##VIDEO ID:8dRF7LXP0U0## e e e e e e e for for everybody hello hey John S hey everyone good day one thing night you want this sure for for for okay I think we're all here so I'm gonna call the board um to order and so if we could just do a roll call just state your name full name uh s s Luke froz Frozen yeah sorry it's okay Jerry Jerry Kramer here Carrie Carrie Dell happy New Year everybody happy New Year Sophie Sophie Hansen Kevin Kevin seon here Joan Jo Wetzel and Rick Lopez welcome all happy New Year hope hopefully you're all warm uh at this point it's been incredible few days here um but I'd rather be here than Los Angeles in any case so to review tonight's agenda we have a it's a lengthy agenda but I don't think it's going to take us into the we hours of the morning as I look at we're going to um we have public comment if there are any public members who sign in um we'll approve the minutes for November and December uh we have a couple waivers uh a day is going to update us on a rodent mitigation contract that was signed we have two regulation updates um that we actually reviewed at our last meeting um and we're going to kind of re-review them then hopefully vote on them conflict of interest update is something that we're going to defer to next month this is something that I thought um based on our meeting last month that we ought to have a little bit of a process and education as to how to address this in the future going forward so next month we'll have Town Council come and talk to us um and outline the process uh so will be deferring that to next month then we'll do our monthly report and any final comments are there any other urgent uh additions to the agenda of anybody no okay um and I don't see anybody from the public present um so I'm thinking there's no public comment and um in terms of the minutes interestingly enough um artificial intelligence has come to the Board of Health uh so um apparently as I understand it from a day uh Zoom has this service where um the they record what is being said and they synthesize it into a set of minutes which are then reviewed uh by the staff um and so it's a a little bit more efficient way of doing minutes um and so the minutes from uh November and December um were created and edited that way just so if you if you happen to notice a difference in style it's that's the reason uh did I get that right a day is that that's kind of how we're doing it um yes pretty much but we have a staff um reviewing it as well and um you know areas that are not clear the staff would go back and listen to the minutes and um you know review it edit it and then submit it okay and we're we're working on retrieving these September minutes um and uh we'll probably have those next month so in terms of the November 20th minutes that went out in the pre-board packet hopefully people have had a chance to review them are there any edits or Chang es uh to those minutes yes Kevin um opening roll call and closing out the meeting swap out my name A and E I didn't catch that Kevin Saxon do minutes for so long the first thing I do is is is scan the minutes before I read them just to see my name where it is where I have to pay attention to I'm like oh that's interesting okay we can just switch that otherwise readed fine to me okay I didn't notice the change yeah Carrie I yeah I I I I did a little um I just had one um amplification we'll say um in section where it's annual dumpsters uh The Heading is annual dumpsters Associated mostly with restaurants Carrie Janelle stated that blah blah blah and birth control needs to be continual um could we just say birth control needs to be um um um applied not um um distributed Contin continually right that was the it was that that the the the um the intervention needs to be um shared continually I've got like I see like farrowed brows looking at me like huh what are you trying to say so birth control needs to be distributed continually is that yeah thanks okay maybe we should say rat birth control needs to be distributed yes any other edits that's it so with those changes those uh two changes um I'll make a motion to approve the minutes from November 20th 2024 do I have a second second s second um roll call S yes Carrie yes Kevin yes Joan yes and yes Rick so those minutes are approved um okay and on the December 12th minutes um looks like they got Kevin's name correct yeah any other edits any changes suggestions now okay make a motion to approve the minutes of December 12 2024 do I have a second second JN second any roll call S yes Carrie yes Kevin yes Joan yes and reck yes so those minutes are approved all right so we go on to um a variance request uh for 1051 Main Street um and I'll let uh ad day introduce this topic all right thank you very much Dr Lopez so uh you all are familiar with what's going on at 10 51 Main Street on um January 6th Amelia and I uh did a reinspection at 1051 Main Street uh some parts of the foundation have been temporarily uh sealed other parts are still exposed to weather elements but it appears that you know work is in progress um kitchen sink has a minor leak under the cabinet um you know pipe feedings need to be flushed and uh secured against the wall um there was a toilet and an AC unit that was removed from the dwelling uh it was just like abandoned outside um we need those um you know to be removed from the premises um the windows are still not weathertight um but to my uh understanding uh multiple contractors have been out there to measure the windows for replacement the property owner did replace some of the broken window panes which is a good sign of progress and then we observed uh Missing fla Tils in the bathrooms that was replaced with a wooden board um that's not acceptable uh the wooden board needs to be removed and replaced with a non-absorbent non-corrosive uh easily cleanable uh you know tile like materials um I believe um Mr Baro is here tonight I'm not sure if uh Mrs Cooper is here tonight um I would like to invite Mr bble to speak uh regarding his variance request to modify compliance time and then if Mrs Cooper shows up we can uh let us speak after that okay uh Mr barbell um why don't I give you uh perhaps five minutes to make any comments for your record for a variance and in terms of the time required to correct uh the the deficiencies thank thank you very much um yes I've been working diligently fortunately alone and if you saw the emails that I sent with a request you can see why um the uh it's been very difficult to get in um I've got quite a bit done the toilet's been removed it was picked up in the town rubbish today which is why it was out back as opposed to in front of the house till the rubbish collection came by um the uh the the the plywood that is in the bathroom is a trapo to the uh um water the water uh to the bathroom itself it's a cement floor and that's where the pipes come in um it's and they're in a a unit so that that is made to be um has to be made to be able to as that access area um the it will be uh painted with washable paint and the tiles I have and and need to be cut to go in front of the the sink um which again was access was what the issue was uh an availability to get in there um as uh Mary knows I'm limited in my my capabilities physically but did over Christmas and New Year's work diligently to do as much as I possibly could um I have sent today before the meeting the two estimates that I have for the windows um the uh I was hoping to get at least one more bid um but it's it's there and it's look they're looking to custom make the windows at uh either uh uh right window or uh through Monahan they're looking at a four to five week uh timeline on having them made and then plus the time installation to put them in um the uh and I think that and