##VIDEO ID:JM8sbzYCeew## I do it after the plge okay all right uh good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Westport Board of Health December 9th 2024 meeting which I'm calling to order with the announcement of under master the Law chapter 3A section 20f this meeting is being recorded and please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty Justice okay we will start with the public health written report um any questions on that not we'll go to update okay Massachusetts is seeing a significant decrease in groundwater levels in many areas of the state with over 500,000 residents relying on private Wells the Commonwealth with like to gather information on potential impacts of the water supply of these residents so basically what they did is they put out a short survey and aside from who you are and your email address there was three questions microphone oh there was three questions um how many incidents are you aware of in which private Wells in your municipality are being impacted by the drought to date impacts can include Wells going dry next question um can you provide an actual or estimated total number of private wells in your municipality question three do you think the number of known incidents is an accurate reflection of the true impacts so anyways um we're going to be answering that survey um probably tomorrow and sending it back into the state so if people having trouble with their well either it's running dry the water's cloudy or silted or some other quantity issue um they should um notify the so we can they should surve we haven't gotten any calls that I know of or emails to date saying that there's been issues with anybody's well with um in relationship to what was just in there so okay right um so after Thanksgiving generally it's expected to see an increase in viral and respiratory illnesses so I thought it'd be helpful to share the various dashboards that have relevant da data so there there's a few that have to be read but what we're going to do is just basically you know there's um a viral respiratory illness reporting dashboard there's a um a respiratory illness reporting uh visits and hospitalization ations uh dashboard Co dashboard influenza dashboard Wastewater dashboard and immunization dashboard for respiratory diseases so what I'll do is I'll put those up on our web page tomorrow and if anybody's interested they can go to the web page and uh click on those um links to those different dashboards the public health nurse started administrating food vaccine September 16th to date we've administered 146 vaccines BR book inspections out of the 200 we have nine left remaining to inspect so we're getting close to wrapping those up director approved plans we have um a three-bedroom repair on a 41,9 ft lot for Riley homes on 25 wupa Road um this one's been through concom and this is utilizing a Presby system we have new construction four bedrooms 99,9 15t lot on Main Road for Shan pachico utilizing an Elgen and an advantex we have a two-bedroom repair utilizing a quick four on a 17,29 3T lot on 175 Plymouth Boulevard for a Michael Ferrera we have a three bedroomroom repair on a 60,000 ft lad on 308 Highland da for tiberio chardino we have a three-bedroom repair on a 14,860 ft lot on 23 Donna Street for movement Transportation this one Rec is a deed restriction we have a two-bedroom repair onun an 8,400 ft lot on three Masson Street for Janice McCarthy estate um again this one requires a deed restriction we have a two-bedroom repair on a 227,000 ft L on 154 Old Pine Hill Road for margar patello um and this one requires a deed restriction four bedroom upgrade on five wind Rush Lane for M Michael hton and this one's on a 60,000 ft lot and we have a three-bedroom new construction on a 61,7 78 foot lot on mcky court for a Michael Barbosa and that one using a quick four and a Fuji the tell why need there a two-bedroom system not a three oh two okay I miss I thought it was okay um just I I'll follow later M Court I need the address subis do we need that the main road too um that's a subdivision i' sort of narrowed inly we got the the first um subdivided lot last time two ago um so we have four properties that need deep restrictions um please specify the number of bedrooms because they vary um I'll take a motion um so I move that we endorse the director approved plans um with uh the with the requirement of the main road um system having a excuse me not I'm I'm incorrec on that the 175 Plymouth Boulevard address requiring two-bedroom deed restriction and a concom review we have that's pending right for which one for the 175 P Boulevard um yes pending yeah okay and for 23 Donna Street with a three bedroom deed restriction um three Mason Street with a two-bedroom deed restriction and 154 Old Pine Hill Road with a two-bedroom deed restriction second just to be clear the remaining properties are included in that approval don't need any restrictions all in favor that's thank you okay moving on to um minutes I have no um changes to the minutes um yeah I don't think it needs to be changed but just to clarify my own thinking about it there's a reference in the minutes in which I'm saying I in a more uncategorically way think that we should adopt um P inspection requirements into the regulations that um the private well regulations that we are um working on