hibernation and then they will die. She would then sell them to a manufacturer who will turn them into cricket flour. Jennifer reached out to the State Department of Public Health, there is nothing they can do. Department of Agriculture put Jennifer in contact with the “Bug People” in the Department of Agriculture. There are some federal guide lines, there are only certain breeds of crickets that can be used for breeding. There are laws and permits that have to be acquired from the Federal Government if she is shipping them out of state. The board of health has no regulatory authority or jurisdiction over this at this time. Because it is a residential neighborhood, the woman will have to go through the zoning board for allowance of a business in a residential neighborhood. Jennifer reported that she observed 3 percolations test on Saunders Street. 6:00 Meeting Adjourn. Recording proceedings were preserved and are available upon request. ________________________ _______________________ _________________________ Dr. John Mulqueen, Chairperson Susan Avallone, Member Atty. Geoffrey Tobia, Member All conversations are documented on recording identified as B.O.H July 24, 2017