okay would everyone please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of aliance to the flag United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you so welcome to the
March uh monthly Board of Health meeting March 2025 uh with me tonight is uh to my left or I'm Dr Drew bunker chairperson sorry um to my left is Kathleen Savage board member and to my right is Viviana canano
board member as well and then we have from the municipal staff Lauren Buck who's director of Public Health Michael Wells who's Health agent director of inspectional services and Paula suita who is the Board of Health clerk also in attendance we have uh outside
Council for the city of R so first we will um start the meeting by reviewing and approving the minutes from last month's meeting so I'll just ask the other board members if they approve those minutes I approve the
minutes as written I approve as well great me as well thank you all right next is going to be the public health communicable monthly report with Lauren Buck thanks thanks Dr bunker for March 2025 we actually had a pretty low burden of communicable
diseases so I'll skip right down to State and National Public Health updates for March 10th 2025 a press release from the executive office of energy and environmental Affairs states that all of Massachusetts is either in critical or significant drought conditions most of
the state has a 8 to 13inch deficit since last August Rivier as part of the Northeast region is in a level three critical drought condition when snowfall and Rain have not been enough to replenish groundwater levels as the growing season approaches it is vital that everyone continues to follow State
guidance and local weather sorry local water restrictions to ensure water is available for all our essential needs it is important to note that the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority or the MW water supply system is not experiencing drought conditions and that is what supplies rever water however
private well users and other sources of water within the same river basins are impacted by the critical drought conditions and it's important to remember that all sources of water regardless of their location ultimately draw from the same river basins it is important for all users to do to do their part to conserve water the drought
management task force recommends fixing any toilet or faucet leaks immediately using dishwashers rather than handwashing dishes aggressively reducing Indoor Water use and stopping all non-essential water use finally just be extra cautious with outdoor fires grills and flammable materials while we're
experiencing these drought conditions next from March 11th 2025 a clinical advisory from the Department of Public Health the Federal Department of Public Health was issued regarding the spread of measles in the United States as of December 31st 2024 there were 285
measles cases reported for 2024 from 33 jurisdictions which included Massachusetts New Hampshire Vermont New York City and New York State cases were seen primarily in young people almost 90% of cases were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccine vaccination history 40%
of cases were hospitalized isolation or management of measles complications Massachusetts had a single case um had a single case in an adult with unknown vac vaccination history who had a known who was a known close contact to a confirmed measles case during international travel
unfortunately measles cases continued to Surge in 2025 with over 220 measles cases reported by March 6 2025 by 12 jurisdictions including New York City and Rhode Island these data are developing evolving rapidly and are likely to increase over the next few weeks the majority of the cases are
associated with a large outbreak among unvaccinated young children in the South Plains region of West Texas 32% of cases in West Texas are in children under five 45% are in youth between the ages of 5 and 17 97% of cases are not vaccinated
or had unknown vaccination status the outbreak in Texas has received a good deal of media attention which in turn has created concern in Massachusetts about susceptibility to measles among those traveling to Texas traveling internationally or generalized concern irrespective of travel vaccination Remains the best protection
against measles the CDC states that two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 90 97% effective at pres preventing measles and protecting sorry and protection is long lasting that's it great thank you Lauren next is the inspectional service Services monthly
report with Michael Wells thank you Dr bunker inspectional Services report for the month of March on the interior housing division We performed 77 certificate Fitness inspections 29 Certificate of Fitness reinspection 14 in uh in process interior complaints
two new interior complaints and two pool and Spire re inspections on the food uh Inspection Division We performed 36 routine inspections six re-inspections nine complaint inspections one pre-opening inspection and three temporary Food Service inspections on
the exterior sanitation division we uh issued 35 f ations for accumulation of litter garbage trash and debris 52 violations for overflowing dumpsters 369 violations for improper placement of garbage and trash and bulky
items six violations for mulp multiple unregistered cars on a private property um two violations for Road and hridge and six violations for unclean unsanitary land and one violation for uh snow ice pump sump pump violation that
