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: Lauren Saunders – Assistant Health Director Dr. John Mulqueen, Chairperson Susan Avallone, Member Atty. Geoffrey Tobia, Member Minutes for Board of Health meeting held on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 __________________________________________________________________________________ 5:20 Meeting called to order. 5:22 Minutes from the February 25, 2019 and March 25, 2019 meeting were reviewed, discussed, approved and signed. 5:25 New Business: Jennifer Susen-Roy is no longer an Agent of the Board and is no longer the Director of Public Health. The Board of Health members unanimously appoint Lauren Saunders, Assistant Director of Public Health as an Agent of the Board. The Board asks Lauren if there is any training or assistance that she needs to do to perform her job. Lauren states that she will be working to obtain her certification for Soil Percolation & Septic Inspections from the State, the current spring class is full. The next class will be in November and registration is not open yet. Lauren has reached out to Steve Curry, Fitchburg’s Health Director, to discuss the septic issue and he has offered her assistance in the interim. Lauren suggests that until she completes her State certification, a certified inspector from Fitchburg can accompany her to inspections to oversee her. Both Gardner and Fitchburg belong to Montachusett Public Health Network. The Board discussed this and agreed to approve this plan with the understanding that Lauren will always perform these with a certified inspector present at all times. Board will verify with the City Solicitor that there are no issues with this arrangement. Lauren is also working toward learning more about MUNIS, the City’s municipal payment system, and she is working with the City Auditor and the Administrative Coordinator in the BOH to make sure that all of the financial accounts are being kept current. Lauren is also learning more about the Substance Abuse Prevention grants from LUK and is working toward gaining all needed access on the State websites that she will use to oversee these grants. 5:46 Old Business: Tobacco Control Alliance issued tobacco violation citations in March on 5 Gardner merchants; Honey Land Farms, BP Oil, South Gardner Mini Mart where cited on 3/8/19 and Beauregard’s Package Store and Family Dollar were cited on 3/11/19. The fines are all paid with the exception of Family Dollar but Lauren has been in contact and they are forwarding payment now. Due to administrative delays, a letter was sent out stating that the 3-day suspensions were being waived but clearly state that another violation in the next 24 months will result in a 30-day suspension and a $300 fine. Content and revisions to the letter were discussed and the revised letters will be sent out shortly. 5:57 New Business: Main Street Tattoo issues: An allegation of someone performing tattooing without a license was made against Main Street Tattoo. Lauren did an inspection on 4/18/19 which was unremarkable. She has also been gathering information from both the complaining party and the owners of the shop, she shared this information with the Board. The Board had a discussion about what steps they should take next and they decided that they would like to review the consent form records of Main Street Tattoo for the past 6 months. They will also call Eugene Guerra, the owner of Main Street Tattoo, before the Board at the May 13, 2019 meeting. 6:15 Set next meeting for May 13, 2019, at 5pm, adjourn. ________________________ _______________________ _________________________ Dr. John Mulqueen MD, Chairperson Susan Avallone, Member Atty. Geoffrey Tobia, Member All conversations are documented on recording identified as B.O.H April 24, 2019.