it's just been too you too cold for me to work outside and my handyman has been very limited because of Mary of of access um which has been an ongoing thing and again we're working as diligently as we can with what she's allowed um and again that's most that's been documented in in the uh paperwork that I submitted with the uh request for the variance um so I be um regardless of all that we're looking for the hopefully that we we can finish the outside in the windows and when the winter breaks um which should be around this the time that they're ready I would assume um the uh and we can make progress in the rest of it if she allows us in and out um which she said she she will but yet to be seen even as close as yesterday um the uh and and I think that's pretty much oh the other thing I was asked um the statute for having the windows in the bathroom and kitchen um do we just I was asking earlier too is we can do we go by the building code or I was told that they have to be uh replaced with what was there um and I believe the uh Massachusetts building code from my contract doctor said that um they don't have to open and close in the kitchen and the bathroom as long as it's ventilation appropriate or uh uh fans and so forth um that was a question I one of the questions I had if there's a statute that says I have to um he was not aware of any of that um and asked me to to to check on it um and I think that's um pretty much it the uh air conditioner that was outside was Mary's that came out of her window which she put in I did uh dispose of that and absorb the fee for it um the as opposed to you know leaving it for her or whatever um she placed it outside I had put it on the floor in the bedroom um because I couldn't I couldn't carry it but um she moved it outside the toilet we put outside and again we left it in the back of the house to it wouldn't be an isore until today's rubbish came which it's been collected um and I think I I think that's it okay um regarding your question um yeah as I understand it um there is a dual enforcement going on we have the health department and then we have the building department so I don't want to rush to give give you an answer I would like to um coordinate with the inspector have a discussion with him and then um get back to you on that yes my my contractor said the same thing that he would um bring it to the building inspector for the permits uh for for the windows and make sure that that's you know um that that was just something he asked me to check on um and that he wasn't aware of anything like that as long as he stays to the the building code that would be great I'd appreciate that um an email would be fine it's not uh uh obviously we need to know know that to get the windows made um that type of thing that would be a a huge hope so um as soon as we hear from that then we'll hopefully go forward with one of the contractors for the windows and and because they they won't order them till we sign something and if I may ask would you be able to give the board an exact variance request that you're requesting from the board how much time would you need to get this thing um I I specifically hoping that we could uh do this in the month of April just for weather conditions uh where the windows and uh I probably if we get some good days we'll probably have the outside all buttoned up and and and completed and the inside floor completed which will pretty much in the bathroom and so forth um if she's allows me access my handyman access excuse me to the property it will be it would have all been done already um I believe she only we we were only able to get in there three or four days since you were out the first time uh in the very first uh part um and uh and that was the reason why it's not all done except for the windows um but that's um and I I I think so a uh to be completed by uh sometime in April um if not sooner okay and this would be uh for the foundation and the everything yeah complete terms of the um plywood on the bathroom floor yeah you know if you have to mop that bathroom floor the plywood is going to absorb all the chemicals yeah is it possible to maybe elevate it a little bit and um you know use it has it has to be level because of the uh washer and dryer sitting on only part of it um you you you're seeing about half of the piece of plywood um it's uh um like I said the the uh bathroom floor is cement there just one little square area with that plywood's covering that that have the water pipes uh in it to be able to access them um the uh so I mean I that I can put a piece of lolium or something on it just to make it a little bit more washable that something like that we had washable paint should more than suffice it's scrubbable for you know that you would put on a floor um that type of thing uh again I um if if it needs to be an Oleum or something like that tile will be too thick as long as the material you put is non-absorbent non and easily cleanable then okay fine yeah that that that's uh what we what plan to do and again I got to get back in there to do it and and my handyman's got to get back in there to do it so so far she's verbally said that she will allow it um we were in there with the the um uh right window people and he went in to look in the bathroom I mean in the underneath the kitchen sink to uh see what needed to be done to fix the leak um which I did look at when I checked it it it wasn't leaking but it he said it is and he took pictures while we were looking at the other rooms and the windows that to be changed she came over yesterday and and mentioned that you know he was left alone and I'm like no I was in the house the whole time she says no you were in the bedroom and the bathroom while he was in the kitchen I'm I'm like Mary I says you know and and I I I can't follow him around I mean if she wants to be home and follow him and we can only get in the days she's home one or two days a week that really that's fine but there's no there is no legitimate reason that he he could not be in there should not be in there so so let me ask um board members whether they have any questions concerns or suggestions um you know for Mr Wabo in terms of uh his comments and the the current status of this okay so not seeing any yeah just I'll go real quick I was let other people go um no I read the report it I mean it seems like everything's moving in the direction that we talked about at the last meeting we knew it wasn't going to be done uh all in complete for this meeting because just because of lead time for um supplies Windows to we ordered and such so um you know I have no problem with extending or gr regranting I guess is what we're doing um for him to get the work done um the one thing I will um um um say though is just from a a a chain kind of of of ownership um style um charie the the emails you know appreciate seeing them that there's a lot of communication going on between you and Mary where you know depending on on what that communication is but um they all just so you know the way we read them they all came from you and went so exactly there was no there to to identify who actually was you know we could get from the text yeah there actually they're text messages that I had I had to send to my email to print them uh it's just and that's only uh and again I'm I'm not looking for anything other than allowing me time to do this you know by the end of April that's it that's I'm not dinging Mary or anything like that which is you know uh we're asking for anything special I mean everything will be done to code um I just need the time to be able to do it and I'll give her another chance um if she doesn't let us in then I'll guess I'll come back to you guys and just say we're having trouble but I mean that should give me