Board of Health

CITY OF SALEM BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING MINUTES September 10, 2019 MEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Kirby, Geraldine Yuhas, Datanis Elias, Sara Moore EXCUSED: Dr. Jeremy Schiller OTHERS PRESENT: David Greenbaum, Health Agent, Suzanne Darmody, Public Health Nurse, Maureen Davis, Clerk of the Board, Beth Gerard, City Council Liaison, Benjamin Fierro of Lynch & Fierro LLP, attorney for New View Addiction, Michael Meyer and Jennifer Burns, representatives for New View Addiction, Amy McKeehan, Brendan Murphy and Hilary Linihan, residents of the neighborhoods surrounding 1-3 E. Collins Street, Ada Rivera and Michelle Mazares-Monga, SSU students (observing the meeting) TOPIC DISCUSSION/ACTION 1. Call to Order 7:02pm G. Yuhas motioned to take the agenda out of order. S. Moore 2nd. All in favor. Motion passed. 2. Chairperson Communications P. Kirby chaired the meeting in J. Schiller’s absence. No specific communications at this time. We will visit the tobacco violations next meeting when Joyce Redford from NSCATAPP can attend. 3. Site Plan Review for 1-3 East Collins Street - New View P. Kirby stressed this is not a public hearing, but rather a site plan review. Addiction Rehabilitation & B. Fierro, attorney for New View Addiction, addressed the Board with Education Center specifics about the proposed facility. New View is a non-profit educational corporation whose educational mission is to assist individuals in the recovery from substance use disorder. In February New View received a letter of qualification from the Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Use Services. They found that the team put together was qualified for a license and there was a determination of need in the area. He said the license will be for a low-level, short-term, in-patient detox facility. There will be no outpatient services. Individuals will be there for two to six weeks and will not be allowed to have their own personal vehicles there. They are seeking a license for 45 individuals. This is a clinically managed detox in a non-medical setting which includes 24-hour per day supervision and support. This program will be dispensing methadone for those individuals for whom it is clinically appropriate. That is the only medication that will be dispensed. They are trying to get people off drugs. MAT (medically assisted treatment) has become very well- known and accepted. Sheriff Coppinger is now willingly incorporating it into his programing at the Essex County House of Correction. There will be 24-hour nursing staff and a medical director. A license has not yet been issued. All requirements of regulations and criteria from DPH must be met prior to obtaining a license. Although the Zoning Commission gave them zoning relief on the basis of non-profit educational use, they still have to comply with all other requirements. This will be an educational facility, not a medical facility although it is licensed by DPH. They submitted documents to the Conservation Commission and will also be working with DEP to ensure compliance. B. Fierro introduced Michael Meyer as the previous owner of the property and the developer of the facility and said he will also be active in the on- going program. B. Fierro next introduced Jennifer Burns who will be executive director of New View Addiction. She has a long history of work in substance abuse and recovery. She will be overseeing the operation. She is not a medical professional and that is why DPH requires a medical director. J. Burns introduced herself as a community psychologist and a faculty member for the alcohol and drug certificate program at two colleges. She has been involved in addiction recovery for over 20 years. She explained that community psychologists go into communities, assess the needs and meet the needs of the community by reducing barriers. Her most recent position was with the Methuen Police Department where she developed an initiative to address the opioid epidemic in the Methuen and Merrimack Valley areas. The model she created was a three-fold prevention program. She said it is a sustainable intervention, so police departments can apply for grants, etc. She followed up in hospitals with individuals who had overdosed and planted a seed and referred them to treatment. She went into schools and met with students at need. She met with parents and grandparents raising grandchildren. The opioid crisis is deteriorating our communities and educational systems. She has developed a curriculum based on her work with Leahy Behavioral Health and Spectrum Health Systems and she knows where some of the programs lack. She believes addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease and is a mental illness. New View Addiction will be a stepping stone for neuroplasticity or brain healing. Individuals will be connected with a recovery coach. Individuals will be referred to them by either the local police