Good evening. >> Hey It's a little unusual. 7:01. >> Sure is. >> Hi everybody. >> Hi. All right. Hi Kevin.
>> Hi. >> Let me give it one more minute for a day and then we'll get started. Okay. >> Hi. >> Hello. Cloves. >> Hello. >> Hi. Sorry about that. My time uh says
6:55 on my computer. >> That's always fun. >> That's strange. >> All right. So, I'm going to call the meeting to order for the board of health, Donna reading, June 11th, 2026.
Um we can start with a roll call if people can just uh state their full name. So, Addie >> Addi Bengali present. Sophie >> Sophie Hansen >> Kevin >> Kevin Ston >> Joan
>> Joan Wetzel >> and Rick Lopez and um Carrie Denell uh won't be able to attend tonight. So tonight we have a I think a relatively short agenda. Um we'll be
approving the minutes for uh our last meeting May 11th public comment if there is any um quick look at the protocol we discussed at our last meeting in terms of how we should go about
um communicating developing and communicating new regulations um a day and live will um have a chip update community health improve room plan update and then we'll do a wrap up
with um departmental updates and final comments. So, should be fairly straightforward. Um in terms of the minutes for May 11th,
I take that back. May 12th, actually, I think the minutes of May 12th, the agenda says the 11th. Um any comments, edits, suggestions? No, >> I had one one question.
>> Sure. >> Um on page two under protocol for communicating new or amended regs regulations. It's it's it's the third or fourth line down. Of course, I don't have it in front of me right now, but um
>> you can pull it up. It's um there's one sentence that just the entire sentence says within 60 days. Um >> Oh, yes. >> I just think there's a punctuation error. >> Yep. Uh absolutely.
>> Yes. Um so, Haley, uh I don't know if you see that. I think it it should be submission to the state within 60 to 90 days. Instead, there's a period and there's a >> on page Oh, yep. I see it. Okay.
>> The fourth line down in that paragraph. >> Yep. >> Uh, so submission to the state within 60 to 90 days. >> Okay. >> All right. So, with that, um, thank you for picking that up, Joan. Eagle eyes. Uh
uh with that, I'll make a motion with that uh one change. I'll make a motion to approve the minutes for May 12th, 2026. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Roll call. Joan, >> yes. >> Kevin,
>> yes. And Rick, yes. >> Okay. Um >> yes. wanted to mention that um Liv is running a little bit behind but she should >> Liv is but she should be here shortly. >> Okay.
>> Um I don't see any members of the public on the screen. Um so I'm presuming that there is no public comment. And so
why don't we move to agenda item number five, protocol. Um, and maybe Haley, you can uh put that up. So, um this was uh we we discussed this at the last meeting and the idea here is um
really develop just an an internal document for the board on how it wants to govern itself around creating new uh regulations. And so we reviewed um this at our last meeting. There was a
suggestion that um even though we are not required to have public hearings uh for new regulations except for title five that we um in the future move towards doing so. So we that that was
added to the document. Um and then um we identified the items by asterisk that are required legally in terms of communicating new new regulations. Um but I don't think uh
there was a whole lot other uh feedback uh that we got. So um this is the document as is. And the concept here I think um at least how I would use this is that in the future uh when we um uh
planning to adopt a new regulation um we would uh ensure that there's a public hearing and then after the uh regulation is adopted um this document would be included in the
pre-board packets subsequent to the adoption um with the column to the right that says completed um with X's um you know placed in those boxes as these
particular action items are done um the first the first set of uh I guess it's three or four I mean seven uh items are for regulations that impact all residents and then the the Second half
of the document is for regulations that impact just specific businesses. Um the communication is very similar uh in both cases just a tad different. So the idea is we would continue to see this document uh following adoption of a
regulation until all the X's um on the right hand column are completed um for you know either uh the top set of requirements or the bottom set depending on how the regulation impacts um businesses or
residents. And I think that's it. it it is really not something that probably requires a vote if there's general consensus as I think there was um at our last meeting uh as it's sort of an internal document
for how the board governs itself. Uh are there any um other comments suggestions on on this particular item? >> Straightforward. >> Okay. So, um you we'll be seeing this in
the future as we if we adopt any uh future regulations. >> Um so I think we can take that down Haley and I think I saw Liv. Oh, there >> she's here.