plenty of time uh if she keeps flip-flopping on me um which she seems to be doing hope I don't know if she's serious this time and getting it done um but you know we will see I mean th this literally could be done windows and all with my handyman and myself and uh for a quarter of the price that's costing me to get a contractor um and I've stated that in another email that I sent a little while ago with the two contracts um but that's you know if we can grant me till the end of April I hope to be done well before then and finish with this um and I can keep you informed of what's done as I go um and you know and take it take it from there it's not I mean none of this is difficult to do it's just you know we're talking n 101,000 to replace just the windows not none of the other were would you be able to fix the water leak um I mean yeah yeah it's just the host that's attached to the sink correct yes like soon next time we're allowed in absolutely and I've already I bought a a new faucet which the faucet doesn't need to be changed it's just the spray H but with the you know the condition of it well I'm if Dan is allowed to go in and get under there I physically can't get under there it's a simple thing to change um and that's all that is it's the spray of Hose that's leaking um so I would you know weigh in I'm I I think the end of April is a little over overly generous um but I think April is is not unreasonable particularly where you have time constraints around um constructing custom windows working on the foundation um and so forth um so um I would propose that um we give you till April 4th which is a Friday have an inspection done early the following week and um you know come back to the board if things are are not complete at our board meeting on April 10th uh that will give you uh two and a half months I think is fairly generous actually S I see your hand up to you yeah yeah I I agree you know I agree with the the April deadline um I I also when I was reading through the messages from um Mary that we're putting this time restraint on we have to give Charlie the you know consideration that he is dealing with it looked like through the text I mean Mary's not here to defend herself the picture in the in the letters that she is being a little difficult um I mean that's just my opinion because I don't have Mary hair to back up her side of the story but you know that almost becomes a case of a we a we putting undo burden on Charlie to get into the house and do the work and that's not that's not you know I don't think that's for the board to decide if he can get into the house or not that almost becomes like a an front of a judge type of situation so I I mean I would at the end of April I I mean I think that's fair if Charlie thinks it's fair if he can get it done that's just my opinion okay Joan you have a comments I was I I I was thinking that the uh April board meeting would be a good opportunity to check in and you know maybe it's the windows are coming in a couple of days and will be completed very shortly but but um I think that's a way to um and we could also find out if he's been allowed access and um you know I think that would be a good way to keep tabs on the progress maybe not that the work has been completed by that point but yeah I mean hopefully it all goes well and Charlie can get in the house and you know we don't need we don't need another meeting that's what I'm hoping yeah we should not it should be done before April if the weather breaks that's that's that's the big thing is is is that she's got electric heat and I I I told Mary if we have to do this in in four weeks like it like it's stated um I says there's no way to keep your house warm without your heat fill your electric fill going Skyhigh I says they you know if and she said that when they came out to do the inspection she asked them to please push this off until better weather which would be you know uh April it still can snow and everything but at least there should be a few few days and if we get great weather in March this will be done before the beginning of April is certainly what I'm hoping for is I'd be happy tomorrow and I think at this point Mar what Mary wants is she's actually the I think the horse is out of the barn so to speak you know she's made the complaint it's resulted in the Board of Health and the health department inspecting her home and um you know she ultimately it's our responsibility to make sure that the habitation in that home is safe regardless of Mary frankly um and because she's put for put forth the complaint so um I would make a motion to U extend um a variance uh on the time frame to address um these issues to April 4th um with an inspection April 7th or 8th and then if necessary um ask you to come back to the board on our April 10th meeting um if things aren't completed and we can discuss it further can I second on that motion second I see sell raised his hand as well um so uh roll call um s yes Carrie yes Kevin yes Joan yes and Rick yes so thank you Mr Barbo for coming it's too bad Mary couldn't be here but um it sounds like you're well on your way to addressing the issues and we appreciate that right right thank the board very much appreciate your time thank you have a good night you too good night okay um next is a variance request on 42 Willow Street again I defer to uh a day to take this up thanks Dr Lopez apparently Mr way is not here um I had a conversation with him earlier he said that he was going to join the meeting but he isn't here is it okay if I present the variance on his behalf sure okay sounds good so before before you do that a day if if we wanted to if you a day if you thought it was in the best interest to wait we could all vote to um push back that agenda item further in the meeting I don't know the backstory of it if you're fine we're just going forward with it right now that's fine too um it's your call um is there a way you can if we moved on to well uh you're up on the next agenda items as well so it's going to be hard for you to contact him we could certainly defer this until um he either appears or until we get to our monthly report um if he if we get to the monthly report and he still hasn't appeared then we can defer um we can address it I agree with that yeah yeah okay why don't we do that least gives them a chance yeah check in yes um okay so in terms of um the roaded mitigation um contract do you want to update us on that a day yes so um if you all recall at the last meeting I stated that the select board approved the reallocation of the remaining APPA funds in the amount of $2,359 191 to go toward uh rodent mitigation efforts we sent a request for quotes out to five companies and um we got two responses back and I'm pleased to announce that we are now in contract with modern Pest Control we will be meeting um you know sometime next week to discuss um deployment details and strategies to execute the rodent program and I plan on having um mod Pest Control attend the next what ofelt meeting I sent you all the pocket um all the information is in there they're going to be using the um burrow RX and the Smart Box but he's in a better position to explain what those are so I would def to him at the next of help Mee what was very reassuring was um that he would not be using uh poisons um which can affect the environment and other animals and so forth so that was uh that was good to hear absolutely and just because we're on the subject even though it's not on the agenda item but maybe we can make it as one um a day can we have um can we get monthly updates on what's going on down in the Pineville area that'd be great to just have on the agenda items just a quick this is what went on this past month um just so we're staying on top of it for