Board of Health

Approved 3/19/2020 BOARD OF HEALTH ` BOROUGH OF TENAFLY, NEW JERSEY BOARD MEETING, January 16, 2020 The meeting of the Board of Health was held on the above date. Mr. Howard Bader, 2019 Board of Health President, read the Board’s compliance with the Open Public Meeting Law and called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The following members were present: Howard Bader Dr. Etta Frankel Maria Xylas Mark Alvarez Absent: Dr. Daniel Feit Dr. Michael Basista Berton Greenberg Also present: Mayor Mark Zinna Councilwoman Lauren Dayton Councilwoman Julie O’Connor Sam Yanovich, Health Officer Ruby Parra, Registered Environmental Health Specialist Valerie Nicolosi, Board of Health Secretary OATH OF OFFICE Maria Xylas read her Oath of Office into the record as a Member of the Tenafly Board of Health. Councilwoman Dayton introduced Councilwoman O’Connor who will be appointed shortly as the council liaison to the Board of Health. ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 2020 Nominations for President: A motion was made and seconded to nominate Mr. Howard Bader as President of the Tenafly Board of Health. There being no further nominations, the nominations were closed. A voice vote carried the motion unanimously. Mr. Bader is the President of the 2020 Tenafly Board of Health. Nominations for Vice President: A motion was made and seconded to nominate Dr. Etta Frankel as Vice President of the Tenafly Board of Health. There being no further nominations, the nominations were closed. A voice vote carried unanimously. Dr. Frankel is the Vice President of the 2020 Tenafly Board of Health. Appointment of Secretary to the Board: A motion was made and seconded to appoint Mrs. Valerie Nicolosi as the Secretary to the Board of Health. A voice vote carried unanimously. Mrs. Nicolosi is the Secretary to the 2020 Tenafly Board of Health. Mayor Zinna thanked all board members and professionals for their service to the Tenafly Board of Health. Approved 3/19/2020 Tenafly Board of Health January 16, 2020 Page 2 A motion was made to approve the minutes of November 7, 2019. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor; none were opposed. OLD BUSINESS Mrs. Nicolosi gave a brief overview of the 2020 Budget which was submitted to the Mayor & Council for approval. Board members had previously received a copy of the budget for review. After a brief discussion, a motion was made and seconded to approve the proposed 2020 Board of Health budget and one-year contracts for HARP (Hackensack Awareness Regional Program), Mid- Bergen Regional Health Commission and Cooper Pest Solutions. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor: none were opposed. NEW BUSINESS A discussion ensued regarding having the local CVS hold a clinic in Tenafly to give residents several vaccines administered by a licensed pharmacist, trained and certified by the state including quadrivalent flu, high dose flu, pneumonia 23 (Pneumovax), Pneumonia 13 (Prevnar), Shingrix and TDAP. Medicare is accepted and other insurances may or are likely to be accepted as well. Insurances will be checked on site at the time of the clinic, billed to insurance, if satisfactory to involved parties. More vaccines would be available to more people and there would be no cost to Tenafly. Councilwoman Dayton indicated that the Borough cannot be involved in advertising and marketing services for any pharmacy and this program would have to be open to any pharmacy chain. Mid-Bergen and HARP provide the flu clinic as part of each respective contracts. Mr. Yanovich will check to see if there was a possibility of running insurance for people in addition to Medicare. REPORTS OF STAFF Mr. Sam Yanovich, Health Officer, reviewed his January 2019 report. Board members had received this report via email. Influenza 2020 Influenza activity is “high” throughout the State according to the most recent New Jersey Department of Health Respiratory Virus Report available from the week ending January 4, 2020. The B Strain remains the most predominant strain. A study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows the B virus kills proportionately more children than the A virus from 2010 to 2016. The number of children who have died this flu season in the U.S. is twice as high as the same time last year. Religious exemption bill S2173/A3838 This bill eliminating the religious exemptions to immunizations for schoolchildren passed the Assembly in December, but was defeated in the State Senate on January 15, 2020. The Senate may reintroduce a new version of the bill in the new legislature with more public hearings that will include doctors and scientists speaking to debunk opponents’ concerns. California, Mississippi, Maine and New York have already passed laws revoking religious-based exemptions. Approved 3/19/2020 Tenafly Board of Health January 16, 2020 Page 3 Salmonella outbreak Ninety-six (96) people have been sickened with salmonella, including twelve (12) people in New Jersey. The outbreak has been linked to a produce company from New Brunswick. The fruit mix program was not sold directly to consumers in stores but directly to institutions such as schools and long-term care facilities. Twenty-seven (27) people in eleven (11) states have been hospitalized. Vaping illness As of the end of the year, there were fifty-six (56) confirmed vaping-related illness cases in New Jersey and one (1) death. A study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse finds more teens are vaping marijuana and nicotine, but fewer are drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes. While teen vaping use has been steadily rising over the past few years, alcohol use among high school senior surveyed was 52% this past year, down from 73% in 2000. Councilman Dayton indicated that she wishes to propose a “no sale of vaping products” resolution at the Mayor & Council level. It was noted that the current smoking ordinance prohibits the sale of vaping products to those under twenty-one (21) years of age. Councilwoman Dayton also noted that the Mayor & Council may look to zone a particular lot in the borough which is presently zoned for medical/dental offices. There has been some rumor that a medical marijuana facility may seek to build in the Borough. Mrs. Nicolosi advised that Mayor & Council cannot “spot zone” the area in question. Mrs. Nicolosi noted that both the Planning Board and Board of Health recommended to the Mayor & Council that an ordinance be passed prohibiting the sale of marijuana in the Borough, which would also apply to vaping. The Mayor & Council have chosen not to enact such an ordinance. Further, if an application is submitted to the Planning Board prior to any approval of changing a zone, the “time of application” rule takes effect and the project cannot be halted. Ms. Parra, Registered Environmental Health Specialist, reviewed her report which covered November 6, 2019 – January 14, 2020. Many inspections were done at numerous food establishments. Eighteen (18) food establishments received satisfactory ratings. Five (5) food establishments received Conditional ratings. She conducted a spot check at Paulie’s Pizza as there were still issues at that establishment. Numerous summons have been issued. Councilman Dayton noted that the re-inspection fee ordinance will be forthcoming as the Board of Health is able to adopt its own ordinances. She would also like an ordinance to compel a food establishment to appear before the Board of Health if there are two (2) violations not remedied. Ms. Parra was asked to contact the owner of Paulie’s pizza and request they come to the next Board of Health meeting to explain the reasoning for not correcting problems. There were issues with the dumpster areas between Washington Street, Railroad Avenue, Riveredge Road, Clinton Avenue, County Road and Piermont Avenue. There were two (2) dog bites reported. Both animals were in a 10-day confinement. One dog was licensed; the other was not and the owner was issued a summons. Approved 3/19/2020 Tenafly Board of Health January 16, 2020 Page 4 Ms. Parra had received a complaint that a “choking prevention” poster was not posted on the premises of a local food establishment. Ms. Parra investigated the matter fully. There was a choking incident at the establishment over a year ago and the individual’s health declined. The case was never reported to the Board of Health. In order to mitigate the situation, a warning and explanatory letter was submitted to fifty-four (54) food establishments which prepare or sell packaged food on site. It was noted that there are posters in all the schools. Councilwoman O’Connor would like to see a 24 hour pharmacy in Tenafly. Mrs. Nicolosi indicated there may be a Borough ordinance restricting hours of operation in the Borough as the Planning Board has never permitted a 24 hour operation in the past. There are no 24 hour operating facilities in the borough. The Planning Board would likely review the zoning ordinance and recommend such a change to the Mayor & Council in order to pass an ordinance to permit this type of operation. The next meeting of the Board of Health is Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in the Richard D. Wilson Committee Room. A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor of the motion; none were opposed. Respectfully submitted, Valerie B. Nicolosi Board of Health Secretary