The meeting convened at 1:00 PM. Present were Timothy P. Stone, Ruth C. Brefka, Public Health Director Paul C. Pisinski and Secretary Barbara M. Luther. Louis Fazen, III was not in attendance.

The minutes of the August 10, 2004 meeting were approved with the correction of some typos. The minutes of the August 17, 2004 meeting were approved as written.

Vouchers totaling $855.95 were approved for payment from the Board of Health Budget. An Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District voucher for $2,264.00 was approved for payment, and a voucher to return an unused portion of the Region 4A Emergency Preparedness Grant totaling $20.56 was also approved for payment.

Members were briefed on the agenda and any scheduled appointments.

The following License(s) signed by the Public Health Director:
Joy Thompson Jokove Image Enhancement, Inc. dba Inaara Medspa Massage Establishment
Nathan Roseberry Inaara Medspa Massage Therapist
James Young J.D. Young Excavating Installer
Stephen L. Billhart/Terri Locke Woodward School. Food Est.

The following Permit(s) were unanimously approved and signed:
Septic Permits
SDS Permit #2004037 – 218 Turnpike Rd. (28/9) Complete Replacement Commercial 1,927 GPD A note is to be made on the permit requiring clean outs along the forced main.
SDS Permit #2004039 – 52 Deerfoot Rd. (43/36) Complete Replacement 4 Bedroom
SDS Permit #2004041 – 84 Turnpike Rd. (38/11) Complete Replacement 8 Bedroom
SDS Permit #2004042 – 88 Turnpike Rd. (38/11) Complete Replacement 6 Bedroom During the review of 84 and 88 Turnpike a conjoining property at 2 Woodland Rd. was discussed. The Board would like at least the Engineer, if not the owner to come to the next meeting and discuss the resolution of issues on that property
SDS Permit #2004043 - 94 Main St. (53/5) Complete Replacement 4 Bedroom
SDS Permit #2004044 – 261 Cordaville Rd. (8/18) Complete Replacement 3 Bedroom

The Following Permit(s) were NOT Approved: Mr. Pisinski presented the Board members with an application for a subsurface sewage disposal system on a new lot at 124 Parkerville Rd. No permit has been generated because Mr. Pisinski’s recommendation is not to approve the plan. This is because there is a tributary to the reservoir within the property. The current design plan shows the subsurface sewage disposal system constructed inside the 200 ft. setback perimeters at 110 ft. away from the tributary. Therefore, the plan is not in compliance with the Title 5 Code and would require a variance be granted. The Board’s has approved a few variances in the past but they have been for a distance far greater that the 110 ft. proposed with this design. The consensus of the Board is not to approve the existing proposal. However, if the engineer reworks the proposed plan and resubmits it to the Board with a much greater setback to the tributary they will review the new proposal. The applicant is also entitled to apply for a variance and Mr. Pisinski was instructed to so inform the applicant and his design engineer.

DISCUSSION
New Budget figure - $114,010 (reduction of $2,500 not approved by Town Meeting)
The Board Members were given copies of documentation, which records the approval of the proposed 2005 Board of Health Budget ($114,010) by the Town Meeting. This is a 3% reduction from the 2004 budget. A motion reducing the budget by an additional $2,500 had been made at the Town Meeting, however the Board of Selectmen amended the motion and the full budget proposal was approved.
During discussion of the budget Dr. Stone stated that he would like to handle communicable disease follow-ups in house rather than renew a contract with Interim Health Care to perform follow-up services. He explained that there is talk of a pilot program through the Bio-Terrorism Region 4A Emergency Preparedness group to use emergency preparedness staff that will not be called into service for bio-terrorism emergencies very often, if at all, and therefore have time to work clinics and/or communicable disease follow-up for area towns. This might be done through a trial sub-regional Public Nursing arrangement.

Flu Clinic - The Board Members chose November 10, and November 17, 2004 as dates for the annual Flu Clinic. Interim Health Care will administer the free vaccine, that the Board of Health supplies, to Southborough residents who are 65 years old or older or younger individuals who are immunocompromised. There was much discussion regarding the fee of $1,500 for the two clinics, but after realizing that an average of 300 people are vaccinated the consensus of the Board was to accept the fee, which Dr. Stone calculated to be approximately $5.00 per vaccination. The members agreed that a “contract” letter of confirmation would be drawn and signed by all parties in authority.

Chairman/Board Members to sign Deed Restriction Release Form
Public Health Director, Paul C. Pisinski explain the provision in the Title 5 Code regarding “presumed bedrooms” on a subsurface sewage disposal system to the Board Members, as well as the “deed restriction” that could be put onto a property that had more rooms than the “presumed bedroom count” would allow. The property at 31 Sears Rd. had a restriction placed on it because the subsurface sewage disposal system was only big enough for 4 bedrooms. Recently the system was enlarged to accommodate 6 bedrooms, therefore the “deed restriction” could be removed. A form removing the restriction requires the signature of at least the Chairman of the Board of Health. Both members present signed the form.