>> Um so we can move to the uh the CHIP update. So this is an update. The board did a uh community health needs assessment two years ago. Um and as a result of that extensive assessment, we uh created
a community health improvement plan with several goals and um objectives under each goal. And so, uh, what Liv Liv is going to do in a day, I'm not sure who or both, um, are going to, uh, go
through and sort of give us a status update on where that is. >> So, uh, go ahead. >> You're muted. Nope. >> Okay. All right. Let me pull everything up.
So we will have this um presentation uh emailed to the board um after this um the PowerPoint emailed to the board after this presentation. >> Okay. Hello everyone. All right. So this is the community health improvement plan. It is in the same fashion as last
time. I'm keeping continuity there. Um, all right. So, just to go over it, we have our outline. Health priority one, preventive health screenings and treatment services. Priority two, healthy environments and inclusive programs. And health priority number
three, healthy eating and active living. Um, we have gone over many of these things in the past. I'm going to try to not have redundancy. Um, and I'm going to talk about kind of the new initiatives that have been going on. Um,
and some uh just updates from why year-to- date 2026. All right. So, health priority number one, these are our two goals within that improve awareness and access to pre preventative health screenings and services for those in need of support support linkage to mental health and
behavioral health resources. So, some of our 2026 goals from last year um that we ma that we kind of delved into in our gaps were additional hearing screenings for the reading fire and police department, continuing screenings for the community, access needs for
additional BP, increased transportation services throughout the town. So, where are we now? Health prior number one with preventative health screenings and treatment services. We have been done two successful hearing screenings so far in 2026. one at the fire department and
we screened 18 fire personnel and one for the public where we screened 15 personnel. Um we have one for the police department in the works for July. We had the 2020 vision van here on March 9th. We had 19 individuals seen there. The
Dana Farber mimography van was here on May 5th and we had 11 individuals seen. Um, I continue to hold three blood pressure screenings per month at three different locations throughout town to increase accessibility as well as offering any home screenings that are
needed. Um, some barriers to health that we had seen were, um, transportation and people getting there, uh, getting to their appointments and getting around town. So, uh, Pleasant Street Senior Center was able to hire a second van driver, which is very exciting. So,
we're able to increase our um transit stops for our seniors. And um I was talking with Andrew McNichol over in the planning department and he has been able to secure a grant from the Mass Department of Transportation for a micro
transit um system within Reading. And uh this would be like a first and last mile connection. So like ends of towns. So, it's going to be a fair free service provided 5 to six days a week, I believe, not on Sundays. Um, including a
wheelchair accessible van, and it's kind of going to be like an Uber lift situation. You can book the car. Um, and it can help get you to different places around Reading. This is going to be able to increase access to appointments because that van or those lo services
might also be providing um services to local hospitals such as Winchester Hospital. So that could really be a beneficial um thing for some of our medical transportation and um that is hopefully going to be starting in July. The bids came in on Monday. Um we are
going to probably model it after Stonem's model. They have the I think it's called the one circle van. Um so that's kind of gonna be what that's modeled after. So very exciting for planning and for the whole town.