and I haven't really reached that conclusion yet so um but I don't think it's significant enough you know to rewrite that sentence about hold to it yeah see what we okay all right so I move that we approve the minutes for November 25th 2024 second all in favor all and one abion on okay I'll just let's go other business comments on that um so our next regular meeting would be normally be scheduled for December 23rd 2024 I would be unable to attend I'm proposing that we postpone it to December 30th um which you know is a less busy preh holiday day if that's convenient for folks if not we can move it to cancel or move it to another day so December 30th is a half day for the town wait a minute is it no it's not it's the next day sorry wish thinking all right yeah so that's New Year's Eve day right um it's no day before New Eve is Tuesday okay all right okay is that okay for folks to the um I'm not sure I I I you know I I might be in Cambridge then but um but I can um so uh I could find out you know um to confirm but uh so we could put it out tentatively and then yeah so why don't we tentatively say December 30th for some reason that doesn't work well next meeting is the week after anyways M right um I don't think the week like trying to do it Friday after Christmas is any better so I would suggest that we just cancel so we postpone to the 30th or cancel and do we think we have do you have I have people waiting to send out uh notices uh to bus so um it' probably be good if we can come to a conclusion tonight if possible whether to postpone or not um that way I can definitively say we're not our meeting uh because um otherwise I'd have to hear back you know maybe you guys can get back to me first thing tomorrow well I can get back to you tomorrow morning yeah yeah so why don't we do that we'll um take a motion to um rescheduled the December 23rd meeting to um December 30th pending confirmation from Phil otherwise it would be canell so moved second all in favor um so um follow up from I just that on the agenda because we didn't know when we made the agenda what was the outcome of our working meeting U but I think we came to pretty clear conclusion um on um this is the issue about um overdesign if you will or larger capacity septic systems built with smaller number of bedrooms than capacity and whether that added bedroom increases uh flow triggering D and we agree that that would not um the one exception is for um accessory dwelling separate accessory dwelling units because of DP requirement for two tanks and therefore it triggers you would trigger that requirement so well I could just say that that um you know uh a couple of things one is just that I did a little more research just background and it turns out that the um uh building department has a reference on their web page in a specific website that describes the relationship between adding bedrooms and um uh the applicability of title file to require um uh an up a new a a septic system what the requirements of the septic system would be which I don't think is consistent with the consensus that or the direction that we were moving in where did the building department get this interpretation well they didn't talk to Matt about it so how do we think this is I think it I think I think that once we come out at the end of where we are you know that the collective we or through Matt or Matt and I need to sit down you know with Ralph and kind of walk through where we've come out and see whether or not that is um that we want to revise that but for people who are going on you know the board the building department website and going there um that that that that's that part of it that that needs to get addressed the other part of it is just for and if you inconsistency yeah well I'd have to read it all I'm just suggesting is that for you guys could go there and look at it and then you could see kind of the you know you know it's not it's a bit nuanced you know I I might not have even reacted the same way um prior to our discussion and the other work I've been doing on it and then the other part of it is that um which I think is also worth having you look at is the um zoning bylaw for accessory Apartments which is at um uh and I actually I can I can give you the anyway yeah so it's um it's the the zoning bylaws and it's section 9.5 and I bring that to your attention because it um it talks about what requirements are require you know what conditions um that a unit has to meet in order to um be approved under the zoning bylaws as an an accessory apartment okay and they address both attached and detached okay Apartments which I think we've been generally dealing under the um uh uh under the um I can never remember the A and A auxiliary no Adu is stands for accessory dwelling unit accessory yeah accessory dwelling unit so and I just think um it's it's helpful to look at those and see what they require um in order to qualify uh for um a zoning approval to allow that to to happen and some nuances yeah so there so it to to to the end that that um as we describe what what it is or a particular scenario that we're looking at like the addition of a bedroom or the addition versus addition of an apartment our description of that I think should be consistent or and it also I think would influence some of the discussion that we have um because their description