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Home My Public Portal AboutBoard of Health -- 2021-12-15 Minutes Town of Brewster °xw �� BREWSTER9MA MAIN STREET Health Department TTS 02631 1898 Q cSf 4 3'F% Amy L . von Hone, R. S . , C .H. O . Z �m Director PHONE : 508 . 896 . 3701 EXT. 1120 Q FAX : 508 . 896 .4538 Sherrie McCullough, R. S . dJ (� Assistant Director brhealth � brewster-ma. �ov , �o hfxfiti \��` WWW.BREWSTER-MA. GOV Tammi Mason �j/fFAQ RP9 Fli SQ3 \\\\\\\\ Senior Department Assistant ��1/llltlllllllll1111111111\\\\ Board of Health Meeting Wednesday December 15, 2021 , at 7: OOPM Remote Meeting Board members attending remotely: Penny Holeman, MPH , MA, MS, Chair; Annette Graczewski, MT (ASCP) and Kimberley Crocker Pearson, MS, MD, MPH Board members absent: Joe Ford, Jeannie Kampas Others attending remotely: Amy von Hone, R.S ., C . H .O., Health Director; Tammi Mason, Senior Department Assistant; Sherrie McCullough, R. S ., Assistant Health Director and Donna Kalinick, Assistant Town Administrator Anyone wishing to listen to the meeting can do so via Live Broadcast ( Brewster Government TV Channel 18) or by Livestream at www. livestream brewster- ma . goy or video recording (www.ty brewster- ma . gov) 1 . Call to order Chair Holeman called the meeting to order at 7 : OOPM . 2 . Chairman 's announcements Barnstable County offers a Covid - 19 vaccination Clinic every Thursday at the Barnstable County Complex- except for Thursday December 23rd . All three vaccines, Pfizer, Moderna and J & J are available. The adult clinic is held from 10: OOAM — 2:OOPM . The pediatric clinic (ages 5 and up) takes place from 2:OOPM — 4:OOPM . The clinics are held in the Harborview Conference Room, 3195 Main Street in Barnstable . If you want to register for an appointment, please call (774) 330- 3001 . Free Covid - 19 testing is available at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds, also known as the Cape Cod Fairgrounds, at 1220 Nathan Ellis Highway in East Falmouth . Upcoming clinic dates are Thursday December 16th, Tuesday December 2111- and Tuesday December 28th The clinic is scheduled from 2: 30 — 4:OOPM . Appointments can be made online at the Barnstable County Department of Health website . The Omicron variant has been detected in Massachusetts . Residents aged 16 and older are urged to get the Covid - 19 vaccine and the booster. 3 . Citizen 's forum None 4. Covid update Mrs . von Hone stated that the Town is currently still in the post-Thanksgiving surge. The highest number of cases was last week (44) and since the pandemic started there have been 878 cumulative cases . The current surge will probably last until after the holidays. There have been increased cases in the middle and high schools . N :\Health\from Shari\MSWORK FOLDERS\1v[EET1NGS\BOH\Dec1521m . doc BOH 12/ 15/21 Minutes Page 2 The key to containing this is still vaccinations and boosters . There have been breakthrough cases . Pharmacies are still offering vaccines and testing , but appointments are hard to come by. S . Discussion and possible vote to re- institute mask mandate in all municipal buildings (excluding Freeman 's Grill) Mrs . von Hone stated that she believes mask should be mandated for municipal buildings, not the businesses in Town . Ms . Kalinick stated that the Selectboard will discuss keeping Board meetings remotely at their 12/20/21 meeting . Ms. Holeman asked about an end date for the mandate . Mrs. von Hone stated that it would be when the Town sees a drop in the positive cases. Motion: Return to a temporary mask requirement in municipal buildings (except Freeman ' s Grill) starting December 20, 2021 , and going through the Board of Health meeting on January 19, 2021 , at which time it will be re visited . Motion : Annette Graczewski Second : Kimberley Crocker Pearson Vote: Annette Graczewski — yes Action: Motion carried Kimberley Crocker Pearson - yes Penny Holeman - yes 6. Presentation by Tracy Long, Barnstable County Department of Health & Environment on I/A Septic System County Database Program Ms . Long presented the Board with an overview of the Barnstable County I/A Septic System County Database Program . She explained that this program started in 2006 to make sure that all the systems were on track with the O & M contracts and testing . They contact the homeowners if there are issues, or they are not in compliance . They do not have enforcement authority. They do send out 2 letters and if no response, they will forward it to the Board of Health for enforcement. Operators or engineers that are doing the testing download the information into the database, which in turn the Health Departments can review the data . The County does ask that local Health Departments send in Summary Sheets when a new I/A system is being installed . 7. Discussion of DEP I/A approved letters (Amy von Hone) Mrs. von Hone explained how the State went about giving approval for the I/A systems . There are 4 types: General Approval, Piloting Approval, Provisional Approval and Remedial Approval . She explained what each one meant. She included samples of the letters in the Board 's packet. The letters list the performance standards and maintenance and operations that are required to approve the system . There may be restrictions and reporting requirements in the letters also . The letters have an issuance date and an expiration date . The letters also provide restrictions and conditions that need to be met if there is a failure event. Ms. Holeman asked how many systems in Brewster had "General Approval " . Mrs. von Hone stated that currently there are 38 systems in Brewster under General Approval . Mrs. von Hone went over BOH responsibilities which include approving & requiring the correct type of DEP approval, any conditions placed on the approval are appropriate for the site, enforcing noncompliance with expired O & M contracts and out of whack testing parameters and wastewater planning (i . e. : nitrogen & phosphorus) 8. Continued discussion on liaison appointments Ms . Holeman had previously spoke to the Board about finalizing Liaison appointments with other departments & boards in Town, specifically, she was trying to formalize a Liaison appointment with the Council on Aging . Mrs. Graczewski thought that the Board was going to explore the idea with other Departments/Boards as to whether they were interested in having a BOH liaison . Dr. Pearson thought maybe the agenda could include a " notes from " section where any Board member could give a report on what is going on with another department or board . Mrs. Graczewski doesn 't believe there needs to be a "formal " liaison . Ms . Holeman believes that the Council on Aging does a lot of public health things with the older population . Ms . Holeman will communicate with Mrs . von Hone about putting something on the agenda in the future to be able to discuss COA. N :\Health\from Shari\MSWORK F0LDERS\MEETINGS\B0H\Dec1521 m . doe BOH 12/ 15/21 Minutes Page 3 9. Liaison Reports Dr. Pearson stated that the WQRC had not met. Mrs . Graczewski stated that the Recycling Committee took a tour of SEAMASS . Three important things came out of this tour; do not let paper get wet, do not put propane in the trash and do not put lithium batteries in the trash . There is a Utube video tour of SEAMASS if anyone is interested . 10. Matters not reasonably anticipated by the Chair Ms . Holeman spoke about what's been going on between the BOH and the COA. There is a gap in the elderly population with some only having 1 dose of the vaccine and not the second . The Health Department has no way to reach out to the 75 and older population to see if they did get their second dose or not. She brought this up to the COA, who put it on their agenda for tomorrow nights meeting . 11 . Items for next agenda Mrs. von Hone stated that one of the main agenda items will be Mark Nelson from Horsley-Witten on the Stormwater Regulations . 12 . Next meeting January 5, 2022 Informational items were noted . Meeting adjourned at 8 : 50PM *Accompanying Documents in packet: Agenda, Covid update information, Power Point presentation by Amy von Hone, informational items N :\Health\from SharAMSWORK FOLDERS\MEETINGS\BOH\Dec1521m . doc