concludes the inspectional Services report great thank you Michael next is uh the condemnation proceedings for 70 Highland Street so I will ask the uh outside Council uh for the city R to uh present
and speak yeah thank you members of the board uh my name is attorney Anthony Bronco from dambrosia LP I serve as outside counsel for the office of Municipal inspections um and I'm here before you to talk about the condemnation of 70 Highlands to request in order to vacate the property issue
and in order to secure the property issue along with the finding that the property be found uh unfit for human habitation so I'm just going to give you a brief summary I'm going to give you the violations the need for the condemnation and then the next steps um I will note that we have the property
owners in attendance this time as well as uh the representatives uh the city has had productive conversations with them over the last two weeks and we think that this proper is going to move forward that being said we still will ask for the condemnation so this is a property where it is a legal for acting
as an eight um over on Highland Dev Highland Street so let me describe the setup we have in the basement two units uh illegally created the second floor creates two units We Believe those to be legal the third floor will be one unit
and and above that they have uh three units two of which are two rums and one would be a main so the city was uh alerted to this property back in December of 2024 um logistically it took just a little bit of time to get inside we had
our inspection on uh March 6th uh with the full safe housing team that was fire electric plumbing building and health uh myself I was also in attendance and then there was another inspection on March 11th uh with myself and uh Michael well so at that time I'm going to walk you
through the violations that we found um in the basement there were two illegal units uh there were not enough egresses there was no fire protection um I noticed that there were a couple rooms made out to be children's rooms um and the ceilings were too low so those those
those units were created without permits without any sort of zoning relief uh you know obtains beforehand and so that that's a ma that's a major issue because it really precludes the building and the sanitary codes determinations where where you're supposed to get a permit so that the city can essentially approve
the scope of work approve that the work is going to be done safely um go ahead and get rough inspections final inspections and and none of that was followed uh on the first floor those two units are legal uh but we did see some violations there we saw some new work in
the kitchen we also saw a vanity that was created it was it was basically installed over a radiator um with with some cleaning supplies uh inside there which which was uh pretty serious on the second floor again more new work as well
as a room that housed I think four or five large uh truck tires rubber truck tires which are a fire violation um and then on the third floor there was one main units and then two other units kind of off the side of each both consisting of uh two rooms a piece with uh locks on
those doors um lastly outside we did also have uh a steel fire escape which there's no records of that having been tested which is concerning giving that that is the um the main source of eess for several of those units uh I'm going to call on Mike Wells if there's
anything you want to add I know that you were there no uh I think you covered it all pretty well attorney Bronco the uh the property owner was very Cooperative um and their uh represent family representative was very Cooperative with
us as well um which is appreciated and it goes a long way in the um making this property safe MH absolutely agreed so what I do want to highlight is that all these violations i' I've I've read off to you um these are all violations of several
sections of the building code the fire code and the health code but especially Section 105 CMR 410 630 which is in essence the condemnation provision uh it states and I'm going to read this out to you that when you find violations like this in a property they shall always be
deemed conditions which may endanger or materially impair the health or safety and well-being of a person or persons occupying the premises so given that that the Board of Health really has no choice CH but to issue a condemnation order uh for this
uh for those specific units so that's that that's what that that is what's there I want to give the status now uh like Mr well said we've been in contact with property owners um you will hear from them they'll they'll speak after me but I will reports that uh having just conferred all the tenants have been
removed from those illegal units um they have begun I I have checked cens there have they begun pulling permits and we just spoke next week we'll be scheduling a remediation plan which is essentially a round T meeting with representatives of building Health myself fire in the uh
in the property owners to sit down and figure out exactly what the next steps have to be to bring this property into compliance so at this time the relief that we would ask is we'd ask for a condemnation order to be issued um specifically against the illegal units
so not the entire building this would be and this this is laid out in in my brief and in the order to correct units one and two which are in the basement and units six and 8 which are essentially the two small units upstairs on the third floor um so even though we believe that
