Board of Health

BOH MEETING MINUTES 06-08-2021 Attending via TEAMS Conference Call Call # 1 617-433-9462, Conference ID: 307 736 343# Joseph Tennyson, MD, Chair Jim Griffin, Vice-Chair Phillip Short, Member - Absent Also in attendance: Director John Garside and Clerk Tina Nolin Meeting called to order 6:30 pm Reading and Approval of Minutes • Minutes for May 3, 2021 meeting: Chair Tennyson motioned to approve the minutes, citing a typo to be corrected on page 1, and then place them on file. Vice-Chair Griffin seconded the motion; Board roll call vote was 2-0 to approve the motion. New Business • Discussion & Update of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Director Garside updated the Board on the recent activities of the Health Department regarding COVID-19. - Cases update: There are currently five active cases in the city, only two new cases over the last five days. In the Marlborough Public Schools, there is only one active case at the High School. There are no contacts and no one in quarantine in the Marlborough Public Schools. There are no cases at either AMSA or Assabet High School. - Testing update: Marlborough Hospital is conducting their “Stop the Spread” testing at the hospital now rather than at the New England Sports Center, where they had been for many months. They plan to continue running the testing program through September 30th. They conducted 533 tests last week, which was a short week due to the holiday. They are operating Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. The days and times may be modified over the summer due to demand. - AFC Urgent Care is no longer participating in the “Stop the Spread” testing. “Stop the Spread” testing continues in both Worcester and Framingham. While there are other places to get tested in Marlborough, there are two free “Stop the Spread” sites. We continue to have at the Marlborough Board of Health free PCR home test kits for the public, we have been putting the word out, and we will continue to promote them through Facebook, the website, and other avenues going forward. Testing appears to have slowed down overall and is more limited to travel and event needs. - Vaccine update: Courtyard Marriott administered 705 doses of COVID-19 vaccine last week, which consisted of only four clinic days due to the holiday. 312 (44%) of the doses were to Marlborough residents. On May 7th, the Department held a 30 dose clinic at the Boys and Girls Club on Pleasant Street. We advertised through social media, and the Ambassadors went door to door with fliers through the French Hill neighborhood a few days before the event. It required a lot of effort to give 40 doses (30 J&J and 10 Moderna), which shows that a lot of people have gotten the vaccine,  Board of Health Minutes June 8, 2021 p2 but also how challenging it can be to get people who have not already decided to get the vaccine over the hurdle and get them to go to a vaccination site. The Hospital’s Community Health Division gave 132 vaccine doses at a second dose clinic at the Bethel Presbyterian Church. In addition, Marlborough Hospital vaccinated 300 Middle Schoolers and 75 High Schoolers at clinics held on May 25th; their second dose clinic will be held in a couple of weeks – before school is out for the summer. The Department was on hand to pass out shirts and wristbands at the event, which seemed to go over well with the students. Counting this event and other places where Marlborough Public School students have gotten vaccinated, 56% of the Highschool Students have received at least one vaccine dose, and 54% of the Middle Schoolers have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Health Department also gave 40 in-home vaccinations last month through the Home Bound Program. Overall, 65% of Marlborough residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 52% are fully vaccinated. Community Outreach Work The Department produced a Direct Mail piece that went to every household and business in the community. The mailer was in three languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese) and advertised the Courtyard Clinic. The Department also placed brochures into 250 businesses and our larger residential complexes throughout the city to display at POS, break rooms, laundries, etc. The brochure advertised the benefits of getting the vaccine and where to get the vaccine –highlighting the Courtyard Marriott site and mentioning a half dozen or so other providers in the city. Shirts, wristbands, masks, and sanitizer continue to be provided as parting gifts at clinics and busy storefronts. Staff are currently creating new pamphlets for when the Courtyard Marriott Clinic site closes. There is still a need to get vaccine information out, including about why to get vaccinated and the providers who offer it. Director’s Update Quest Labs has completed the second round of TB testing regarding the exposure that occurred at Richer Schools. Eleven of the 12 students have now had both rounds of testing and have come back with negative results. There is one more student who will be tested at their primary care physician’s office. So we still have to hear on that final one. The Department has begun to switch gears back to our regular non-COVID duties, including food inspections (which have been running in the background of COVID this past year and a half), pool and camp inspections, beach testing, etc. With the lifting of restrictions, except for a few best-practice advisories, places are looking to re-open. In addition, we anticipate getting busier with housing issues as the Federal moratorium on evictions comes to an end. Mosquito season is here, and we are in the third year of what is typically a three-year EEE cycle. To date, the Central Mass Mosquito Control Program has been performing ditch maintenance larviciding, and next week they will be starting to test mosquitos. West Nile has been quiet for the last couple of years, but we will see how that goes this summer.  Board of Health Minutes June 8, 2021 p3 The new sewer ordinance, which has gone to City Council and will go back to City Council later on, along with a public hearing, addresses the issue that Marlborough has put in sewer lines that are expensive to keep and maintain and are even more so if they go unused and user fees are not being paid on them. Therefore, the proposed ordinance requires connection to the sewer when a home is sold if there is a sewer line in the street of the existing property or there is a failing title 5 inspection, or the homeowner wants to expand their property’s septic system. In addition, as new sewer lines are laid, then residents would be required to hook up within five years from the date of installation of a new or replacement of a private disposal system unless the property does not work with the sewer lines (for example, due to grade of property). City Council President, Michael Ossing, explained that the Board Chair was correct the ordinance will allow the city to recoup the cost of laying the sewer and maintaining it. He also explained that according to the city engineer, there are 700 people left to be hooked up to the city’s sewer system. Four hundred twenty-five of them currently have access to the sewer system but have not hooked up. Subdivision Site Plan & Special Permit Reviews The Director showed the two new housing/commercial projects for the Marlborough Village District. One, 57 Main St (formerly Rowe Funeral Home), was approved back in 2019. Changes occurring since then are the decision to cut back on the retail space and add more apartments. Most of these additional units will be one-bedroom, and the average overall size of units went from 1200 to 1000 sq ft, thus keeping the overall footprint the same as previously approved. There is also a minor change to the garage entrance off of Exchange Street. Parking is on the first floor underground. The other project is for 28 South Bolton St. This project consists of all rental units with parking underground and some commercial space. The latest overall look of the structure has been softened with a curtain look. Unknown Business at Time of Posting There was no unknown business Scheduling of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Board will be on Monday, July 12th, at 6:30 pm. Attendance will be in person at City Hall in the Council Committee Room. ADJOURN Vice-chair Griffin motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:21 pm; Chairman Tennyson seconded the motion; the roll call vote was 3-0 in favor to adjourn. Respectfully submitted, July 12, 2021 Dr. Joseph Tennyson Dated Cc: Board of Health Members City Council, City Clerk, and City of Marlborough Website