Board of Health

CITY OF GARDNER OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH 95 PLEASANT ST, ROOM 29 GARDNER, MASSACHUSETFS 01440-2630 Members Present: Geoff Tobia, Esq. Member - Dr. Michele Parker Member — Micah Blondeau-Agent for the Board of Health Absent: Susan Avallone, RN — Chairperson Attendees Present: Board of Health meeting held June 17, 2024 4:30 Meeting called to order. 4:31 The minutes from April 22, 2024 were approved and will be signed off at the next meeting. The minutes from May 20, 2024 were approved. 4:32 Health Department Updates: For prevention with Veronika, there was a pre-prom event at Gardner High School. There was Morgan’s Message Games at Oakmont which was a student lead event focusing on student athlete mental health and suicide prevention. There was a Drug Story Theater performance at Gardner Academy for substance use prevention and education. She has a GCAT CHAT with Heywood Wakefield Commons coming up. We’re also working on finalizing the plans for the National Night Out Event being held on August 8th Instead of pizza in previous years, the Senior Center will be serving burgers and hotdogs. There will be free haircuts for kids as well as a trackless train. She’s also started planning Fall events such as a Domestic Violence Vigil, the AED 10-year anniversary event, a prevention conference, Project Redemption at Alyssa’s Place, and Ripple Effect Centers. For the Landfill/Transfer Station and solid waste, Micah just finished up the annual Grant application for the recycling dividends program. The criteria changed a little so the amount might lessen from previous years by a few thousand dollars. This year Micah is going to be working on qualifying for the new categories. There’s a category where we can put out more information in multiple languages. We can have reduced fees for the transfer station. Or if somebody’s having a hardship or for elderly, we can either do a free or reduced Transportation Pass. We’re also working on trying to coordinate with neighboring towns to do more Household Hazardous Waste collection days. Right now, we do two, if we can do more than that in conjunction with other towns we’ll qualify for more points. We also want to increase enforcement on curbside recycling, just because we do still have a lot of issues with things going in recycling bins that shouldn’t be in there. Micah finished up a Grant application to start a swap shop at the Transfer Station. If received, we’ll need to create some guidelines and procedures. The Grant would be for up to $6,000 for a container or shed for items that might still be of use to someone else. At the landfill, starting this year, we were required to test at a lower detectable limit for 1-4 Dioxane. We did our first test with the new lower limits in April and the test results came back as exceeding the new lower limits. We did a resampling last week and are waiting on the results and send those off to DEP and coordinate from them as far as if and what we would need to do for those results. Ve received the scope of work needed for the erosion repairs at the landfill. We’ll begin calling for quotes to hopefully begin work in the Fall. Micah’s also making a list of Transfer Station price comparisons with neighboring and similar towns. Looking at fees for stickers, load and item pricing. A list will be put together for the next meeting as far as what we’re charging now versus some of the surrounding towns. For housing and nuisance, we’ve received 25 new trash and property complaints since the last meeting. About 30 open cases, that’s to be expected this time of year. Since the last meeting we’ve conducted 10 new housing complaints for the sanitary housing code, and we have about 20 cases open. We also did a routine inspection at the Super Eight Motel today, and everything looked pretty good. They also have a copy of the inspection that the state recently did. Starting July 1” it will be more in control of MOC as opposed to the owner. We are coordinating with MOC on outstanding issues. For food, there was a Relay for Life on June 81h with six food vendors in attendance. The Farmers Market started on Saturday; they had six food vendors in attendance. We have the Food Truck Festival coming up on July 13”. It’s being coordinated by Mark Gallant of Voo Trucks who runs a licensed food establishment that almost all those trucks are using as their commissary kitchen. There were two unrelated foodborne illness complaints, they were both due to Campylobacter. The establishments investigated were in compliance and there were no connections between the cases found. Eddie is up to full speed and is doing full inspections on his own now. He and Angela combined for 29 inspections since the last Board of Health meeting. Last week there were quite a few different emergencies and shutdowns. One accidental fire suppression system discharge, an exterior lire caused by a cigarette that ended up impacting the restaurants bathrooms. We had one restaurant doing renovations without any protection for the food or the food area or building permits. Then we had one establishment when we did our routine inspection, we found their refrigeration equipment was not holding temperature, we had them throw out products. Last year the Massachusetts Department of Public Health started launching performance standards for Public Health for all employees, which is linked to a larger Grant so we’re working to make sure we’re as compliant as can be with the new standards and taking online trainings. There’s now a course for Food and a state course for Housing that they’ll want inspectors taking.  There’s a proposed City Ordinance Amendment for the formation of an Agricultural Commission that Micah did write a letter in support of. The Commission would oversee future Farmers Markets. The 400 Matthews Street variance that we extended in January is expiring as of July flt Micah did a bed bottom inspection, and they have most of the system components in. They should have a working septic system in the next couple of weeks. The sand and the piping are in, and he’ll just need to cover it up and have the engineer inspect. Then Micah will do his last inspection and we’ll be able to sign off. 4:58 Next meeting: Monday, July 22, 2024 at 4:30 PM here at Gardner City Hall in the Hubbard Conference Room-Annex Building, Room 203; adjourn. Susan Avallone RN, Chairperson obia, Miiiier Michele C. Parkcr MD, Member All conversations are documen n rdings identified as BOH June 17, 2024 Meeting.