Okay. This is the um meeting of the city of Gardener Board of Health. It is November 24th, 2025 and meeting is called to order at uh 4:33 p.m. Um public comment on agenda items. Is there
anyone here There's no members from the public. So we will move on to view minutes from October 27th board of health meeting in October. We have this Oh yeah because we have executive sessions and November 12th.
Okay. First one um September 22nd. Yeah. We didn't have a quorum of members who were attending that meeting that had been at the previous meeting.
>> Does it have to It's not on the agenda. Does it have to be on first of >> it? It should have done. Okay. >> I'm not sure. >> We're never going to get that one signed. >> I know. Okay. So, we will move this over
to the next meeting. Um October 27th. Okay, this is for the regular meeting held October 27th, 2025. Do we have a motion to
just one little dramatic thing? You tell me if that's not even a big deal. But um really technical Walmart deli food renovations are complete. And then it says I did the re I did the pre-opening inspection. I'm sure that was you writing it, but maybe you shouldn't say
I because it's not >> the pre the pre-opening inspection had been >> completely signed off by any person. Other than that, I can make a motion to approve with that correction. >> Second. >> All in favor or any discussion? Any
other discussion on it? All in favor? >> I guess Jeff wasn't that the second page because we have three pages on this one.
Thank you. And then the next meetings to review is October 27th um executive session meeting minutes um at
5:30 p.m. And it basically describes our discussion on our interview process for replacing the health director. >> You need a motion to accept.
>> Yes. I'll make that motion to accept these into session meeting minutes for November 12th. Okay. >> Second. And all in favor? >> I. >> And we have another one from October
27th, I think. The next one is executive session meeting minutes held November 12th, 2025 where we um conduct conducted um interviews
for the um the health director position. I'll make a motion to accept that. Okay. those meeting minutes from October 27th. >> I'll second the motion and all in favor I next on the item is health department updates.
Uh so um as you guys all know the um director administrative coordinator and the transfer station supervisor positions remain vacant. Um due to the staffing situation it's been very difficult to do training with the new administrative assistant. So we've uh discussed that with human resources and
we're going to be closing the office between 8 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. daily for the next two weeks. um no traffic in the office, phones on do not disturb so we can focus on training, get the staff organized and give them tasks that they can accomplish throughout the day. Um
that way we can, you know, le lessen some of the stress and confusion that's happening when you get interrupted six times while you're trying to teach her a 10-minute task. Um so that way we can focus and get her really a good foundation for starting. Um the landfill and transfer station and solid waste, the LHA pump replacement and groundwater
mining project. Eric is still monitoring the levels of LHA. is actually having Wind River come tomorrow to pump again. Um that's going to be about every other week until they're fixed. The finance commission committee initially moved this item to the full city council and the city council will send it back to
the finance committ committee for more additional information. So that's meeting tomorrow. Uh John Richards did provide a full accounting of the current funds set aside and sent that to the city clerk to include in the next packet. And again, that meeting is tomorrow if you guys want to join. So
then it has to go back to council again >> which would be next week I believe on Monday. >> So in all likelihood I mean I thought this was all settled way way back. So in all likelihood this is not going to get repaired this
>> it's going to depend on whether >> and did they say why >> there was not want to vote on it. Yeah, there was confusion because we did put aside funding last year to have the pumps repaired and then the price went up and we needed to continue to look for
additional funds and they thought they spent that we spent the money they gave us last year. We're asking for more money to fix something that was repaired last year. They wanted to know if it needed to be repaired or replaced. I said we're actually replacing everything this time. >> So they just thought we were asking for money twice basically. So when it was
approved the first time, >> it was sent through finance committee because of the urgency of the nature of the project and finance committee kicked it back. >> So I I explained it to all the finance committee members. I just was not at council meeting because by
>> that was last fall. >> That was last uh spring of 2025, >> right? when they approved it, it >> it was I didn't realize they had approved it then. >> They approved a portion of the money that we need now,
>> right? >> In spring of or late winter of last year, >> right? >> We never spent the money because the contract um request for proposal had expired that we didn't get the contract secured. Then we asked for new bids this summer. We only got one bid and it was
for a lot more money than we had initially expected to spend on this project. >> Oh, this is so frustrating. >> So, what happens next? We do another bid. >> No. So, we're we we are still have a contractor who's very eager to start.