the tenants are out and and you'll hear that I think they're out uh not only does this cover the city and make a statement that these units cannot be occupied but it also ensures that the uh the property owners have the ability to secure the units so that no squatters can get in no no other tenants can get
in children um and in the event that any tenants were to come back let's say that the tenant ANS weren't evicted or the tenants you know had some argument that they should legally be there this in this in essence says that they can't be there and then puts the owners on the spot to have the um the the provision of
the San Jer code which requires Property Owners to put up condemned uh tenants and so in essence they this this basically protects any of those tenants if they were to come back as well so I have I have attached in my filings a proposed order as well as a pro proposed finding um if after hearing all this
testimony you agree and you you uh will give the city the relief it asks I would ask that you sign these documents today and I will get them surfed off any questions from anyone hi I do have a question uh so the illegal units have been vacated but the ones that are legal can the owner stay
there or no they also have to move out until the property is in code they they can stay there so so those so those units which are legal those were sign the construction of those physical units was signed off on at one point uh we do have the building jacket which says that the four is legal it's just that those
those other units were essentially storage space or or kind of nothing space and so for that reason we would need those vacated but everyone else could stay okay thank you m re reading your documents it sounds like there were violations in the units
that were the legal units still so how would that affects the people living there at the moment so so those so those like I said because structurally those those structures were still there you go up and you would still recognize it as a real unit um the danger is not as
imminent um that being said so part of what we'll be doing next week is we're going to be having a remediation plan meeting and we're going to go through step by step exactly what what parment have to be pulled by what dates when do the final inspections have to occur um and that that will essentially keep the owners honest in getting those
violations uh remediated thank you MH so so just to clarify we're not condemning the entire unit or the apartment just the specific units within the apartment um okay correct right
essentially this is a partial condemnation yes MH I don't have any further questions anyone from the board okay thanks very much y so next yeah we'll just open the floor
or the microphone to anyone who uh would like to speak it sounds like we have people from representation from the apartment my name is Manuel Madrigal I'm a general contractor for the past 25 years I also held a license from the Department of
Environmental Protection which means cross connections C engineering close connections so do my career also I'm here because I'm their nephew so I like to speak on their behalf once they came
aware of the problem they immediately reach out to the tenants find H from them for them pay for the movings and also pay the rent for the new place as well compensate them with some money for the inconvenience the reason being um if you
guys wanted to come back to inspect you guys are welcome to it at any given moment everything has been taken out except for this sto except for the um bath staff toilets and Bist we secure a plumber as well as an electrician to
correct the alarm system which the smoke detectors three of them are now hook up to electricity but the um plumber came to apply for the for the permit and they say no because it's too soon they want to wait for the next
meeting maybe we should pull all the permits at the permits at the same time as well as the uh the alarm system so we secure an electrician to do that but I told him today to hold that pulling the per made until we had the hearing to see
which one is the best way to proceed in this regards which you say next week we can go over over there correct we also secure a um an structal engineer to look at the back steers the metal steers and then he can give us a certificate to
stay if they're um in a good shape or not right um also uh for the analysis he will conduct analysis throughout the building and come come up with the idea with the best idea of how to approach this matter but Mr Torres and his wife
are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the existing house and then once we get together one more time decide where to go from there but one thing for sure tenants are
gone safe homes everybody's happy and uh I just have one question for Mr Bronco if you can help me out so from my point of view being being a contractor for the past um 20 20 some years and uh recalling the only time you
are required to stall an a Sprinkle system is when you are doing doing more than 50% of the work in this property correct I believe so I I think we're going to let the fire department determine that um so I I I think it kind of depends on the type of work you guys do you know what's going to be done with
other spaces and stuff yeah sure um so so the question was uh what what type of uh fire sprinkler system has to go in what type of fire protection system so that that's really going to be determined uh as as we go through so