those for those folks AB Kevin thank you absolutely but I can tell you nothing we've not received any complaints since um the last time since the last bille meting no comp um things have been going well over there no issues I don't want to get into it too I have questions but I don't want to I know it's not agenda so I don't want to get into it too too much but that's why I'd like to have it on every month just so we could check in absolutely I do have a question about that sorry and once again it's not an agenda item so maybe this needs to be deferred also but um I happen to go by twice this week and I believe the um the gate is supposed to be locked at all times and it wasn't both times and um so I I don't know what's going on with that the first day on Monday the the dumpster was overflowing was that behind was that behind Domino's drone yes yeah it's funny I took a couple rides by there and I and I saw the same thing yeah yeah I didn't see any Little Critters yeah I didn't either myself but uh you know I think they're all nice and cozy inside yeah but anyway um it's did I remember that correctly that it is supposed to be locked according to the old regulation no but according to the new regulation that the board is about to approve yes yes okay there was there's a a bicycle cable lock that's wound around one side of the gate and locked you know so you know unless you do the code and and open it up there's no way to lock it but they're not in violation of anything yet because there is not a specific bar against that right now correct okay okay right after this meeting if you guys approve the the dumpster regulation then they will be in violation excellent so we will we'll add that that update uh to the next couple meetings to make sure this is resolved good idea Kevin this would be a good it's funny because I too have since I you I go to the dry cleaners there which is right next to Domino's I drive by you know I say well let me take a look in the back I'm not going to get into it but um I think we're all we're all inspectors here yeah right we're not gonna take your job Amilia don't worry but you can take [Laughter] it all right all right so this will be a good segue into the dumpster and um so at the last meeting we submitted an updated dumpster regulation and an update food code to the board for review with a possibility of an approval at a subsequent meeting which will be tonight's meiden we are hopeful that the board had the chance to thoroughly review both regulations and uh we're hopeful that the board is uh willing and ready to approve Bo regulations tonight I will quickly go over some notable changes to V regulations and then hand it over to Dr Lopez for a potential vote we should do these one one at a time you should do two votes correct so um in terms of the dumpster regulation um the notable changes include uh requiring enclosures to be locked at the end of each business day to prevent illegal dumping posting warning signage to prevent the risk of legal dumping requiring unused dumps removed from the property within 72 hours after termination of service with this regulation we now have the authority to order a dumpster enclosed or screened order a dumpster's location changed order a dumpster's size changed order an increase in pickup frequency other dumpsters to to be removed or replaced and conduct random inspections and sanitary surveys of dumpsters around town most importantly we have now granted authority to the police fire building and DPW Town staff to assist with enforcement efforts when needed this means that they will be able to issue violation tickets on our behalf if they choose to we've also included the provision for an appeals process for property owners who are aggrieved by our decisions such as you know issuing a violation ticket they can come to the board and um you know talk to the board about it and let the board know why they shouldn't get a ticket and whatever the board decides to do you know will happen also we included the Prov for a variance request if enforcement would compromise or be detrimental to the health safety and well-being of our residents so um those are pretty much the uh notable changes and I think um with this regulation we would have uh everything we need for proper enforcement I will now hand it over to Dr Lopez for discussion slash vote okay um so we went over these in Fair detail last at our last meeting and um people have had a chance to read it um we did consult a day did consult with Town Council that were not required have a public hearing um for every routine regulation change that we request and we felt that um this and the food code were pretty um straightfor forward um updates in our regulations and not something that was new so dramatically new and different that it it required a public hearing um and so I'll open it up to comments discussion um suggestions that anyone may have and we we can either make some edits to this if we feel compelled to do so or we could voted in its entirety and I see Carrie just her hand is just like ready to go go ahead Carrie sorry no that's good I just had one I had I have two questions well first I have a thank you thank you to staff for moving quickly on this and and and I wish it could be even quicker because I know of that know the the issues of pine Veil have been problematic but thank you for for making this happen um a day can I I have two questions the first one is in terms of the enforcement by other folks in addition to Health Department is that um is that covered under the section where it says it can be enforced under by law um sorry um I had it and then I lost it um it's section four 4.5 is that what you 4.5 yes thank you yes penalties Maybe forced by procedures as noted in the town and reading General bylaw article one section 1.8 is is that where that Authority is because it's not speciically called out here okay great thank you great and um and I guess I'll take a minute to say thank you to our other um to the other departments in town for for for their um willingness to consider that um my other question is when we look at sections 4.3.3 and 4.3.8 um there's a little internal consistency I'm wondering about um 4.3.8 says the dumpsters will be locked um and when not in use 4.3.8 stipulates that it that the dumpster be locked at the end of the business day and I just want to make sure that they're not um creating a loophole um or a a a uncertainty about um interpretation um what are those again well 4 33 Okay um um dumpster lids and enclosure gates are to be closed and locked when dumpsters are not in use 4.3.8 says all dumpster enclosures must be locked at the end of the business day to prevent illegal dumping dumping so it's a it's a it allows for a tiny bit of um of um loophole um I see it a little bit differently so for example if if you have a business from Monday through Friday at the end of the business day on Friday your dumpster needs to be locked M you know from Friday to Monday so I think that's what um number 4.3 point 4.3.8 so 3.8 is end of the day um and 3.3 is when not in use yes so with the 3.8 um you know when the business is done for the day people actually go over there and illegally dump materials because you know nobody's watching and that was why we put that in there right I I I I I I I just question if there's a way to make it more clear because I think if I'm confused I I want to make sure nobody else can say but wait are we supposed to lock it only when we're not dumping in it are we only supposed to lock it when at the end of the day um it's a it's a it's a fine point but people like to split hairs um yeah people Kev you're really good at this do you have any suggestions people like to find balls you're right you're right Carrie yeah so