They've called my office every week. Okay. >> Waiting to see if the funds have been approved so they can get started. Um I should have an answer I hope tomorrow and I will update Sue as soon as I hear something. Um but that meeting is at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning to in front of the finance committee again. >> I don't
>> and this is at the substantially increased price. >> Yes. Right. Which has already the contract is already willing to do it at that price. >> So um I don't know that I I'm pretty sure I can't make that meeting but is
there if there's anything else that I mean you >> I got it. >> Yeah. You got all that information. So I worked with John Richard and with u I asked Micah some questions. I looked through the files. I coordinated with CEC to make sure that we have the full scope of the project. I read the request
for proposal >> and I think we have it. >> Okay. Okay. And then they'll finance committee will then put it back on the agenda for the council so they can vote on it again. >> Okay. >> And I will see if I can't update the mayor directly about what the urgency of
this is. >> Okay. Um, so he is aware that, you know, if I had been there to speak for the health department and I typically the department heads aren't at the full council meetings, we go to the subcommittee meetings, >> right? >> And we present our items to the subcommittee and they're supposed to
present them to the full council. And I feel like um between Thursday when the finance committee meeting happened and Monday when the city council met, they just lost track of that one fact that we did not spend that first amount of money. >> We didn't spend a lot of money to fix something that's broken again. That's
what I think happened. >> I watched the meeting um from home that night. Um so back to the repair of the erosion to the uh landfill cap. So we currently do not have funding for that project. We had a CEC inspection on October 22nd and
a corrective action plan and schedule was issued. The eroded areas uh of division burns and let down channels on the south side of the landfill will need to be budgeted by the city. Um per conversation with Mass D, the repairs will be classified as maintenance
repairs. CEC will observe and document the repairs once a contractor is selected by the city of Gardener. Um I'm going to approach the mayor about asking Kellerin Partners um the city grant company that we've hired to write grants and find us money to see if they can look to find more options for us. Um,
and I also, um, did a little bit of quick research on something, some different grants and, um, um, funding that are available. So, I'm going to review this more. I'm had the opportunity. I looked this up Saturday.
Um, so I'll I'll present this to the mayor also, and I will see what I can come up with for funding for that project. Previously that project years back probably now was also an
estimate was given but that is probably much because nothing's been done with it going out to bid because we have no funds for it. Correct. >> No we have no funds for it. Um hasn't been and now that the pumps are in failure that has become the priority.
>> Okay. So the the um so I actually also had a surprise DEB inspection last week at the cap landfill on uh November 19th. Their report is not finished yet, but they did send me an email with some questions um that I will be answering
this week or early next week related to the timelines for the the repairs on pumps. I feel like I need a little more time to find out what's going to happen in finance and full council before I can update them with an accurate plan. Um >> just to
>> and I also forward it to the mayor Sue >> just to clarify >> we've been under a mass D non-compliance order. Correct. >> Yes. >> To repair it. >> Yes. So, um, and the effects of not
repairing that that the impact it has on a lee pump system is >> it's all No, I know I'm not either, but it's got to go together. I I assume that because the runoff is being misdirected,
maybe it's burdening the pumps more or maybe it's ponding and pooling on top of the erosion um craters and draining down through the substrate and getting to the the you know the the liner and hitting the pumps. Um I think that's a reasonable um hypothesis.