department, the individual themselves, the family, etc. There will be no section 35, or court-ordered, cases accepted. No one will be held against their will. P. Kirby asked D. Greenbaum to explain the Board’s role in the project. D. Greenbaum responded that, except for the kitchen, the City does not permit the facility. The permit is issued by DPH. We need information about DEP files, dust control, rodent control, etc. The same requirements as any other project. P. Kirby said any zoning issues are out of the Board’s purview. M. Meyer from New View Addiction said he has been a builder for 45 years and has built many restaurant kitchens and he is very familiar with what DPH requires. Asbestos abatement has been done. Still need to do a few things before they get the demo permit. D. Greenbaum cautioned him he will not sign off for a demo permit until all conditions are met. One of the conditions will be for them to submit plans for approval for the kitchen to make sure it complies with the food code. B. Fierro said we need to make sure the City’s requirements are consistent with those of DPH. D. Greenbaum said the food code is a federal code, so DPH will probably refer it to their food protection program for review. B. Gerard asked if DEP had any AUL (activity use limitations) for the property. Sometimes when properties are redeveloped there are AULs. D. Greenbaum asked if there is any contamination on the property that would limit its use. M. Meyer said soil testing was done three years ago and it came back clean. D. Greenbaum said he would like a copy of those findings. P. Kirby summarized submissions into the record; an email from Councilor  Mary Madore and a letter from Mary Knight, a resident of 5 E. Collins Street, voicing their concerns with having a treatment facility at the site. M. Meyer said what Councilor Madore was referring to was sober housing. New View Addiction is not a sober house. B. Gerard said a Brownfield site is a site that used to house a factory or other manufacturing facility and would likely be contaminated. D. Greenbaum said one of the conditions the Board can place on the project is to have the proponent conduct a 21E on the property to see what kind of activities took place there and if there is any contamination. P. Kirby said he would be interested to learn more about the black mold and flooding issues mentioned in the letter. M. Meyer said the flooding issue has been addressed and approved with the Conservation Commission. The ceiling tiles with black mold have been removed and an asbestos abatement has been performed. D. Greenbaum feels the Board should consider black mold as part of their conditions. B. Fierro said the property is not a Brownfield site and he is happy to provide the Board with any information they need. D. Greenbaum asked that the Board make a motion to give him the authority to pen a letter with an order of conditions to the proponent to be submitted to the Planning Board as part of their record. S. Moore said so moved. D. Elias 2nd. All in favor. Motion passed. 4. Approval of Minutes D. Elias motioned to approve the minutes. G. Yuhas 2nd. All in favor. (July 9, 2019) Motion passed. 5. Monthly Reports-Updates a. Public Health Nurse’s Report S. Darmody said she is doing a lot with the mother visiting program. She has attended several meetings and trainings and has shadowed a couple of times. The program is for any mom. There is no risk requirement. The child just has to be under a year old. There has been outreach to doctor’s offices, etc. She is anticipating a launch date of January 1st for her to start her visits. P. Kirby asked if the visits include screenings. S. Darmody said they screen both child and mom. The program is really mom-focused. It helps to determine whether moms have post-partum depression/anxiety and also provides an opportunity to connect them with resources for food and other needs. G. Yuhas said through St. Peter’s church there is a free laundry program at the laundromat in the Point neighborhood. Every Wednesday for three hours laundry is free. S. Darmody will make sure the moms are aware of the program. B. Gerard asked about EEE. D. Greenbaum said our region is at very low risk for both EEE and West Nile Virus. We have had no positive tests in mosquito pools. The nearest cases of EEE were in Boxford and West Newbury. The nearest case of West Nile Virus was in Lynn. If we do get any positive tests we will work with mosquito control to determine if we are going to spray and formulate a plan. Once we have a hard frost, that’s it for mosquitoes. We have been very lucky this season.  