here's the problem I'm so I'm reading this we're talking about 4.3.3 and 43.8 correct so I'm gonna read you what I have on my screen for 4. I have a very different reading dumpster Haller name company logo telephone number and unique identification number must be conspic conspicuously displayed on a dumpster so I'm I have no idea what's going on here do you said 4.3.5 Carrie maybe in no 4.3.3 yeah oh it is if I misspoke then no that one I have correct that one um is is what you're saying but my 4.3.8 is different I think it's 43.1 just trying to talk maybe she can clear us up a little 4.3.1 okay there we go wait wait maybe ailia yeah maybe she can tell us help um I'm I'm also looking at it off my phone I just didn't want you guys so 4.3.3 is that it should be closed when not in use and then 4.31 is when it should be locked by end of business day but maybe to prevent that loophole that you're talking about carry I we can add um locked when not in use and at end of business day and then restate locked at end of business day and when not in use and just put the T tie them both together and just kind of repeat it twice that's perfect brilliant brilliant Amilia that's right yeah thanks so yeah that's something we can do um so would this delay the vote uh no no I think as amended as amend yeah with those with those adjust teal correction tin yeah yeah doesn't change the body of it it increases the meaning of it so I'd make a motion to um approve the uh the dumpster regulation section 04 as amended for our discussion and Amelia's um Amendment um is there second Kevin Kevin this is an old one for me goes back this is a good five six years now oh yeah Yep this is yours Kev okay um so with that second uh vote um s yes Carri yes Kevin yes Joan yes and Rick yes so if I may Rick before we go on I do just want to thank the staff for this because this is a this is an old one predates I think just about everybody in this room um from this um from a complaint standpoint so well done uh really really good job um this is going to go over as a tiny little blip on the radar um very you know nothing to see here kind of thing but it is a really big step um for the residents of this town I think it's a great step for the businesses of this town although may be more nu uh nuisance to them a little bit they'll adjust really quickly and in the end everyone's going to be better off for it so I think this is a lot bigger um of a deal than it's going to ever get credit for so good job everybody yeah really agree yeah absolutely all right so um are we ready to proceed yes all right so um in terms of the food code notable changes include the addition of a definition section to explain what what the acronyms stand for also the addition of a risk categorization section that basically puts each food establishment in a risk Lego uh in a risk level category U so like Risk level one is the minimal risk such as a convenient store selling prepackaged food items a risk level two coffee shops Quick Serve operations that serve prepared food items uh for immediate consumption so places like Dunkin Donuts and McDonald's risk level three uh for establishments with extensive menus that also handle raw foods such as a full full service restaurant um sushi restaurant and then risk level four would be for establishments that serve high highly vulnerable population such as the nursing home see we also added uh reinspection fees so if we you have to go out for a second re inspection it comes with a $50 fine if you have to go out for a third re inspection it comes with a $100 fine and if we have to go out with a fourth reinspection it comes with a $150 fine we added a person in charge requirements labeling requirements Mobile Food Truck requirements frozen dessert bacteriological testing requirements ensuring that the soft serve machine does not contain bacterial uh colonies um we also added the ice cream truck requirements ensuring that the drivers are Cory and so checked uh we added residential kitchen requirements grease STP requirements and uh Pest Control requirements again I'll will now hand it over to Dr Lopez for a potential vote again any comments suggestions edits questions [Music] okay hearing hearing none um make a motion to approve of the uh changes in the food code section nine for the town of reading you have a second second second roll call S yes Carrie yes Kevin yes Joan yes and Rick yes so the changes are adopted and with both of these a day this uh the food and the dumpster you're going to get those um Letters Out to the appropriate people absolutely they have the permits for all okay great absolutely great and I'll say too having great work on getting our our RS updated thank you um I know this work is um it's a little it's painstaking and and a little timec consuming it's important and um I think it's great that now we'll have it in in our own language as opposed to have refer to the state um I think it's just good point of clarification for all of our folks here in town so thank you guys and um I like to extend a special thanks to Amelia you know and the rest of the staff for making this uh happen I love that we are now risk-based I think it's just it's it's really excellent and I think that it'll be excellent for for all the businesses in town I think that they'll be they will appreciate that so definitely thank you very much um so we had deferred um 42 will street because Mr Wen wasn't here he's still not here um let me ask you a day if we if we voted on the requested variants um and obviously if it was approved that's sort of the end of the story if it was not approved could Mr W come back at the next meeting and ask for I don't know a revote or a reconsideration appeal the process possibly yeah maybe uh so when someone requests a variance is it um is it absolutely required that he or she be present to advocate for it it is um you know this is one of those exceptions that are you know I don't really like to advocate for people um if it's not you know going to benefit the health department but um this is one of those exceptions I would like to make because it's just it's just straightforward yeah so but I mean if if you want to continue with item 9 I can item 10 I can go ahead and give him a call to see if he can jump on the well we're gonna defer um item 10 till next month when Town Council can come and talk to us so um before in just before we move on from that just a brief message I I'm I'm the one who booted that on last call I know exactly what the procedure to do it I've done it several times so I apologize it's a it's a simple uh form you go down to the clerk's office and fill out um before meeting I completely forgot about on the conflict of interest it would be good to have the council come out and give us the full the full scope of it anyway okay my apologies so do you want to proceed with the monthly report and then I can give him a call while we're doing that yeah why don't you do that and uh you know Amelia and Liv can do the their updates and absolutely okay so should we start while you're doing that should we start with Amelia yes please yes let me get my screen are you guys able to see my screen yes okay awesome um so the current month column is for everything that I've done in the month of December and then the year-to date column also incorporates the old Health inspector's numbers so this way it is a total recap of what has occurred in the health department for the entire 2024 year um so renewals uh still came in in December we are still chasing a couple people down for renewals but today I attended a small meeting that it had regarding their Communications package that launched open gov so it makes it a little bit more personal and um easier to communicate with people on getting