But uh yeah, so that's where we are with the cap landfill and the inspection. Um and I'm going to bring that also to the attention of finance committee tomorrow which is Wednesday but it's actually Tuesday >> and clarifying with them that this is a whole separate project that needs to be
addressed as well. >> Yes. Okay. >> I will um so that's it for the landfill for food establishment. We had a farmers market on Saturday. Um I was inspecting there. We had six permitted vendors. We had one permitted vendor show up. Um he had permits from other cities and towns
for events he's done this year. He had to serve with them. he had his allergen awareness with him. So, uh I did let him stay because I could document uh review those documents, but it was obvious to me that he knew he was supposed to have permits. So, he's been given 48 hours to complete a permit application from
today. Um there have been no food born illness reports. We still have several new food establishments in process. The daycare on Coburn Street is still in plan review um with me and with the building commissioner. They started out doing a
lot of work without permits from anybody and now we want them to put the permits in place before they are allowed to continue. They um they sent me a couple of different designs and they want me to choose one for them and I had to let them know that that's not my role. They have to choose a design that meets the
operation of the plan that they submit and then I check it for compliance. Um they they had two very different plans and it was very dependent on um I'm not sure of the overseeing body for daycarees. It's not Desi, it's something else. >> No, it's um >> but uh they had to get it approved and
their first menu wasn't even approved. So I don't have a menu yet to be able to to evaluate what processes they need to be able to reach to >> to approve a plan. But wouldn't they have I mean I would think they have would have a building permits and plans drawn up because they have to make sure
there's bathrooms enough per per the amount of students or or children that they have plus staff and all that. I have a very basic um kind of not handdrawn but like a simple CAD program floor layout but not architectural
plans. Um the building commissioner and I both stepped in and said, "You need to stop and you need to go and get your," you know, they're working with a design professional. So, we need those plans. We need the permits in place. And the design professional seems to be hesitant to make decisions. He wants like me to make decisions. And I said, "That's not
my role here. That's what they're paying you for." >> Yeah. They need to present the plans the right >> Yeah. And then I tweak them if there's something missing, but I don't choose between A and B or C. Um because I'm not going to be liable for that. Um and you know and then they change what they're
going to do for a menu because their overseeing authority comes back with a different menu than they anticipated and now we have to change the whole thing again. So what they really should have done was sent an approved menu figured out what they needed to do to maintain [snorts] that menu to process that the foods there for storage space for those items and then should have done their
plan review submitted by me and then started building permits after I reviewed the whole plan. >> They've never really submitted a complete plan with any of the trades or the health. So that's where we're stuck there. Um, see, Four Seasons, a new bar area is
complete and has been inspected. Dunkin Donuts on Tiffany Boulevard, the renovation is complete and has been inspected. Looks great. Uh, Gaby's on Pearson Boulevard is still undergoing extensive renovations because they did come up with some asbestous on site. So, now they have to do an abatement on that. >> Where's Four Seasons?