includes having a kitchen and having you know things that distinguish between just adding a bedroom versus adding um uh an apartment so to speak and how we might treat them differently or not but okay did you want to read it no okay the zoning bylaws is you know it's like two pages so it's long it's worth you know it's worth let's put that yeah and and um so I so writing up the policy is premature at this point because we need to go kind of well no I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to write up a I'm I'm working on I'm working on the guidelines and um I would just say this which I'll probably you know um talk to Matt about because Matt and I were having a convers ation earlier about this and I would say that your summary of what our what we concluded at our last meeting was a little bit different than I took from Matt's conversation with me about it and I would say that um at some point we will need to choose what we want to be consistent with that there is a little bit of U friction between how we describe the units and um and whether or not simply a having a um having having additional design capacity would or would not trigger new construction I know that's very oblique to people who are listening I apologize to you know to that but um but I think I'll get Mt a draft like in the next day or so and then maybe he can circulate it to you and part of the draft will like May point out this um you know what I think is the final like piece of the puzzle that we have to you know uh accept um uh so anyway but I'm so I'm making a lot of progress and it'd be helpful you know for you guys to read this so that when I refer to stuff in there you will know what I'm talking about because I don't want to overload the the um the guidance with a lot of detail okay got it um we need to a little bit more research and circle back yeah just give show the time20 okay yeah oh 4 we 10 minutes before our first appointment I was just filling time with that blather um you turn to Don updates oh updates um the shines article um was published about the opioid settlement fund advisory committee and our first meeting um is tomorrow evening at 6 PM it's an open meeting um so if anybody wants to come and listen um we greatly appreciate some input so um but I think that's all I have for my updates um what else excuse me oh no that I had received an email today yeah I yeah I I received an email today from um what's her name Deborah weeber um about um the Watership Alliance is doing a presentation they're saying at the end of May related to the increase in tickborne illnesses um and the increase of um ticks in this area so um she asked if the Board of Health would want to collaborate on this um I spoke with Matt about it and he suggested perhaps April would be better if we could we could do it um uh for various reasons but um he has some connections with what's the name what's the person that you have connections with regarding tick porn misses oh there's a tick biologist that U going to try to get into give a presentation yeah so so it's in the works but I I CC you my response to her so that we um could at least address it as a board um because she was just inquiring about whether we wanted to as a board collaborate on this event makes sense it's an important public health issue and um the more um publicity you know the more awareness people have in I think okay great um um so update for me is just um as I mentioned I think at the last meeting um that um I'm now getting the pump reports and updating the database um manually um and that is um helpful for identifying um what we know what we have reported as unknowns because we have no subate plan in place so that helps identify where there are additional sub access pools um and um also sort of rings up you know situations where um you know they they apparently repair um approved repair on file longer ago than three years and we need to follow up because it's assessible want to prioritize those so um we'll continue work that on that um okay I can it's 4:23 423 well um since the appointment is Mr Potter is Mr are you here for is Mr Potter coming or not yes okay well we'll wait for him then because I don't want to start without him but since it's not a um formal public hearing we could start as soon as he arrives okay um okay let's just check if we have any oops um topics for the next regular meting about um the um setic the guidance yeah guidance um for the next meeting um well I I'll try to have more um information on the um D um P oh um conclusion on their reporting and what they want to do later later in the new year so um I know we've done one column on P and already but um obviously it's an issue um it uh speaking of home we have one we have one in December um January um so we're look looking for topics for January of um he col um I think we talked about it last time I forget what volunteers or topics we had um so um just put that in your head if you have ideas um um we should probably think about doing a tick in April sort of in conjunction with that would be helpful to do something with the water Alliance um meaning um is there anything um winter illness about I I would like um if the board approves to um do a column about um natural burial um because we now have the home burial policy that it's not strictly natural or reial but it is um