them to renew their permits so that's something that um I'm going to sit down with Haley next week and we're going to work towards getting people to renew um for this 2025 current year um it was a little slow this month with Inspections just because I had kind of caught up um in the past two months that I've been here um and then with the holidays coming in we're little their time frames were a little off um I had one reinspection that went really well um but for the total year we only had nine reinspection for the whole year of 2024 which I think is a really great number um considering that we have over about a 100 restaurants and only nine of them had needed a reinspection so that's really good um we had a couple temporary events in the month of December with the holidays and everything so that was fun to observe um in this these again these numbers reflect the old inspector numbers as well so I think during uh her time there was also a closing or change of ownership that had occurred um these numbers as well again the month uh totals are things that I have completed and then the year-to-date totals incorporate the old inspector's numbers as well um body art is something I'm working on this month along with tanning and starting up the pools as well so I'm really excited um we did um all the body art renewals minus one establishment which I contacted today to get their renewal going tanning and skating ranks um have been completed as well we had two housing complaints this month one regarding heat and then um 1051 Main Street which we're aware of no excuse me um there was a different one no it was the heat one and 1051 Main Street because I Incorporated the reinspection into that I apologize um but in total for the year it seems that there was only 11 complaints for um sent in and then seven inspections that occurred um and then those two housing orders are uh two that I had sent for 1051 Main Street and a heat complaint that we had which was very quickly resolved uh which was nice to see um for the year all pools were inspected this number hopefully will be much larger next year we're hoping to do more pool inspections as they're you know start to open specifically in the summer and for our year round pool at the Y um these numbers reflect the old health inspector so I apologize I'm not too sure what they represent and then um same with the solid waste but these are the numbers for December um I'm hoping that next year These Are Much Greater um and yeah are there any questions from the board at all love seeing a written report and I love seeing month monthly action and year-to dat action and um thank you yeah welcome and I'll continue that forward so every month the year to date will keep increasing um the month to date will just change obviously based on that month but the numbers for the year to date I will keep updating as I go the the reinspection looks like a really good number to9 was really good yeah that was great so I'm hoping that this year that stays the same so fingers crossed yeah or lower or lower exactly all right so during the uh break I was able to reach out to Mr W and it appears his wife has joined so uh we can continue the monthly report or we can go back to the variant's request toly up to the board why don't why don't since Mrs W is here why don't we address uh that request go back and then we'll come back to the monthly report hi everyone sorry apologies that I'm late no problem I'm just going to give a quick uh intro and then you can uh go ahead after that okay thank you very much um so uh 42 Willow Street Mrs way is here uh this is a variance request to keep more than six Birds on the property and the pre the previous owner of the property had a very in place to keep mod six Birds the current property owner um Mr and Mrs Wang um took over the home under the impression that the variance approval was transferable we reached out to the new owners and um you know they were willing to do whatever is needed to uh keep of their birds and um currently uh keeping of animals regulation has a limit of six Birds U but Mr and Mrs W are requesting to keep up to 11 Birds um the chicken facilities on the properties have been inspected um they have the capacity to keep up to 11 Birds and the Animal control officer does not have any reason to uh deny their proposal to have more than six Birds um I would personally recommend the board Grant this variance request to Mr Mrs W and um Mrs W is here uh if You' like to make a quick comment about your request um yeah so the the the facilities were inspected and um we've we've done all the requirements to allow it to be um you know really um well kept and and safe for the additional Birds um it's it's quite a large um Coupe and space for the birds I think that was the main thing and then also the the cleanliness and how we have um kept the coupe uh so so yes I I we would love to have that granted to us if that would be possible thank you and day I understand that um there was an issue with a rooster earlier in the year uh with the that has been corrected but that's been corrected and so So currently there are no neighbor or anything regarding this correct any um questions uh for Mrs Wen or comments or suggestions regarding the request I just had one what what is I guess what is the reasoning behind only having six parents is there a reasoning we that's it meeting came up with that number yeah so no no health I mean like disease and no no other issues yeah just a random number it's there's a lot it's a lot of town meetings in between that one and this one it's tough to remember the S yeah I'm just I'm just I know there was a lot of debate about the number that's why it sticks out to me as I don't know if there's any drawback of having more than six chickens like I think the debate at the time quite frankly was just to try to keep it reasonable um and not to have an unruly uh amount for your neighbors I think pretty much was the sense of where the number was uh settled that by the way um trying it was trying to be both higher and lower um NE negotiations nice the only question I I would have um and this is more more out of pure curiosity is how many times have we granted um um this kind of waiver they do you know you do we know like we how many households in Reading have um six or more or seven or more um chickens I can get I can get the data for you but since I've been here the borders only gred two two okay this would be the second one so this is so this is not unprecedented to for us to do something like this okay that's always my my concern is is setting precedent so yeah this sounds like a um to me like an um an easy one yeah and I think it's important that the um animal animal inspector inspected um you know how the the chickens were kept and so forth in terms of Sanitation and yeah health and so forth and that's for me that's sort of probably the most important thing other than rather than just the the numbers Although our regulations are U up to six um so this would be a variance I conduct fut inspection reward good behavior quite frankly exactly yeah if we conduct a future inspections and we find out you know things are not the way they seem to be then we'll come back to the board and make a different recommendation to lower the number the quantity of birds is this is this done annual is it an annual inspection is that you yes we have annual inspections correct it is okay and so once we Grant the variance because it's also a um it's it's a yearly you have to pull the permit for it correct renew the permit every year correct right so it it'll renew as the number that that the Ws have right that we yes but we we won't Grant the renewal until we conduct an inspection to verify quantity of the the birds but they don't have