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 - Dr. Michele Parker Member — Absent: Attendees Present: Board of Health meeting held April 22, 2024 4:31 Meeting called to order. 4:31 The minutes from February 26, 2024 and March 25, 2024 were reviewed and approved. 4:33 Old Business: The Weliness Fair was last week and was well-attended. There were close to 70 vendors. The High SchoollAlternative School will be hosting a Health Fair on April 24h• A Paw Walk Fundraiser with GDTV will be held this Saturday, April 27th• Veronika is in the stages of planning the National Night Out for August 6. Micah met with the environmental consulting firm to look at the exact areas that are going to need to be repaired. It looks like it’s going to be a lot more than what’s been requested in the budget. There’s one area of erosion that wasn’t included in the report to repair, but it is going to be a problem down the line. The letdown channels you see on the hill, there’s a big rock and channels going down, that’s supposed to guide everything down and come across. The one channel that was listed on the report to get prepared is the one that’s looks like it’s causing the water to be flowing through the Transfer Station lot. We’d like to get that looked at and then re-dig the whole drainage channel along the boundary to make the water go down stream instead of across the parking lot. Ve did attempt to fix one of the items, which was a water sampling well, that had some kind of rodent nesting material in it. When removed, we found out that the PVC pipe inside the well is snapped and we’re going to have to either dig down and figure out a way to fix it or re-dig the entire well. We’re waiting to see what DEP wants us to do. We’re hosting the ‘Keep Gardner Beautiful’ nip hunt/trash cleanup at the Transfer Station on May 4th• They have a little area there now with the container of their supplies and we’re going to have an extra container delivered for any trash items that they find without disrupting the normal Transfer Station operation.  Micah will be applying for some small grants to add some structures to the Transfer Station. They’re mainly for increasing recycling capacity, something to store house hazardous waste or to facilitate a swap shop. We’re still working on quotes regarding the stairs, they wouldn’t be covered under any grant money, as well as costs for a mobile office. Housing and Nuisance complaints have been coming in at an increasing rate. We’ve received 20 complaints since the last 8011 Meeting. If repeat offenders had been included in that number, it’d be even higher. We do have some cases that are difficult to resolve. There isn’t a specific focus on any particular recurring problems but we’re working on that as well as properties that have a lot of junk and trash build up. Angela has built new forms in OpenGov for Housing and Nuisance complaints which will help with better tracking. Angela has also added new online applications for septic plans and pere tests. Eddie Montgomery is our new Food Inspector, he’s still in the training process. Currently the department is inspecting food establishments at the minimum scale, which is twice a year. We’re going to be moving towards more of a risk-based calendar. Establishments will be inspected two, three or four times a year depending on their past performance, and risk factors like population served, complexity of menu, etc. so there will be some places that’ll have four or more inspections a year depending on how they do, and we’ll adjust that list as we get moving. One foodborne illness complaint was received. Two individuals ate together at an establishment and became ill 48 hours later, both have since recovered. The department followed up and inspected the establishment and found no concerns. There have been no other illnesses reported to the Health Department or the establishment. Food Truck Festival preparations are still on-going and are being coordinated through Woo Trucks. The day of the event, the Health Inspector will be doing inspections. 4:55 New Business: The resolution in support of Paint Stewardship Legislation. The Health Department was approached by one of the representatives trying to bring more attention to these regulations or proposed laws, the goal is that they can get more municipalities to support it. Board Members approved the motion recommending the City Council Members to review the information provided but made no specific recommendation in favor of or against the resolution. 5:10 Next meeting: Monday, May 20, 2024 at 4:30 PM here at Gardner City Hall in the Hubbard Conference Room; adjourn. / ‘7 Susan Avallone RN, Chairperson Michele C. Parker MD, Member All conversations are documented on recordings identified as BOH April 22, 2024 Meeting.