All right. So health priority number two, preventative health screenings and treatment services supporting linkage to mental health and behavioral health. So um our reading coalition is a really big keeper of our mental health resources here in Reading. Last year they saw
3,500 residents. Um this year in uh 2026 they did a data survey or they they gave us some data from March 1st to April 28th. Their public safety clinician um Tanya was able to deliver 108 services
and the child adolescent clinician who is part-time delivered 27 services. We had our interface um which is the William James College uh partnership that helps get uh people introduced to a mental health clinician for free. Um the
84 reading callers uh were seeking outpatient mental health services in 2025. Um this past year we had 225 students from the Reading Public Schools trained on mental health first aid. And in 2025
on September 17th, we had a time together which was hosted by the Ready Reading Coalition for Prevention and Support. Um this was a remembrance for all those lives lost to substance use and misuse and suicide. And we had the
Reading um high school girls volleyball team as well as the scouts. I'm so sorry I didn't put that in there. Um they planted 3,000 flags um at town hall for addiction awareness and we invited surrounding municipalities to this event. Um we had uh different leaders
from different towns come as well and we honored the Reading Memorial High School poet during that ceremony as well. So health priority number two moving on to healthy environments and inclusive programming. Um those are our three
goals under here. to support the creation and promotion of healthy places, spaces, and programs, increase opportunities for community connections, and build resilience among youth and young adults. We had some 2026 opportunities funding secured to support
staffing overhead operating costs for recal. I know that Jenna is in the works with that and working to improve ADA compliance in older buildings. I do know planning is working on that. Um we also have our new ADA officer who um was appointed in 2025 who did come do a
wonderful talk at the senior center. So within that health priority goal number one support the creation and promotion of healthy places. We had the groundbreaking for recal which is the reading um center for active living on April 16th. I was able to be there and
put some dirt in the ground. It was great. Um, we also have our pickle ball courts that are um alive and well that uh so I've heard um they are active and great. And then we are also um planning is working on the downtown Walkers Brook
Drive to create more accessibility within uh walking accessibility within that area. I have the recal timeline on here. Obviously, we are a little bit behind, but um I'm very excited to see how that goes. We also opened up the
Birch Meadow playground and courts. They opened up on May 22nd. They also have two new basketball courts that are fully lit with spotlights. Um there's also walking pathways that connect directly to the high school and it is ADA
accessible. All right. Within health priority number two, goal number two, increase opportunities for community connections. Um so and supportive services for those in need of support. So, we have after hours recreational programs that are continuing to happen in 2026. We had an
after hours program at the senior center co-hosted with health, fire, and police, a walk in their shoes, which was um bringing dementia experts talking about the realities of living with dementia and Alzheimer's. Um we have after I hold after hours health programs such as CPR
training and Narcan training. And then recal is um set to be open for evenings and weekends which is going to be really great for accessibility on um days that town hall is not open. And as always every year we go to connected reading. We were able to meet some wonderful
residents there um last fall and we are excited for the one um in October. We just signed up. Okay. And then goal number three within health priority number two build resilience among youth and young adults to foster well-being and belonging. Um I
have linked the students well-being trend that the Reading Memorial High School did. Um it is a study from 2023 versus 2025 about the well-being of the students. I think it was really interesting. Uh it is linked here. So when you get the canvas sent to you, you
will be able to view it. Um I highly suggest everybody look through that. It was very interesting to see. Um, one of the things I uh took a little snippet of um in the corner bottom corner there da d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d da and action principal leadership. Um,
these are some of the things that they are working actively on at the um the high school level. So really excited about that. Um, we did continue the team talks at uh the Reading Public Library with myself, the public health nurse. Really successful there. We alternated
every other month we would have a different subject um like a health subject and then the next month we would do the hands-only CPR class. Um we do have the Reading Children's Cabinet that is actively looking um to promote uh and different entities
throughout town um to help promote you know uh children's well-being and wellness. I know that they are working on I think a clothing uh donation area for uh families in need. Uh the Reading Public Library also started um a program
with a program called Social RX and this is referring patients to community- based activities and programs. So a doctor can write a a prescription for um like a social engagement to improve mental health and reduce loneliness. and
it's through arts and culture programming and social RX kind of gets that individual set up with um something along those lines. And then our coalition attended the let's grow check-in that was hosted for this area.
