Board of Health

CITY OF GARDNER OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH 95 PLEASANT ST, ROOM 29 GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS 01440-2630 Members Present: Micah Blondeau – Agent for the Board of Health Susan Avallone, RN – Chairperson Geoff Tobia, Esq. – Member Absent: Dr. Michele Parker - Member Attendees Present: ANGELA DIPRIMA-ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH ERIC BABIN-HEALTH INSPECTOR JODIE BRIGHENTI-LEOMINSTER TOBACCO CONTROL ALLIANCE CHIRUTA PATEL-A-1 OWNER MIA RODRIGUEZ-A-1 CLERK KEVIN LARSON, ESQ-A-1 MART MELANIE ERASIAU-MANAGER, ELDORADO CANYON PROP., LLC ARA ERASIAN, JR-AGENT, ELDERADO CANYON PROP., LLC Board of Health meeting held August 21, 2023 ________________________________________________________________________________ 4:35 Meeting called to order. 4:35 The minutes from 7/17/23 are approved and signed as well as the minutes from 9/26/22. Motion approved to appoint Micah Blondeau as the Agent of the Board. 4:38 First Hearing is the Tobacco Violation for A-1 Mart. Jodie Brighenti of Leominster Tobacco Control Alliance speaking for the city: On June 6, 2023 there was an inspection conducted at A-1 Mart on West Street in Gardner and at that time a flavored product was found. The highlighted portion of this violation it shows “offering for sale a flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer” and “failure to maintain a record of the documentation” and that is regarding the fact that Green Game is a flavored product and there is no documentation stating that it’s not flavored. It also goes on to list previous violations. This visit on the 6th was a follow-up visit for a violation that occurred on the 1/11/23 which at that time there was a flavored product in the store. The violation is a $2,000 fine and a 7-Day Permit Suspension. The permit suspension was set for July 7th which was postponed because the owner requested a hearing regarding this violation. The violation report indicated that the distributor delivered the incorrect product, and the process is to bag it, date it, put it where inaccessible and contact the distributor for it to be returned. They were placed in a Game Green Sweets box. The product front-facing was an allowable product with the others behind it. Attorney Larson, representing A-1 and, Ms. Patel, presented the following statements regarding his clients situation. Ms. Patel on 5/29/23 made an order to the distributor and on 6/1/23 the distributor made the delivery. The invoice dated 6/1/23 shows the delivery on that day. She stated she ordered the Green “Sweets” which are permissible to be sold. The distributor indicated on the invoice that one package of the game green sweet was being delivered on that particular day. My client indicates she wasn’t at the store at the time of delivery and the employee was. A customer came in before my client had noticed and purchased one of the impermissible  packages which is why one of the Game Green packages was missing. She (employer) did in fact sell an impermissible cigar, not realizing they weren’t the same because they look so similar. When my client came in later that day, she immediately noticed these were not the appropriate cigars. So contacted the distributor by phone and from her call record that she called the distributor in Chicopee at 3:54 PM on 6/1/23. They (distributor) only come around every seven days, so they couldn’t pick up the items until 6/7/23. My client informs me she took the item into the back room. However, she had put them back under the counter on 6/6/23 so when the distributor came to the store the employee could give them to the distributor and she did have a note on them. The Inspector has a photo with the note on it indicating a reminder “not for sale”. So, by protocol my client had put them there to be picked up on 6/7/23. We have the invoice dated the 7th indicating the exchange of the Green to the Green “Sweet”. After review, the board approved the motion to keep the $2,000 fine in effect, and to lower the 7-Day Permit Suspension to a 1-Day permit suspension which will take place on Friday, August 25, 2023. There have been two violations in the past six months, the third violation is a $5,000 fine and a 30-Day Suspension. Eldorado Canyon Properties Violation Hearing (39 Graham St): On 6/20/23 the Health Department received a phone call regarding the property at 39 Graham St and an accumulation of trash, as well as odors and flies, coming from bags stored outside of the property. Angela and Eric went to the property and a violation letter was written as a result of the inspection, which also included the grass being over 12” which is overgrowth. Eric went to the property again on 8/21/23 and there were open bags of garbage, a strong odor, and flies still on the property. Other parts of the property were still in violation. There was also an obstruction to the side egress. Eldorado Canyon Properties LLC is listed as the most recent property owners which was confirmed through the city property cards as well as the Worcester County Registry of Deeds. Eldorado’s representatives indicated that ownership of the property is currently in dispute in land court, and that the other party to the dispute is alleging that Eldorado would be trespassing if they enter onto the property in order to attempt any type of cleanup or correction of the violation. A motion was approved by the Board for the City of Gardner to clean the property and attach a lien to the property for the cost of abatement. 