TOWN OF NORTHBRIDGE

BOARD OF HEALTH

7 Main Street

Whitinsville, MA  01588

Phone# (508) 234-3272   Fax# (508) 234-0821

 

The Northbridge Board of Health approved these minutes at a meeting held October 2, 2007.

 

MEETING MINUTES ~ SEPTEMBER 10, 2007

                                                                                                                                               

 

This meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Mr. Paul McKeon, Chairman. Other members present were Mr. Steven Garabedian, Ms. Ann Marie Thompson and Mr. Chris Cella. Mr. Scott Chase was absent. Also present were Ms. Terry Gilchrist and Mr. James Malley, Agents of the Board of Health.

 

Minutes: A motion was made by Ms. Thompson to accept the minutes of August 13, 2007. Motion seconded by Mr. Cella; the vote was 3-0 in favor. Mr. Garabedian abstained due to absence from that meeting.

 

Knights of Columbus: Nobody was present for this meeting from the Knights of Columbus to address the placement and installation of a mop sink and a hand wash sink at this facility.

 

A hand drawn sketch of the facility showing the placement of both sinks in a closet was reviewed by the Board. Ms. Gilchrist stated that she and Ms. Gniadek had conducted a site visit to determine the appropriateness of this location. Ms. Gilchrist stated that it is fine for the mop sink but not the hand wash sink. Mr. Garabedian stated that he would not even accept the plan that was submitted – it was hand drawn, no straight lines, and definitely not to scale.

 

Mr. Cella questioned why they would even consider placing the hand wash sink in the closet. Ms. Gilchrist stated that she had an idea of where she would like the sink to be placed but when she and Ms. Gniadek visited the facility we told them where we wanted it and they argued back where they wanted it. Mr. Garabedian recalled that at a previous meeting they argued about the plumbing set up. He stated that he did not accept that as a legitimate problem. Mr. Garabedian offered to meet with Ms. Gilchrist at the facility. The Board expressed their displeasure with the K of C for not having a representative at this meeting which was held at a time suitable for the attendance of our agent Ms. Gilchrist.

 

Ms. Gilchrist stated that a butcher block table in the kitchen is badly worn and needs to be removed. She stated that she would like to see that removed and a smaller table installed which would allow for the installation of a hand wash sink adjacent to the table.

 

Mr. Cella motioned to send a letter to the Knights of Columbus stating that based on the inspection of the health agent the Board is requiring that the hand wash sink be installed against the wall adjacent to the butcher block table and that they submit suitable plans detailing the location of the sinks and that a representative of their establishment must be present at the next meeting of the Board of Health or further action may be taken by this Board. Motion seconded by Ms. Thompson; the vote was all in favor.

Food Service – Certificate of Merit Program: Ms. Terry Gilchrist asked the Board to consider adopting a certificate of merit program similar to what is being used in Westboro. She stated that the program has been quite successful. It awards food permit holders when certain criteria are met. The names of those establishments receiving certificates are also be printed in a local newspaper. Mr. Cella asked who would pay for this program. Ms. Gilchrist stated that the only cost is for the paper for the certificates.

 

Motion made by Mr. Cella to accept the certificate of merit program as proposed by Ms. Gilchrist and being similar to that used by the Town of Westboro. Motion seconded by Ms. Thompson; the vote was all in favor.

 

Title 5 – WalMart Supercenter: Present for this meeting were Mike Loin of Bertin Engineering and Kathleen Drea of Barry Porter and Associates.

 

The Board reviewed the letter from Wal-Mart accepting responsibility for the floor drains. The Board agreed that this was acceptable.

 

Mr. McKeon questioned whether we were all set with the as-built and certificate of compliance. Mr. Malley stated that he and Mr. Hutnak need to get together to review the plans to make sure that the as-built is complete. No further meetings should be necessary if all the housekeeping matters are resolved to the satisfaction of Mr. Malley.

 

Ms. Drea provided the Board with the original letter from Wal-Mart regarding the floor drains – the letter on file had been received via email.

 

Title 5  - 34 Fairlawn Street – Correspondence: Mr. Malley informed the Board that this letter from Paramaz Baghdasarian was in response to a letter from the Board questioning the determination of groundwater. Mr. Malley stated that he recently observed soils evaluation testing at property adjacent to 34 Fairlawn Street at 26 Fairlawn and that it was all sands and gravel. No further action is required.

 

Housing – 36 Pine Street: The Board reviewed a request from the owner of this property, Ms. Melanie Desrosiers who resides in Tennessee, for an extension of 30 days to complete repairs at this property which had violations under the state housing code. The Board agreed that a 30-day extension for completion of repairs would be acceptable as there was only one critical violation at this dwelling.

 

Resignation of Health Agent: The Board accepted the resignation of David Crocker, Housing Inspector.

 

Tobacco Mini Grant Application: The Board reviewed the mini grant application for tobacco youth access compliance checks. New this year is the requirement that data be entered into a main computer system. Mr. McKeon informed the Board that Ms. Gniadek is registered for that training.

 

Motion made by Mr. Cella to approve youth access tobacco mini grant application. Motion seconded by Ms. Thompson; the vote was all in favor.

 

OWB Regulations: The Board reviewed a letter from the Department of Environmental Protection regarding the recently adopted Outdoor Wood Burning furnaces regulations. The letter states that the regulations have been approved subject to one advisory comment. That comment is that the regulations, in order to have the full force of law, must be published in their entirety. This matter was tabled to the next meeting for further clarification.

 

In other business, the Board was requested to conduct a site inspection of 2788 Providence Road, where a wood burning furnace was recently installed. Mr. McKeon stated that he would go out to the property. The Board felt that this would be grand-fathered as it was installed prior to the adoption of our regulations.

 

Old & New Business: Mr. McKeon stated that he would like the office policy regarding Building Permit Applications revised so that expansion of properties where a connection to town sewer is proposed to meet state regulations (as an example: septic systems that were given a local upgrade for repair do not allow for an expansion of the dwelling) that the property be required to make that connection prior to the issuance of a building permit to ensure that this activity occurs. If the connection doesn’t occur then it will require a lot of work on our end to make sure that the connection takes place – so, if the Board requires the connection first, it should simplify the process.

 

Mr. Cella questioned how this is different from our current policies regarding on-site sewage expansions. Shouldn’t the Board also require that those be upgraded prior to signing off on the building permits. Mr. McKeon agreed – the policy should apply to both town sewer connections and upgrading septic systems to accommodate additional flow.

 

Motion made by Ms. Thompson to require that all building permits where additional flow to the septic system requires either the upgrade of the on-site sewage disposal system or a connection to town sewer where available that the Board of Health will not sign off on the building permit until such time that the upgrade or connection has been completed. Motion seconded by Mr. Cella; the vote was all in favor.

 

 

Correspondence: Correspondence dispersed to the Board included:

1.      Berkowitz Wood Chipping Notice – Month of September

2.      Eileen Russo – re: participation in Trap, Neuter, Release program for feral cats

3.      Tufts University – rabies testing service costs

 

 

 

There being no further business, motion to adjourn by Mr. Cella, seconded by Mr. Garabedian – all in favor.

 

 

Attested by,

 

 

Jeanne M. Gniadek, Administrative Assistant