This is a summer project spearheaded by Jackie Palooi. Uh this will promote challenges for families to nurture independent skills within the children. Uh this is also linked here to learn a little bit more. It's um from my understanding it's the idea of let let
the children grow and let them go a little bit and kind of reduce that handholding that the the the younger parent generations might have. All right. And then health priority number three, healthy eating and
active living. Increase healthy behaviors across the lifespan by making the healthy choice the easy choice. So, I gave a talk at the Pleasant Street Senior Center about affordable nutrition and SNAP and EBT benefits. When we did have the issue with the SNAP freeze a few months ago, we had a large um
communication between the Reading Food Pantry uh elder services and health um just talking about how to get those resources out there. We had a very large um flooding of donations into the Reading Food Pantry. It was pretty fantastic. Um and then Reading Town Hall
almost as a whole um and the entities around it have started using the Reading School kitchens in order to serve food at our events um and different like um inter team lunches that we might have. And we're also use utilizing Katherine
Franzetti and the Reading School kitchens um at the senior center for our lunch and learns as well as our weekly community lunches and um during staffing events and library events. And then once recal opens, there is a plan to offer uh future cooking classes
there, which I think is wonderful. Still still trying to get somebody to talk to me about a farmers market, though. Apparently, nobody wants to touch it. All right, and that is all. Thank you guys. >> Thanks.
>> Thank you. >> That's great. Thanks, Liv. >> Yeah, it is. >> Can I ask um just uh in terms of um one of the first things you mentioned around that, a grant for transportation within
within the city for hospital and appointments and so forth. Um, is that limited to seniors or would >> No, it's going to be for the whole community. >> For the whole community. Okay. >> Great. >> How much is the grant for?
>> It's uh they got almost a million dollars. >> It's great. >> Yeah. So really, really proud of Andrew for that. He did such an amazing job and his team.
>> Great. And one other thing is just in terms of the farmers markets, um you know, so many towns have those uh Wakefield right um right next door. Uh it may be useful to uh inquire
in terms of the towns that around us that have them who in those um towns are taking the lead in pulling those together and overseeing those farmers markets. Um because it might knowing
that might help know where we should be going to to ask them for you know help in doing this. I I don't suspect it's the health departments. I suspect it's economic development or something along
those lines and um and we might you know push a little bit and once we know where the appropriate uh leadership for those should come from. A day did you have a comment? >> Yes. Based on my understanding I think the select board has to approve that for
the town. >> Okay. >> First before anything else. >> Okay. It would still be useful to know who should provide the leadership because you know maybe that whoever that agency
is within the town plus you know the health department or the board uh might might be the um the people who should sort of go to the select board to promote it. Um, I think you wouldn't want to go to the select
board to promote it unless you knew who's going to carry the banner and make it happen. >> Any comments, questions otherwise? Liv, thank you so much for that. >> Yes. >> Um, I think um with the monthly report,
Leaf should start first. >> Okay. And >> then I'll go after that. >> Perfect. Another PowerPoint. You guys know I love a PowerPoint. >> All right. June. >> June.
>> So, happy June. >> And for the month of May, we had six flu cases and five lime cases. We had a unremarkable amount of COVID cases for the first time since I have been here. So that is pretty amazing. Um I also
just wanted to say that just because you don't see diseases on here, it doesn't mean I don't see them. I just because we're a municipality of less than 100,000, I don't report data less than five. Um,
so that's why you don't see it here, but things like campobacttor are happening, things like salmonella are happening, neurovirus. Um, so please just continue with healthy handwashing and hygiene. All right, so for June, these are my
three blood pressure screenings. I uh I was at the Pleasant Street Senior Center on the 4th. I will be at the Reading Public Library on the 22nd and at Frank Tanner on the 18th. It is men's health month and so I've
made a little health checklist here. Um, and for those of you who don't know, I'm also on the men's health caucus and I also have different um, uh, socials for them as well. So if you're ever interested, go check out the men's health caucus.
All right, Massachusetts unhealthy heat forecast. Uh, we are seeing a very big spike in the heat right now. So, if you go to this link, this will go directly to the um mass.gov website, which will show what the forecast is for
the day. And there's a nice little graph here um to show what those numbers mean. It is also tick season. I just really want to stress this. Please, please do what you can to prevent those tick bites. Wear the repellent. Check for
ticks. They like to climb. They just like to like hold on to a piece of grass and grab on to you as you walk by. Um, and they are running rampant right now. And we are seeing alpha gal syndrome. So, please check yourself for ticks. And if you get one, just be safe and call
your PCP. >> Can I ask a question about ticks? >> Yes. >> We do we do uh annual spraying for mosquitoes. Um, and that's for, you know, West Nile virus and eastern Ecoin and so forth.