sort of in that real um um just to increase Awareness on that but that that's not time sensitive um well we know that I'll be doing for May anything related to mental he during this month and any programs or events that will be occurring um all right so um um when um um when we figured out our unknowns and how to deal that we can um bring that up in a call any brainstorm topics we'll keep on thinking about it U okay do we have any other topics not reasonably anticipated no for this meeting okay then we'll just wait for Mr Potter and that's all we've got left on our agenda we move on from [Music] there he's com yeah oh I I did want to share with you Matt there's something um recently in um one of the medical journals that I um e journals that I get about hor so I'll be happy to share that with you um looking at actually an increase in hoing behavior that would be great diagnosis um I just have an idea um um I don't know I think we've talked about in in a prior meeting um um Board of Health got a grant for the purple air sensors to measure particular air quality good um and we are installing six um throughout Town um at the two um fire stations a place on 177 at the head of Westport at the building down at the point and I'm missing whites you Whites Whites Whites um so but just that there's a public dashboard with that soct so um I'm wondering if you could um [Music] down good afternoon Mr welcome discuss Street a two bedom house with a three bedroom septic and now they would like to add a third bedom to the is that correct yes this is on a 21475 lock yes um does it have a restriction already no no okay so would need the reason they did the three better was so they didn't have to put a d restriction on it that was 199 the oh I don't know just that is that I it sounds right I looked at it earlier but yeah it was done while back I to the plan recommendation rather restriction just build a three bedroom house build a three bedroom system Foredom house okay so this is Bob that's gor's son and he's uh inter they want to do an Adu so okay so the Adu is that separate it's attached attached okay so we decid and it's just just what you were talking about oh I know I know yeah yeah yeah yeah the Mal Bush on this is it um well so what do you describe what the what the Adu is going to contain is it just a bedroom or there other no it'll be a full it'll be a full unit so it'll have it'll have a sleeping a bathroom and a kitchen okay y um otherwise what the thought was he explained to me you have to cut a hole in one of the a door into one of the other rooms to make that stair two right right no stair one and the Adu would be a one there doesn't seem very wise um I got I got a little lost in the there's two bedrooms in the house like the existing home so in order to make that one bedom you have to put another open into that extra bedroom to make it a non-bed and then you take that one bed he has a three bedroom system that he installed did you get the title five uh it's not done yet no it's scheduled in but it's not done yet all right okay that's the plan I have the original plan um all right let me turn first to Matt and then we'll let TR So based on what I think the board decided this wouldn't require dite because it's an ATT attached unit it's adding a bedroom for a system that's already designed for three bedrooms So based on our discussions and it's because it's attached is that by getting that right I think so well we thought when you're at when it was attached it would just be a bedro the the Nuance we were looking at and um has been doing more research so we can check in but was D when there's two sort of functioning households if you will whether it's um that because you can have be running the laundry at the same time showers baths at the same time it might um uh overload the septic tank and so they want two tanks for two you know household functions if you will but we presumed if you're just adding a bedroom in a house that you're not adding an extra laundry you're not you know so it's not the same thing but but if they're adding a full unit with laundry kitchen and everything it may require um another tank May um but I think that doesn't necessarily trigger the D requirement because it's still designed to free better right okay so so we're waiting for 10 Five inspection and um I'm not sure we have a decision on on the two tanks versus one well if you look the D guidance right it says that they treat these as some of these attached units as say duplexes side by side which is could certainly qualify I guess but um um yeah I we're still kind of looking at that part of it I think for these attached units but I think if I understand the board correctly at least because the system is designed for three it wouldn't require dite corre at least I that's the way that's the conclusion we came to at our work um I think what we're the the um the tank is question that can resolve that or I can resolve that with that okay I think that's that's kind of where we're at but I don't know well um yeah this is maybe a little bit just slightly peripheral to this but just saying that you're going to meet all the requirements under the existing zoning laws being an attached an apartment in terms of separate entrance and all that right and I think that the just but I think that the question that came up from a