we're going to have this this meeting next week um plans are going to get submitted you're going to let us know what you want the certain spaces to look like um and if that triggers certain code requirements you know like like you said like maybe more than 50% of the work you might have to go up to new standards right if if you're able to
keep keep it under that 50% um then maybe you you know you won't have to put certain things in it's going to kind of depends on on what plans are proposed uh but we're certainly going to work with the homeowner you know to make sure all that's communicated every step of the way thank you so much appreciate that so
at this point I don't think I have any more comments I really thank you for your time and give us opportunity to explain what's going on and again um there in a good fade to do whatever it needs to do to keep the house to the
standards and not to code thank you so much yeah any questions from the board I just have a quick question y okay so when the upgrades are made is it still going to be is it going to be four apartments or eight only four okay so um
so one more thing uh the basement we're going to just pull permits and Dem with 100% we we don't have any need for it the ceiling is too low nothing we can do not even for storage we're going to just pull the right permits after Wednesday
and and just disappear them the second floor um again we need to meet with the with the architect and he has the last say but right now we just want to keep it as a for family but bring him up to Cod no doubt and I'm I'm I'm physically not not going to be doing the work
because I'm too busy but I am going to be managing the project from the beginning to end to make sure that everything gets done up to code and and not cutting Corners great thank you you thank you so much appreciate it all right anyone else want to come
and speak on property I think we're all done all done okay all right so I'll just uh put this up to vote um we have to make a decision Pro the condemnation of the units 1 2
six and 8 within this dwelling um you know I it's great that the family and um that they're going to make these changes and it's going to become a four family um house but it sounds like uh there is there should be a precedent
that to condemn these units that um so to pre prevent people from using them in the future this whole issue with squatting and and whatnot so um I see the the legal precedent to to do the condemnation on these units and I hope it doesn't um cause any issues for the family in the future and I don't think
it will um but uh I'm going to ask the the other the board members if if they're uh what their opinion is and if they had anything to say no I think unfortunately we do have to condemn those units and it sounds like you have wonderful owners that are
going to do the right thing and bring the house up we condemn it yeah yeah and and then once the architect come up with with sorry sorry so we would like to condemn them for now until the analysis takes place yes and then and then we will be meeting
with with him and whoever uh from the board and move forward okay that makes sense yeah all right so just I agree also that unfortunately we do need to condemn it we need to make it as a safe building for everyone to be living in
and and that that's what they want they want a safe home do you know she's 84 he's 81 the last thing they won is problems so they they they like to do the right thing yes absolutely yeah thank
you all right great so um can you guys just give a vote for the the condemnation yes yes okay yes okay and me as well so that's going to be three votes for the condemnation um from the Board of Health and so we'll sign this
for you um Anthony but uh all right that's going to be it for oh for the um condemnation proceeding so feel free to stay or you can go um anyone who's part of
that so what have we done here you're all de yeah you can guys leave can you want the rest is probably not of concern thank you okay great and so the next um topic to be discussed is the license
renewal for the chicken keeping I'm gonna hand it over to Lauren for this thanks serer bunker so as you all know we have an urban farming uh ordinance here in Rivier and so every year we have to inspect and re renew licenses for
both chicken and bees we'll do we'll do all four at the same time um we have two Chicken Keepers in rev two licensed Chicken Keepers in rev two licensed chicken uh beekeepers in rev so so um I'm asking for you to approve the licenses of all four of the licenses I'm
about to talk about the first is for chicken keeping it's for Carmela and Luigi diaria on 60 hman Street we did their inspection yesterday on 326 and they passed and so our recommendation is that you approve the license we also have another chicken keeper um iag geni
Victorian on 93 High Street her inspection was on March 21st and she passed as well so we recommend that you approve that license finally our two beekeepers Aldo D Ola on 364 Reservoir AV we inspected twice his last
inspection was on the 27th this morning and he passed so we recommend you improve approve that license and finally Damen DeMarco on 202 Prospect AV his inspection date was on March 19th and he passed as well so we recommend that you approve all four licenses thank
you yes so I'm hear for the other board members do you guys approve okay yes I approve so yes from both yes from me as well we approve those licenses sorry next is going to be the um license renewal for the beekeeping I
all we did all did all four y we're good yes all right we did everything um great so that will conclude this month's meeting uh rev Board of Health thank you