Board of Health

TOWN OF WINTHROP BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING, REMOTE PARTICIPATION BY ZOOM MARCH 9, 2021 CALL TO ORDER: 6:32 pm ROLL CALL: Bill Schmidt, Chair , Astrid Weins, Vice Chair , Marianne Dalton, Member ATTTENDING: Rob Demarco, Kelly Parker, Courthey Furno, Phil Lundberg, Marissa Ferrara, Kelly Parker, Megan Noonan, Max Devlin, Kurt Millar, Keith Millar, Shannon Poulos, Matt Johannesen, Julie Barry, Carla Vitale, Karin Chavis PUBLIC COMMENT: Councillor Rob Demarco: commends Keith Millar, of Seaside Tattoo, on his state-of-the-art facility. $3 Car Wash issue: Councillor Demarco has discussed with proprietor, would like consideration for relaxing social distancing at vacuums to alleviate line of cars extending into traffic on Main St. This is in response to the dropping infection rates here in Winthrop. Kathleen Cappuccio: thanking the Board for consideration on opening up Walden St Courts. REVIEW OF MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 2021: approved unanimously 3-0. PUBLIC HEARING: BODY ART REGULATIONS: @6:54 pm. Comment on draft of Body Art regulations, posted on BOH town website. Keith Millar, proprietor Seaside Tattoo: voiced approval. Justin Kopec, proprietor Justink Tattoo: voiced unqualified support for regulations as they are. Carla Vitale: asks that the proprietor of Star Nails be sent a copy of the Body Art regulations draft for review. Bill Schmidt will ensure this is done. Public hearing closed 6:59 pm. PAST BUSINESS: Status update 59 Cottage Ave: Al Legee, COMMISSIONER INSPECTIONAL SERVICES: Citations against owners are mounting, estimated at over $50,000 currently. Will continue to monitor and attempt contact. Checking restaurants and daycares for compliance with covid restriction guidelines, everyone in compliance. $3 Car Wash: inspection of premises revealed crowding at outdoor vacuum stations, lack of social distancing. This has since been resolved, proper spacing now being maintained. Monitoring will continue. Matt Johannesen, proprietor $3 Car Wash: asserts that they are taking measures to ensure that all covid restrictions are observed at the car wash. 1  TOWN OF WINTHROP BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING, REMOTE PARTICIPATION BY ZOOM MARCH 9, 2021 COVID-19: TOWN OF WINTHROP, BOARD OF HEALTH, WINTHROP HOUSING AUTHORITY, PUBLIC SCHOOLS School opening: per email from Lisa Howard, who cannot attend this meeting tonight: K-5 is scheduled for 4/5, middle school date is end of April, high school opening TBD later in April. Spacing mandates between students are anticipated to be no less than 3 feet in the classroom and 6 feet when eating, according to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. WALDEN ST BASKETBALL COURTS: email from Sean Driscoll: requesting opening of basketball courts. Discussion: Astrid Weins voices support for opening, citing lowering infection rates and low rates of outdoor transmission. Marianne Dalton voices support, cites other area towns/cities having already opened. Motion to open Walden St. basketball courts made, seconded, unanimously passed 3-0. BLINK ROYALTY SERVICES: Cassandra Harris, proprietor, unable to be present this evening but in email states that she is no longer planning a “pop-up” event. Astrid Weins voices concern about ad that is on premises about “injections”, performance of such services need to be by a licensed healthcare professional, not by an esthetician. Bill Schmidt proposes inviting Cassandra to next board meeting in April, in order to clarify what services are to be provided and who will be performing them. Email will be sent prior to next board meeting. Bill Schmidt received email from business “Elevate Aesthetics”, proposing opening in Wadsworth Building (Brown’s Pharmacy). Bill will have Sharon Sicurella invite proprietor to next board meeting in April to clarify what services are proposed. Proprietor is reportedly an RN. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLINICAL SERVICES UPDATE: Meredith Hurley states covid infections trending down in Winthrop. Vaccines: state is promoting mass vaccination sites over local boards of health clinics. Small supply of vaccines donated by East Boston Neighborhood Health Center 2/9/21 used for homebound/first responders/residents of Winthrop Public Housing. 200 doses allocated by state beginning of March were prioritized for seniors and low-income housing. Many had 2  TOWN OF WINTHROP BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING, REMOTE PARTICIPATION BY ZOOM MARCH 9, 2021 already received doses. Outreach was then made to next eligible tier according to state guidelines, I.e. those over age 65, 2+comorbidities. Low income and senior town residents received the remainder of the doses. 2nd dose clinics for those vaccinated 2/11/21, homebound elders, are already scheduled. Teachers have also been vaccinated at one of the clinics. Meredith highly commends Medical Reserve Corp for their invaluable assistance with vaccine rollout. She explains that state-provided vaccines need to be administered within 10 days of receipt, and because of the high number of individuals in the target group (seniors/low-income housing residents) already vaccinated, a plan needed quick implementation to avoid wasting doses. Medical Corp volunteers have done contact tracing, outreach, and booking appointments, enabling better utilization of the remaining doses. Prep Mod booking system not user-friendly, but state mandates it. Rental assistance program run by CAPIC (Community Action Programs Intercity, Inc.) being run in Winthrop, for 1 month, until federal assistance begins. MEDICAL RESERVE CORP UPDATE: Bill Schmidt proposes sending email to Jeanne Maggio, to thank her and the corp for the contribution she has made to the vaccine clinics NORTH SUFFOLK PUBLIC HEALTH COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH UPDATE: 3/17/21 next meeting MASSPORT LOGAN AIRPORT ENVIRONMENTAL DATA REPORT: comments due by Friday 3/12/21. Per Bill Schmidt, reading the executive summary is a time-saving way to get the highlights without needing to read the entire 800+page document. BOARD OF HEALTH TOWN WEBSITE: Per Bill Schmidt, this issue still pending, need still exists to re-organize website. Dave Lapenson is IT person who maintains and controls website content. PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS FOR APRIL MEETING: public hearing for tobacco sales regulation, Blink Royalty, Elevate Aesthetics, vote on body art regulations (Astrid Weins to present body art regulation draft to Town Council between now and April 13). Astrid asks that draft of body art regulations be sent to proprietor of Star Nails prior to her Town Council presentation, to ensure that any comments from them be included. 3  TOWN OF WINTHROP BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING, REMOTE PARTICIPATION BY ZOOM MARCH 9, 2021 Bill Schmidt clarifies that Star Nails had requested expanding their service offerings in the past, and this was denied d/t concern that clinician was lacking training in proposed services. Marianne Dalton asked for details on being the contact person for the Mosquito Control, will follow up with current contact person Astrid Weins. Roundup weed-killer advisory: Bill Schmidt states that this advisory will need to be reviewed and disseminated again this year as spring approaches. ADJOURNMENT: proposed @7:29 pm, seconded and passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted by Marianne Dalton, member 4