consistency point of view is that it seemed pretty clear that if you had a detached if you did the same unit that you were building and and it was detached then under the definition of new construction which means a new building um which requires occupancy permit it would be treated under Title 5 definition in our definition is new construction because that's that's one criteria for uh and um and and then there's the second criteria which we were looking at you're falling under wordss or second part of the definition which relates to an increase in design flow andc you know because your existing system has the capacity to absorb another bedroom you're within the um you're within that definition and just explain so what that leaves us if we adopt that approach what we're saying is that a person who builds a separate building and a person who builds an attached building and provides the exact same kitchen living room whatever it is one has to install a denite system and one doesn't and I'm not sure that's really that um we've talked about well it's a it's ay trying to figure that or or we would or we would just say that no that that no that no accessory dwelling units would have to do it but on the face of it because at least this is I'm just expressing my opinion now and I'm fine with what whatever you know the board decides but I'm just saying that in the normal course of things if someone built a building and it required a occupancy permit and you looked at Title 5 you would say that's exactly what Title 5 says new building occupancy permit new construction and then it creates the second you know set of circumstances where you're in existing building but you're renovating your building and you're adding a bedroom but you're within the design flow it's you know that's new you know um that and we're saying well you you're you are consistent with the design flow so it's not new construction because you're not it's not ex you know you're not adding design flow relative to the systems capacity right and and um so at least I'm saying that's the um path we're trying to navigate in a way um and so uh today's circumstan you are um we are an agreement that uh does not trigger uh uh the dite requirement question about whether a second tank will need to be installed is something that um well Matt can guide me on that you to Mt yeah yeah I I think one of the questions that I because I felt as though when I read through your regulations that it fell more in line with and I know what you're saying well it's it's the same thing right it's just detached or or or right but right what's what's confusing is if you your definition for new construction is different than the title 5 definition the title 5 definition actually speaks to dwelling units but that doesn't exist to what un dwelling units yes right it speaks to dwelling units in that new construction but the but the the the the definition that's adopted under your regulations it doesn't it doesn't say that it just talks about new construction builds right right um well the that might be where the that might be where the confusion is between between the town and Title 5 310 no I don't think uh well um uh I think the definition of new construction applies to any facility doesn't it yeah construction of a new building for which an occupancy permit is required this is title five or an increase in the actual or design flow to any system or an increase in the actual or design flow to any nonperforming system or an increase in the design flow to any system the existing approved capacity and it goes on to talk about new construction doesn't include um uh replacement with a pair of dwelling yeah was Destro in 1995 and that's where they talk about dwelling but not the main definition so it's sort of a subset our definition is more concise but basically says the same thing if you increase design flow to any existing system yeah then you know then then you're um then you're subject to um um uh the regulation I think where we're drawing a distinction is between um that even though um uh there's kind of this recognition that um when you add another person or particularly in your situation when you um are adding a kitchen and a dishwasher and everything about it it's likely that your flow is going to increase um but we're not really considering that quote actual flow um because the definition says any increase in design flow or actual flow so we're saying actual flow maybe means metered flow Title 5 treats design flow based on the number of bedrooms and you have a three-bedroom system and you have existing two-bedroom house so you can add a bedroom within that and I think that for me it was just uh like the N person I I don't want to belabor the point I made you know it just it just puts the board in an awkward position which says how come my neighbor who built the same thing I am attached doesn't have to put in a dite system but just because I have a separate building now I have to put in a dite system you know what's you know explain that board you know and it's like well uh and U so I just think we need to um you know choose the road okay the situation is clear for you okay great so we'll Christmas okay thank you very much thank you thank you hang in okay I will take a motion to so I move that weour this meeting at 4:41 p.m. second all in favor uh hi Manny