to come back to us obviously every year no the variant just go okay now if they leave the property and there's a new owner the new owner needs to come to the board and get a variance okay because the variances are not uh transferable got it if there no other questions i' I make a motion to approve the variance um for 11 Birds on property a second have a second um roll call S yes Carrie yes Kevin yes Joan yes and Rick yes yes congratulations Mrs when you have your appearance have more chicken thanks for doing great job with them yeah thank you and you know anybody who wants eggs um probably nice so we will uh approve it online and um on Monday you should be able to pick up your permit or print it out online okay perfect thank you so much thank you thank you very much you don't have to stay till the end of the meeting okay thank you that's okay have a good meeting good meing bye live I think you're on okay lovely all right I'm gonna share my screen incorrect screen okay is everyone able to see that yes yes wonderful okay happy holidays everyone happy New Year happy increase in respiratory illness time love to see it hate to see it um we're seeing a large increase in flux in respiratory and flu like illnesses in Reading specifically we are categorized as high somewhere right in there in that little orange um the state itself has seen 22 influenza related deaths in the 20124 2025 season um suffi County specifically 177% of our hospitalizations this in the 2024 year uh season were related to acute respiratory diseases so we are seeing a huge increase please stay safe out there wear your masks um on that same note we had a a successful flu clinic on the 6 um we were gearing everyone up for the MLK weekend Gatherings and on that note we are hosting a flu another vaccine clinic um at the coolage middle school next Friday the 17th um from 3:00 to 5:00 and we're going to be having flu covid pneumonia RSV shingles teap peepy man and MMR there so if you still haven't gotten any of those shots please feel free to come by and we can get that quickly taken care of for you um and then there's a QR code there this will also be posted this is posted on our website um so if anybody needs to gain access and wants to sign up it is through Shaws and it is next Friday and all right moving on to the monthly disease report last month we had 31 cases of covid and 31 cases of the flu so definitely an uptick from November no surprise there we are in full swing I already have over 30 cases for this month um of both Co and flu and it's only the 9th so it's definitely coming if you are 65 and plus uh we still have available flu shots for you at Town Hall so please it's not too late contact me feel free to reach out um all ages are accepted at the flu Clinic next Friday so anyone younger feel free to go go ahead and go to that one as well as CBS still has shots um I did a little population tracking on our cases from last month for um for the flu specifically and 30% of our flu cases happen to be individuals in their 40s uh I thought that was kind of an interesting number and I kind of was thinking why why would that be I was thinking it's our Workforce population a large Workforce a large parent population so it's unable to make Clinic dates and times so with that information I'm going to take that back for next year and try to hold more accessible clinics um for for people that are unable to make the times that we have this year but if that's on the weekends and evenings um just something I thought would was an interesting number um we are seeing a rise in foodborn illnesses right now specifically we have had a couple sua toxin cases in town and in the surrounding communities I know not great so please ensure proper hand hygiene when preparing food as well as proper sanitation of surfaces before and after food prep um the schools are seeing an uptick in GI related illnesses which uh they have possibly linked to norovirus norovirus can be diagnosed if tested however if you believe you have a GI related illness please stay home and avoid handling or preparing food our shared services coordinator came up with a wonderful fact sheet about neuro virus this is also posted on our website um and kind of gives a little quick quick guide on what this is all about but remember wash your hands handle food safely disinfect your surfaces and wash your dirty clothes wash your dirty clothes um anyways uh on a similar vein up to five household pets have been found with um bird flu in a raw pet food it is the monarch raw pet pet food brand so please be aware of that and um th that has been recalled at this point so Monarch raw pet food I've always been saying it's the it's the carrots and the celery and all the cucumbers in the past meetings and now it's now it's pet food so that's unfortunate um let's see this month we have some blood pressure clinics we uh screenings we had one on the eth and then one today I have another one coming up on the 6 at Frank Tanner and then I know people like to plan ahead we have three coming up for February on the 5th we're at Pleasant Street Center at 11: on the 13th of February we're at Cedar Glenn at 12:30 and on the 20th of February we're at Frank Tanner at 10: in the morning um we are having a hearing screening coming up at the reading public library on the 18th of February uh belone um has is bringing in a practitioner to come and do hearing screenings all day 9: to5 go ahead and sign up for a 20 minute time slot um if you would like to have that done I'm G to have mine done just just because it doesn't hurt it never hurts all right we are going public health is going to be starting a wellness series for the town um I will be hosting the first session on the 29th of this month I'm very excited this one is going to be focused mostly on the body diet exercise and rest and the rest of the series is going to focus on different aspects of Wellness mental health communication um occupation uh satisfaction and things like that so that's going to be exciting and that's going to go throughout the entire year I'm very excited to bring in different um speakers and uh activities for that and then I'm also going to be holding the same session at the Pleasant Street Senior Center on February 26th from 4:30 to 5:30 just to gain another audience perhaps um and bring more bring more education um and speaking of Education this month is glaucoma Awareness Month glaucoma is a group of as we some of us may know group of eye diseases that has the potential to cause vision loss individuals 60 plus are at a higher risk for developing glaucoma it does develop slowly over time and it can be diagnosed with a routine eye exam and then in January anuary it is also thyroid Awareness Month the thyroid is a small gland it sits right here in the neck it's butterfly shaped and it helps regulate the body's metabolism by producing hormones thyroid diseases are related to the over production or the underproduction of these hormones some of the symptoms are listed here they are very common symptoms of other other issues but combined together it can be an issue with your thyroid so if you feel like you might have an issue with that going on contact your primary care for a phys physical exam as well as some blood work for diagnosis um and the last thing I want to say is that next month I hope to present on the progress of our chip planning to the Board of Health and that is all excellent job thank you very much thank you am thank you I as you might expect I have a couple questions if I may Rick sure um thank you um so too specific for you live um demand for flu I was interested to hear that that so is there there's still h a relatively significant demand for flu shots um there yeah we're getting a couple trickles coming