>> Four Seasons is the old um Jade Tube over by where D'Angelos used to be near Taylor Rental. >> Okay. >> In that area. Um, how is it? Still a lot of no heat calls. Um, Eric's great at um, following up with the owners. He's very persistent and he gets the items
fixed relatively quickly, so I'm happy about that. Um, update on bed bug infestations at that apartment complex we spoke about last month. Two pest control treatments have been completed. Eric and I met um, with the property manager after the second treatment, and most of the activity in the hallways and
the adjacent units were all exterminated. We saw they saw very little activity after the second treatment. Eric went back and did a walkthrough after the second treatment and he did see some activity in the main unit that we were concerned about. Um we did condemn that unit before they
started treatments. Um the occupant is at a local hotel. The property manager hired a company called Trauma 24/7 to prep the unit for her and paid for out of their own expenses. Um they bagged up all of her personal items, knotted and tied the bag shut, and then they did the
two treatments. Um there's still light activity in that unit. Um we met again with the property and we discussed our concerns and challenges about what to do next because my largest concern is that we let the occupant back in and she just starts ripping open the bags and she's not cleaning the items, laundering the
items, not you know um eliminating the bugs that could be in the bags. They can live for six months to a year without oxygen, without eating. So, it's really hard to get rid of them. You really have to treat these. So, we're just we um we discussed getting her grandson involved
again. Um now that the infestation is waning, we're hoping he will um pitch in now because it's not as serious or as much of a threat for him to get um to, you know, to be carrying him out of the unit. So, another treatment will be happening this week. It's either going
to be on Wednesday or Friday because it was supposed to be on Thursday. And of course that's Thanksgiving. So I'll get an update for probably by Monday on that and let you know next month where that is. Um on there was a four uh family condemned on Greenwood Street after a
fire. All of the occupants were um housed by the property manager at a local hotel that night. There was a delay in the health department being notified. Um the building commissioner got called out to the scene and it was not condemned for structural but they cut the water, gas and electricity to
the building and they had some ceiling collapse from water damage. Um so through there was a third floor/addic fire and it all cascaded down throughout the building and there was some drywall ceilings that had collapsed in there. Um the fire department nor anyone else
notified me until Thursday, seven days later almost. Um, so I worked on that combin condemnation this weekend. Um, out of that I learned that I need to or we should have a who to call when um chart and I built that the commissioner is on vacation this week. So I'm going
to go over that with her next week to make sure that we have a clear understanding of who should be responsible and who should be called and we're going to get that dispatch fire and PD. Um, housing court. Um, I do have one person still in housing court. Heating
systems were repaired. the smokes were installed. He's fixing the hot water heater tomorrow. So, I'm excited about that cuz that's since March of last year and it took me 6 months to get him into housing court. So, now he's starting to feel some pressure and start to move forward. Um, as long as he's continuing
to move forward with his repairs, we're not going to file a contempt because he was technically in contempt in OC late October, but he was making repairs and we don't want to slow down progress. We don't want to continue to argue. If he doesn't keep moving forward, then we'll bring it back into court. Um, the prevention coordinator
is working on the Harper Grace run to bring awareness to pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. She's still doing game changers at the high school and at the college. She's doing vaping prevention presentations at the Gardener Academy. Planning of the Purple Pause event which will take place in the
spring. And we have a planned suicide prevention and mental health panel at Gardener High School and Gardener Academy. She's also doing uh bully prevention at Gardner Middle School coming up. Um I discussed today actually about uh with Victoria from the MPH and
about doing another public clinic and she actually confirmed No, I'm sorry. They came back from Emily. There was not a venue available. We're looking for a second date. We're trying to confirm with um the PACC. We want to try to get one before Christmas because we did have a bunch of people
who came to get flu shots who were not having access to CO because the CO arrived like 2 days after the first two clinics were done. So, we're trying to see if we can get any catch up there. >> Nothing at the city hall is not available. >> We could, but I feel I'll ask Victoria why we're trying so hard to get PAC. I I
think we initially said that because we were trying to get one before Thanksgiving >> and it got kind of lost in the shuffle of all of our >> emergency for most people. >> It's very convenient for most people. It we have about 12 um activities happening and there's a forest thing happening.
>> Uh we have several um Christmas parties happening a >> Yeah. So that might be one of the challenges. I can reach back out to Victorians about that. And then um that's about all new business. Um I just had on sharps disposal to discuss again
and not medical disposal, medication disposal if anybody had any questions about that. Those were the two items when I was reviewing the minutes from last night. Oh yeah, I we >> I dropped those two. I'm sorry. So currently there's um
somehow over the years there's been some loss of communication between the sharps container and medication disposal container. There are contracts with MPHN that I think somehow the police has just
somehow taken over and it's become costly. But there is a contract that we can sign up for. I know the chief was away, so I didn't send anything. I figured after the holidays, I'll send it again. I've tried to explain that. Um, and then the medication, there's
currently no kiosk there for medication disposal. I spoke with um Steve Curry, who's um director of the MPHN, and also Fitchburg's um board of health director, health
director. And he gave me um a cost of like $69 or something a month for disposal with a certain company that there was a contact they have but we haven't really quite we need to sit down with the chief again and try to explain that because there's no reason initially
the board of health did absorb the cost and somehow like I said I think before the current chief um came it somehow got switched over so >> yeah at some point in time when I was still working as an administrator we were paying that bill. >> Yeah.