5:17 Old Business: The landfill leachate pumps need to have sediment removed from sump pumps. We have one active quote and are soliciting at least two more quotes to get approval for the project. Micah met with Safety Clean last week and we should have a quote by the end of this week, as well as working on one other quote to get the project going. Erosion control project we believe this will be less than $10,000 and the Environmental Consultant gave us the name of a company to move forward. Mowing was delayed a few weeks due to the weather and will be rescheduled. The Transfer Station has some safety issues to look at like the steps going up to the open container. Micah will be meeting with DPW to try and formulate a plan, along with getting the parking lot paved. The water pools in which can turn to ice in the winter. At the last meeting Eric and Angela were scheduled for housing court Housing Court to have the owner correct some significant violations. An agreement was made with the housing specialist and Attorney John Flick and the property owner is having trouble  getting a contractor who can complete the work in the times outlined in the agreement, she is giving Angela regular updates. 5:21 New Business: Haitian Migrants-On July 27th, MA Department of Public Health notified our office that nine migrant families had been placed in an area hotel and would need coordination of services. Our office coordinated with the CAC to provide emergency food and bottled water for the families. On 8/1/23 a Public Safety inspection was done at the hotel with the Building Commissioner, Fire Department, Police Department and Health Department to identify any safety risks and to ensure the hotel is up to code. There was also a discussion about potential issues that may arise while the hotel is being used as a temporary shelter. Currently, to our knowledge, there are 34 families housed in the hotel. The State has booked all 45 rooms at least through 12/31/23 for use as a migrant shelter. And the expectation is to continue rotating through as they’re working on their Immigration and Asylum status. We have the Gardner CAC and COA together with some of the migrant families preparing meals at the COA kitchen and delivering those meals a few times a week at the hotel. The COA and CAC are coordinating a community education meeting and meal this week at the COA with transportation being donated and provided by MART. The CAC, CHC, COA and BOH met on 8/9/23 to discuss migrants’ access to health care services and gathering pre-registration information for the families with the help of interpreters. As the migrants do not speak English, the CHC, Heywood Hospital and GFD would like to have some basic information in case of a medical event. The CHC is having a school physical and vaccination clinic this week at the Connors St. location. CAC & COA are working to coordinate transportation with MART for this event too. MOC will be taking on the role of Direct Site Provider for the migrants starting on 9/1/23 and will then take over the coordination of services. The food service areas have been inspected as well as working together regarding additional trash services to prevent overflow. Local Upgrade Approvals for septic systems previously came through the Board, in most towns the board would be made aware if there were a variance of the code. It will continue this way going forward so that the documentation is listed as well as the meeting minutes to support it. Prevention Coordinator Updates: Gardner National Night Out was on 8/3/23, this was coordinated by Veronika Patty and had over 60 resource tables. It was a successful and well-attended event. On 8/31/23 there will be a National Overdose Awareness Day event at Monument Park followed by the Candlelight Vigil being held at City Hall. September is recovery month, and Veronika is working with Alyssa’s Place planning a community event. Veronika is also currently planning the Annual Prevention Conference for October and will also be hosting a regional Faith Conference with many area churches in collaboration with Voices of Truth. October is Domestic Violence Month, and she will be working on some related events.  Lithuanian Club beach was closed on 8/10/23 due to high E. Coli levels, the beach was able to be reopened the following week after additional testing came back within limits. 5:38 Next meeting: Monday September 25, 2023 at 4:30 PM here at Gardner City Hall in the Mayor’s Conference Room; adjourn. ____________________________ __________________________ ____________________________ Susan Avallone RN, Chairperson Atty. Geoffrey Tobia, Member Michele C. Parker MD, Member All conversations are documented on recordings identified as BOH August 21, 2023 Meeting.