Board of Health

BOARD OF HEALTH ` BOROUGH OF TENAFLY, NEW JERSEY BOARD MEETING, June 17, 2021 The meeting of the Board of Health was held on the above date. Mr. Howard Bader, 2021 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. Borough Hall is closed to public meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual meeting was held via Zoom. The following members were present: Howard Bader Dr. Etta Frankel Dr. Michael Basista Berton Greenberg Member absent: Maria Xylas Mark Alvarez Also present: Councilwoman Julie O’Connor Sam Yanovich, Health Officer Ruby Parra, Registered Environmental Health Specialist Valerie Nicolosi, Board of Health Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of March 18, 2021. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor; none were opposed. OLD BUSINESS Mrs. Nicolosi reported that this would be her last meeting with the Board of Health as she will be retiring as of June 30, 2021, after eighteen (18) years with the Borough…a little over ten 10) years with the Board of Health. Mr. Omar Stovall will be taking over as Board of Health Secretary. Mrs. Nicolosi will be meeting with him to review all the tasks. All board members wished her a very happy retirement. Councilwoman O’Connor spoke about the tick situation in Tenafly. Mr. Yanovich had included some informative flyers in his report for the month. She would like to see information posted on the Borough website as well as an article in the next Borough newsletter. Mr. Yanovich will forward her additional information. She also thanked Mr. Bader and members of the Board of Health in their efforts to discuss the cannabis issue in Tenafly. She noted that the responses from the online survey were overwhelmingly against having any cannabis sales in Tenafly. She will keep the board posted on the developments with the issue. Tenafly Board of Health June 17, 2021 Page 2 NEW BUSINESS Two (2) additional people joined us this evening. Dr. Teresa Brevetti introduced herself to the board. She is an ophthalmologist and is eager to start serving on the Board of Health. Mrs. Nicolosi will speak with Mr. Stovall and Mayor Zinna to have a resolution appointing her to the board prior to the next meeting. Also in attendance was a “rising senior”, Gabrielle Beck. She is a student at Tenafly High School and is interested in health equity and the healthcare community. She would like to one day serve on the Board of Health. The board welcomed both women to the meeting tonight and encouraged participation. REPORTS OF STAFF Mr. Sam Yanovich, Health Officer, reviewed his June 2021 report. Board members had received this report via email. The percentage of Tenafly residents over the age of 18 that are fully vaccinated is now at 71%. The overall State vaccination rate was 54%. These calculations are based on individuals vaccinated only in New Jersey. Members would like to see any available information on those under the age of 18. Mr. Yanovich will provide this information to the board. The board discussed COVID-19 at length. Public awareness regarding ticks is important as the tick season ramps up in the warmer months. In his report, he included a link which contains information on how to submit a tick to a New York State lab for testing. The link is https://thangamani-lab.com/tick-submission. Mr. Yanovich’s full report is on file in the Health Office. Ms. Parra, Registered Environmental Health Specialist, reviewed her report which covered March 19, 2021-June 15, 2021. Many inspections were done at numerous food establishments. Eleven (11) food establishments received satisfactory ratings. Two (2) food establishments received conditional ratings and she did inspections on four (4) food trucks for Lacrosse Day. Spot checks were done at eleven (11) food establishments. Four (4) pools were inspected and deemed satisfactory. She noted that there were four (4) issues with animal bites. She also addressed numerous complaints filed with her office. Ms. Parra’s full report is on file in the Health Office. The next meeting of the Board of Health is Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 8:22 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