>> And I think may have been during co that we >> that they actually offered to pay it so that was not as confusing because they would call us, we would call stereo pick up the container at the PD. It was just too many people involved. So we we
streamlined it and then I feel like um when the police chief and deputy chief changed, we might have lost some of that knowledge that um legacy information. So they were having the state they were taking the medications to be disposed of to the state police and they incinerated
it but it was it got costly and a large back backup. So now there's no kiosk there. So there's no place for people to take their medication. So that's why we'll we'll we'll follow back up with the chief on that.
Okay. Um the theft tabletop exercise. Do you want that? >> Talk about that. >> Emergency dispos dispensing site discuss. >> So last Thursday we had a theft tabletop event down at the Garner PD. Um we had a
few people attend. It was not as well attended as I had hoped. Um we still have to work through some of the exercise together after the event. Um but we did have some some good um ideas come out of that and we had some good collaboration thought coming out of
that. Just to clarify, it's the public health emergency preparedness. Um, we belong to region two, which is mostly all of central Massachusetts. And might be a little bit of confusion because the city out of city hall, I
believe, economic development, they are currently looking at mitigation, hazardous mitigation plan, which from my understanding is part of uh a deliverable for the master plan for the city. But that's
more looking at I think the good example that was given us was like if the dam in South Gardener were to break and all of South Gardener got flooded, what kind of things would we need prepared for that
the city could do to mitigate not happen? You know, >> like it's more about preventing it than waiting for it to happen and responding. They're trying to look for other mitigation methods so that they don't have these events happen. We're kind of when they happen, >> right?
>> I mean, some of the examples they use, you know, like cyber attack on a hospital's um, you know, communication system. I mean, obviously, I mean, I've been involved with it for a long, I mean, back in was it 2008 when we had the A1N1
virus, um, setting up clinics and of course, um, you know, co if it's cold out and it's too cold and we need to open up um a warming center um where that would happen and at what point that
would happen and involving um you know everybody with whether it's a health crisis preparedness um or like you know when this uh fire happened and
um you know families who were displaced, you know, on a smaller scale, what would happen and stuff. So, it's really um was quite interesting and quite involved with it. Was nice. Paul Tapowski was there from SER um chief uh from fire. I
know the police chief was um >> in a different >> in a different lo state or I don't know who was he was not available but you know there was and we had um a NEMA person representative working with us.
So the FEP um involves a lot of what Nema, FEMA, all those terminologies, but you know really for um preparation for emergency preparedness, I mean it came in very handy when COVID
happened and um you know something that again it's it's being ready in case something happens and you know whatever we could do preventative wise but mainly being ready, you know, for that, which leads us into the emergency dispensing
site discussion. >> Yeah. So, we are um when we were doing the EDS drill, emergency dispensing site drill recently, we discovered that um the materials and the facilities lists need to be updated along with contact
lists. And when I sent stuff out to Wayne Anderson, I sent stuff out to Mike Ellis at the senior center, which are our two locations for some of our things. Um, we discovered that the elementary school and the middle school would probably be better suited because they're newer buildings. They have loading docks. They have better access.
They have showers, um, and other things that would be very helpful. They're they're just more modern. Um, so that's we're going to probably move our emergency dispensing site to GES, I think, because it's newest school and
then have a backup. Um, and I think the backup at some point, which is currently the senior center on Pleasant Street, is going to need to be looked at when we move the senior center down to Waterford Street School, which used to be the emergency dispensing site, but then the school closed.