in um there there hasn't been the the largest demand but the the schools are seeing a a just a huge uptick so they're hoping to get people um um in in a lot of like families I guess the schools are seeing more of a of a demand than I personally am um but I have Mary the the head of the school of nurses for reading she she kind of coordinated the whole Shaw's clinic and was like yeah people have been asking for this okay that's great to know because I mean we off we think about flu season as you know or flu to man season really kind of tailing off before Thanksgiving but um it it helpful to know and I'm glad that we're offering something for folks so and it's that's really important messaging it's not too late to get your flu shot it's not because it's The Season's gonna continue right and and I I haven't been following it and I haven't done my homework yet do you happen to know live or maybe you know Rick or somebody else about do we know what the um how well so sorry do we know if this is a A or a B year I know typically B is um a a a um it hits harder when when the B viruses are um active they tend to hit harder on folks um and um I I just haven't been on the calls to hear the um the update of it so I was curious any info about that yeah I I don't know off the top of my head but I did just Google it and it looks like this year is an A okay that's good that's what I had heard okay typically with flu it it whichever one comes in in first you know and everybody gets it and then the other one comes in and whoever didn't get the you know who's still vulnerable it comes in so when I worked in the lab we were typically it would be all a for a month or two and then we would have a slew of bees or vice versa okay yeah and I think it's a little up for debate whether the bee actually makes you sicker or not okay I defer to the nurses always I I want to learn you guys know SL correction I'm I'm a Medtech or retired now but I worked in the lab but but adjacent nurse adjacent you you you have the data with them I would say you share the data right so okay everybody calls us nurses so we prefer to be called MedEx that's what you are right so got it I'm sure I'm sure a nurse doesn't want to be called the Medtech so right respect that yes um and then just in terms of those reported numbers those though can the source for those numbers I my understanding is typically those numbers um are like are are indicator um and there's probably more floating around in the community because not all um cases are reported is is that correct can you explain how that work corre so these numbers that I'm getting the the monthly um disease numbers that I the graphs those are the reports of our epidemiology Network Network Maven um so those are individuals that have actually been tested in primary cares or hospitals and then that information is then transferred to Maven so if someone's taking an at home rapid um I don't get that information so like like car's saying that these numbers are just what is going into facilities not what's actually going on at home but I did think it was interesting the 30% of people are in their 40s and that's just the the people that are going to the hospitals and going to the doctor's offices so they're clearly very sick if they're taking time to get diagnosed um yeah yeah the sickest of the sick are the ones that end up getting rapid flu tests are now available online too you can get them that flu and Co I think on on the same cassette so yep and U and I as I learned during covid there was no mechanism in Massachusetts to report positive home tests right so you know it's just the tip of the iceberg the the state statistics and they actually the Wastewater is is the better um indicator of what's going on right good leading indicator and yeah the the the the as you say that what's active is just kind of a all right if it's this this many then I don't know what a multiplier would be but but yeah it does not cap capture everyone so okay thanks for clearing me up on that and then I just have two question you took one question away from me Liv I have two two requests from a a day um I'm thrilled that we're going to have a chip update next week next month um I was curious if if I would love to uh get a emergency preparedness activity update at some point if you can just put that on the um on the um on the list um and I I'd also um I don't know if shared services is scheduled to come back and talk about status I I don't know if our our shared services group is is participating in the self assessment if there's been any change in our percentage of Meeting those Baseline standards um or if they want to talk to us about foundational Public Health Services um just curious I sh services coordinator will be at the next bevel meeting great um you know she's she's ready to go yep she's excellent yes she is in terms of additional updates um there are no major additional updates um other than uh we've been you know seeing an increase in wildli feeding complaints and uh we intend to address those complaints by actually creating a wildlife fitting bylaw or regulation so we're going to be working on that and um probably give you a draft submit a draft at the next B of help meeting we also plan to review our fee schedule compare it with um surrounding municipalities and um hopefully we can come you know come up with um reasonable a more reasonable Fe schedule for example like the um the variance request we just had regarding the you know keeping of animals that promit Fe $10 yeah you know that's unacceptable even one inspection does not I mean you can't even pay for an inspection with $10 yeah that's really low and we're required are are we are required that that the fees we we charge uh well we're required to assess the whether they cover the cost of delivering the service um absolutely and I know that there is a tool out there that allows Health departments to do a assessment of what the actual cost is of delivering Services I've just gone through that actually with my own four towns that I work with and my other um I I I I'd be interested to know whether the department might might want to undertake it it it's not a small amount of work but it may be worth considering yes I I believe it's worth uh considering I mean we've been talking about it for a couple of years now I think we have uh the the energy to do it now so and this will be the right time to do it great so uh in terms of the next meeting we plan on having um a net given update about the shared services collaborate uh collaborative and then we plan on having modern Pest Control share their strategy for the rodent mitigation plan that's pretty much it and the chip and the chip and the chip the chiping away the chip gotta get little thanks chippers [Music] yeah yeah I think I think being on top of the chip is really important um over the next couple years we spent $60,000 in all of our time a lot of effort putting it together and you know what I'd like to be able to see is you know on some basis quarterly or whatever you know an update of What kinds of programs we've implemented to address it so that we can get a sense that we're adhering to it um uh to our goals um over the next couple years in particular agree Rick and I'll just add I'd love to know if there are barriers to adhering to those goals and how we might be able to assist in addressing them so um yeah thank you very much all right well that was um chalk filled meeting but we got through it uh any other final comments or anything anybody else would like to say otherwise make a motion to U adjourn the meeting um we have a second second Joan second okay roll call sell yes Carrie yes Kevin yes Joan yes and reck yes so see you all next month happy New Year Happy New Year e e e e