Um, do I know we don't do spraying for ticks, but I don't know is there do other communities in Eastern Massachusetts spray for ticks as part of that? >> I don't believe so. >> No. >> No,
>> I've never heard of that, but I was just wondering, especially since it's on the uptick. I was on the uptick. Um I was just >> talking with conservation about ticks actually. Um Chuck Tron and Conservation
and he was telling me about this they're they're called tick tubes if anyone's heard of them. You put them in your yard and it it sounds like it almost like is like a the the ticks are attracted to it and they go in and they eat whatever's
in there and it's almost like birth control for them. So then when they go into the white mice den and they bite the mice and get the Lyme disease, >> they can't reproduce. >> Um they're called tick tubes. That's what I was talking with Chuck about today.
>> Oh, that's interesting. >> But I think it's like an individually. I don't know if it's like a like you as an individual would buy it. >> Okay. >> All right. So, June is also Pride Month. Um, let this month focus on promoting the health and well-being of every
person regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. I have a CPR class coming up next month on July 8th. I would love for you all to attend. I would love to see a board member there one day. Um,
and then I always have my diabetic supplies takeback program and my medical supplies takeback program. And I also just wanted to talk about some of the things that we had going on in the month of May um for for nursing. Um, we had our health screening van, our remography
van was here like I talked about in the chip update. We had our um hearing screening and our vision screening. They all went really well. And we also had our annual health fair held at the senior center. Um, Dr. Lopez was there. It was wonderful to see you, Dr. Lopez. And, um, it was really wonderful. We
had, uh, about 25 vendors. Um, we had over 70 residents come through. It was great. So, thank you guys. >> Thanks, Lee. Great job. Thanks to you. >> All right. So in the month of May, we
conducted one footborn illness inspection, seven housing complaint inspection inspections, um 15 food establishment inspections, and three swimming pool inspections. In terms of staffing, we currently do
not have an animal control officer for the town of Reading. Uh we have a vacancy notice that's posted on the website. I'm working with the town manager uh Jane to ensure that this position is filled in a timely manner.
In terms of the holler regulations, um there are liquidated damages enforced by the DPW under the new contract and these uh liquid liquidated damages have different fees and frequencies. So at at this point I'm working to
reconcile all the fees and violation frequencies to create consistency across the board for all the waste haulers including you know the private ones like Cella and the others. Um, this is going to
take some time to complete and I anticipate bringing the new draft before the board of health uh during the August meeting. And um that's pretty much it. That's all I have for the monthly report.
Final comments. Any questions? John. John, you're on mute. John, you're on mute. John, you're on mute. >> Um, don't we not meet in August? >> No, we do not meet in July.
>> In July. Okay. >> Yep. Go back in August. >> Oh, that's why we our day is going to do it in August. >> Correct. >> Right. >> Any other final thoughts? I wanted to mention that um uh tonight
is Sophie's final uh public meeting uh for the board of health. She's going to be stepping off >> I think due to professional constraints um >> and so I wanted to thank you Sophie for your service and over the past year and
uh hopefully when things settle down and you know you may want to come back and join us. >> For sure. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, it just got to be too difficult with my current schedule right now and things like that, but really appreciated it and I'm sure I'll be back in the future. >> Great.
>> Great. It was great having you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. If there are no other comments um or thoughts um I'll make a motion to adjurnn. Do I have a second?
>> Second. Kevin second. Uh, roll call. Um, Kevin, >> yes. >> Joan, >> yes. >> And Rick, yes. Great. Thank you all. We'll see you actually um >> next week >> soon or next week. We will be having an
executive meeting um on another topic. So, uh otherwise, have a good uh weekend. Stay cool. >> Thank you. >> Bye, everybody. Bye. Bye.