>> Now we're opening the building back up for a senior center for the food processing um, growing places. We're going to have the CEC, sorry, CAC down there, and we're going to have some other businesses down there. But there's there's quite a bit of room there. We have the auditorium. We have a
cafeteria. There's food services and two kitchens down there. Plenty of bathrooms. So, we're looking at as a backup site plus plenty of parking. Well, even yeah, Waterford was even before the school closed, we didn't find it um useful or beneficial. There were a
lot of um barriers to um having that as the dispensement site. So, that's why we moved it up to the high school. Um but yeah, we do have to as it's reopened because right now the senior center is used for like if it's a warming or
cooling center if we need only or if we had to move a small amount of number of people to we would use the senior center and they have food preparation currently at the uh place on Pleasant Street. If we needed to have a larger amount of
people with a shelter or dispensing site, then we'd have to look at closing the schools and that, you know, would be um we don't want to do that if we don't have to. But the elementary school for a
lot of reasons has beneficial especially just reaching them and stuff get traffic. But yeah, once the water's all done, we could have to look at that as going through. There's a whole again whole >> framework >> framework to go through and um doing the
drill and checking off this and that that you know there's access and um you know food if needed for shelter etc. So we'll have to look at all that. And going back on um Waterford Street as a school, it didn't have a lot of
accessibility because didn't have ramps. It didn't have wide doorways. It had 30-inch doorways, which are challenging sometimes to get people who have walker walkers or wheelchairs through the door for other assisted devices. Um they have torn out those doors and made the building accessible. They are putting in ramps where the concrete was starting to
fail. So now we have instead of a two-step up, you have a ramp. So it's the accessibility is getting better. >> Good. So, I'm very excited about that. We made it into a senior center. We had to make it more accessible because we couldn't make it less accessible than we had >> and they would have the kitchens and stuff available, too. So,
>> okay. Well, thank you so much and thank you for everything that you're doing keeping the health department running and you're doing a great job. You're doing really a great job. I know it's been a lot. I'm glad that um Dwan's going to be able to get trained um by closing the office for a couple hours
each day and that's a quiet week. Should be a quiet week. What about um with the transfer station staffing? That's still >> So, we're still down with supervisor. Eric is supervising right now. He comes from working in waste management and at Yale Harvey. So, he is that is his
comfort zone. That's his ballpark right there. and he's very comfortable managing all the HA pumps when they have to come and pump them out because they won't pump. They won't connect and disconnect because apparently it's messy. So, Eric does it and then he comes back to the office and he changes and goes about his
day. Um, but he's doing breakdown there >> and transfer stations closed >> Wednesday. No, Thursday and Friday, Wednesday, Saturday. >> Okay. >> And what's happening with hiring into that position? Is it
>> um I was told by human resources and the mayor that those hiring for those positions is on hold until a new director is installed and ready to hire somebody. >> I know the administrator I knew about the administrator. >> It's posted. It's been posted since September 23rd. They're conducting
resumes but they're not sharing them and they're not tell I don't know if they're telling anybody that there's a pause there. I I don't know. >> Oh, I don't know. >> I'm apparently not allowed to know. I know that the um administrative position
was decided that that the new health director would hire that person. Of course, at that point, um the transfer station vacancy was not has never been. Okay. >> Yeah. Um you know, and they did move it
from a part sorry, a full-time position to a part-time position. Um I try to advocate for the health department. I can teach somebody how to answer the phones and sell tickets at the counter long enough, you know, well enough, fast enough to be able to then focus on one or the other's training, but with only
myself and Dan in the office, it's it's not working. So, we're So, now we're closing the office today and that was supported by the mayor by human resources. >> Okay, next agenda. New business. I have no business.
Okay. Um, so it's not on the copy of the agenda that we have in front of us, but it was posted that we could go into executive session um to further discuss the um hiring of the health director.
So, if we can take um a motion to to move into executive session and from there. Um, I'll entertain that motion. >> Make a motion to executive.
>> Okay. All in favor? >> Thank you. Thank you.