State funding ($) may be available to some or all of the towns in the original “Route 9 East Tobacco Program” through the City of Worcester.
Mr. Pisinski explained that he had attended a meeting with the former members of the Rte. 9 East Tobacco Control Group consisting of Shrewsbury, Westborough, Grafton, Ashland, Northborough and Southborough. At the meeting it was learned that the Department of Public Health, in response to writings from Boards of Health has agreed to a pilot program for Tobacco Control in area towns. Although, in an effort to keep costs down, they will not reinstate the small consortia they have agreed to test a program to include smaller towns in the compliance check programs of larger towns/cities like Worcester.
Ruth Brefka reported that she had heard about the possibility of this program at a meeting with Rep. Pam Resor. Ms. Brefka advised that Rep. Resor didn’t believe that there was money to fund the program.
Mr. Pisinski explained that right now it is only a pilot program and Worcester is requiring letters of interest as part of their effort to be included in the program. Mr. Pisinski explained that the letter was due before this Board of Health meeting so after speaking with Chairman Stone he wrote a letter to Mr. William McClune, the director of the Worcester Tobacco Control Program. Only a few towns will be include and there may not be any money until 2005. However, if Southborough is on the list of interested towns and isn’t included at the onset of the program, then Southborough will be considered once the program is better funded in 2005.

Letter from Town Planner
Mr.Pisinski presented the Board Members with a letter from the Town Planner regarding the safety of an access to 51 housing units off Breakneck Hill Rd., advising that the Board was being given a chance to respond to the issue. It was decided that the issue involved Public Safety, not Public Health and therefore, the Board of Health will not address it.

Draft Memorandum of Understanding: Mr. Pisinski provided the members with a draft copy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from the Emergency Preparedness Region 4A Committee, which explained a mutual aid agreement between area towns in case of an emergency. Because insurance doesn’t cover an individual into another town the letter of understanding is necessary. Dr. Fazen has asked that the MOU be presented to the Town Counsel. However, staff is not at liberty to request assistance from the Town Counsel without Board approval. Dr. Stone would like to review the MOU for ramifications and discuss it at another meeting. He doesn’t believe that Town Counsel needs to be involved. Dr. Fazen also sent an e-mail asking if Board Members would be willing to have their “cell phone” numbers available to the Region 4A group in case of an emergency. Both members agreed that although they don’t have cell phones they would be willing to have their home telephone numbers on the list.

OLD BUSINESS
Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District advised that as of July, 2004 they would no longer accept restaurant grease trap waste. Dr. Stone asked Mr. Pisinski is there had been any follow-up on this issue. Mr. Pisinski advised that he has spoken to J.C. Parmenter, Lakeside Sewerage Service, and Northborough Septic Service. They explained that right now if the content of the grease is analyzed to be within a certain limit Upper Blackstone Treatment Plant will accept the grease. If the analysis is not acceptable to Upper Blackstone then haulers are taking the grease to Carver and they have been accepting it.

Town of Southborough labeling requirements for “pre-packaged foods”
Mr. Pisinski explained that he had polled 4 other Health Departments and the consensus is that a town can require a date on all prepackage food sold by stating the requirement on the food establishment application and license. Dr. Stone advised that he had checked at Stop & Shop and found that the labels comply with the full FDA requirements, which he believes is over kill, but they do have the date and the ingredients. Mr. Pisinski explained Westborough has many large supermarkets with elaborate labeling systems and therefore there is little to no problem complying with labeling issues. Ashland said that they require a date on labels, and Northborough doesn’t check. Mr. Pisinski suggested that if the Board wishes labels could be required during the next round of licensing food establishments.

Housing Code Violations
Dr. Stone asked Mr. Pisinski if the violation at 88 Newton St. had been resolved. Mr. Pisinski stated that he did not do an inspection because the Department of Social Services had inspected and investigated the situation. Therefore, Mr. Pisinski felt that there was no need for him to go out, especially since it is a private residence.
Regarding 157 Southville Rd., Mr. Pisinski explained that it will be auctioned off on September 29th. Lakeside Sewerage Service completed a Title 5 Inspection. The system was a “conditional pass” because there has been no electricity and therefore the pump system could not be inspected.
Dr. Stone asked about another situation involving an elderly homeowner that the Council on Aging is addressing. The Board of Health has been approached by several people regarding the issue but has been advised that no discussion of what the Board of Health has or has not done is appropriate. This is strictly a private matter, and there could be legal ramifications if the Board discusses it.
No one has contacted Mr. Pisinski regarding a re-inspection of the rental property at 16 Boston Rd. However, Mr. Pisinski did explain to the property owner that an inspection is required prior to renting the property again. He will make contact with the property owner to see if the repairs have been done.

Standardized Operation and Maintenance Manuals (O&M)
Dr. Stone provided Ms. Brefka and Mr. Pisinski with copies of his suggestions for a standardized O&M and asked them to review his suggestions. He also asked if a group like MHOA could preemptively develop a standard, before the state is compelled to develop an O&M that is too complex for compliance. Mr. Pisinski agreed to bring the issue up at the MHOA Annual Meeting.

Next Meeting After a brief discussion it was decided that the next meeting will be scheduled for October 12, 2004 at 1:00 PM.

The meeting adjourned at 3:43 PM

Respectfully submitted by: Barbara M. Luther, Secretary to the Board of Health