S. Darmody has been giving out a pamphlet from DPH about ticks and mosquitoes at the farmers market. She also printed out fact sheets on EEE specifically because it is such a topic of conversation. D. Greenbaum said with respect to mosquito safety some personal responsibility such as making sure there is no standing water on your property, wearing proper clothing, using repellent with DEET, etc. will go a long way. There is no cure for EEE. He said most people will recover from EEE, but about 30% will die from their symptoms. Mosquitoes kill more people than any other bug or animal in the world. Copy available at the BOH office. b. Health Agent’s Report P. Kirby asked about Laserfiche for public records and whether we thought it was something we thought will be helpful for the office. D. Greenbaum thinks it is a good thing, but initially it was difficult for us to find some of the files we needed. We can find it readily now. It will be helpful for public records requests. G. Yuhas asked about how we are registering Air BnB properties. D. Greenbaum explained the process of owner-occupied units obtaining a Certificate of Fitness from the Health Department and then registering online with the contracted registration company, Harmari. D. Greenbaum reported that he met a couple of times with Salem Hospital a couple of times. He met with Dr. Roberts, the President of NSMC, in July and he connected him with his team to work on efforts that we can collaborate on. They also met with the Family Resource Center so we are getting some of their upcoming events via our Facebook and Twitter. There is an opportunity there to have a relationship with the hospital that we haven’t had in the past. It’s a huge plus. He has also been working with Recycling Works and MA DEP with regard to the haulers. They will be planning an event, most likely in mid- November, for businesses, landlords and the haulers themselves to explain the regulation and make sure the haulers understand they have to offer mandatory recycling and also have a permit to haul in the City. The event will take place at the Annex. G. Yuhas suggested that she and possibly all of the Recycling Committee could attend. Copy available at the BOH office. c. Administrative Report P. Kirby asked what our sense the impact of the change in pop-up fees has had and how it has affected the workload. D. Greenbaum said there are definitely more pop-ups, which is good for the City. He does feel that for larger events that take up a lot of time the fees should be steeper to cover the increase in workload and inspections. We can have discussions about fees in the new year. Copy available at the BOH office. d. Council Liaison Updates B. Gerard reported the Council will be going for the second passage for affordable housing on municipal and religious buildings special permit on Thursday. There will also be discussion of the benefit of accessory dwelling units. The Planning Board will give their recommendations on Thursday. She wanted to acknowledge that Janice Orta has been phenomenal at responding to her constituents’ concerns about rats, especially those bordering Garden Terrace who were experiencing rat issues due to the  location of the dumpsters. Janice went out multiple times and took pictures in response to complaints. D. Greenbaum said he talked with John Boris from the Housing Authority and the dumpsters were supposed to be relocated to alleviate the problem. However, if the dumpsters continue to be left open and trash is left outside the problem will not be alleviated. He will work with the Housing Authority on those issues. He is looking forward to meeting the new Executive Director of the Housing Authority and hopes to set up a meeting with her to see if they can figure something out. B. Gerard wanted to remind everyone that the preliminary (non-partisan) elections are coming up next week on September 17th. Only wards 3 and 6 will have a preliminary for ward councilor, but every ward will have a preliminary for both At-Large and School Committee. She strongly encourages people to go out and vote. S. Moore suggested anyone who feels uninformed about the candidates should check with the League of Women Voters. It is an excellent resource. D. Greenbaum said Salem Patch has candidate profiles online. S. Moore motioned to approve the reports. G. Yuhas 2nd. All in favor. Motion passed. 6. New Business/Scheduling of Future We will be addressing tobacco issues at the next meeting and Joyce Agenda Items Redford from NSCATAPP will join us. P. Kirby asked about updates for the body art regulations. D. Greenbaum said NEHA will be putting out model regulations in winter of 2019. He spoke to Sharon in Peabody and they decided it would be best to wait for the model regulation to come out and then share it with our practitioners to see if they had any recommendations. We could then use their recommendations and the model regulation to fashion a new regulation to encompass all the new technologies in the industry. MEETING ADJOURNED: G. Yuhas motioned to adjourn. S. Moore 2nd. All in favor. Motion passed. 8:28pm Respectfully submitted, Maureen Davis Clerk of the Board Next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, October 7, 2019 at 7:00pm At City Hall Annex, 98 Washington Street, 1st Floor, Salem, MA