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Home My Public Portal About20181029 - Board of Health - Meeting Minutes BOH October 29, 2018 Minutes Page 1 Approved November 19, 2018 BOARD OF HEALTH Town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts Hopkinton Senior Center 28 Mayhew-Craft Room Monday, October 29, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. MINUTES Members Present: Chairman Whittemore, Vice Chairman King and Jennifer Flanagan Also Present: Shaun McAuliffe, Board of Health Director Absent: Late Arrival(s): Early Dismissal: The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by Chairman Whittemore. Public Comment- Members of the community are invited to share ideas, state opinions or ask questions Appointment: 5:45 p.m. Wind River Environmental Non-Compliance of Pump Slips Present: Eric Mueller, Director of Branch Operations-Wind River Environmental Mr. McAuliffe explained the history regarding Wind River Environmental’s non-compliance of not submitting their pump slips to the department as required by the State of “within 14 days of pumping the septic system”. Mr. Mueller introduced himself and explained that he is now in charge of the western region for Wind River and that he has been made aware of the State’s regulation of the 14 day submittal period. He also indicated that prior to this meeting he and his IT Manager have reorganized their system to have the pump slips submitted within the 14 day State requirement. Mr. Mueller stated that the next cycle of pump records will be sent within the requirement as requested and apologized for the oversight. Based on the information delivered by Mr. Mueller, the Board consented to having the Department monitor the submittal of all future pump documents from Wind River Environmental. Request to Approve Meeting Minutes of October 15, 2018 Mr. McAuliffe requested the Board’s approval for the meeting minutes of October 15, 2018. Vice Chairman King motioned to approve the meeting minutes of October 15, 2018, as presented. Ms. Flanagan seconded. Chairman Whittemore, Vice Chairman King and Ms. Flanagan in favor. Request to Approve the Short & Long Term Goals Mr. McAuliffe presented the 2019-2024 Short & Long Term Goals as discussed at the Board’s previous meeting for a vote (goals attached). Vice Chairman King motioned to approve the 2019-2024 Short & Long Term Goals for the Department, as presented. Ms. Flanagan seconded. Chairman Whittemore, Vice Chairman King and Ms. Flanagan in favor. BOH October 29, 2018 Minutes Page 2 Approved November 19, 2018 Letter to Town Manager Regarding BOH Director’s Payroll Sign Off Mr. McAuliffe offered a draft memorandum regarding the Board’s response to the Town Manager’s concern of having the Director of Land Use & Town Operations sign the Director’s payroll..…etc for their review and comments. Upon reviewing the draft the Board agreed with its content and made the following announcement: The Board, unanimously, agrees with the response to the Town Manager as presented by Mr. McAuliffe of having the Board of Health continue to sign his payroll….etc. Ms. LaRoche offered a clean version for the Board’s signatures (memorandum attached). Sewer Extension Procedure Update and Discussion Present: John Westerling, Department of Public Works (DPW) Manager Chairman Whittemore announced that she, Mr. Westerling and Mr. McAuliffe met with the Town Manager last week to understand the history of determining sewer hookups. The Town Manager and Mr. Westerling requested the Department and the Board of Health’s assistance in developing a guideline to help DPW decide the eligibility of connecting to town sewer. Mr. Westerling explained that the town has several sewer service areas located downtown, Hayden Rowe and the lake area (he demonstrated the sewer connection map on his laptop to the Board). He also explained that in determining the eligibility of sewer connections the DPW takes into consideration the following principles:  Criteria  Capacity  Comprehensive Waste Management Plan He voiced that the properties that signed to connect to sewer at a later time by way of a betterment are priority by the DPW as their flows have already been accounted for in the measure; however, the properties that did not sign up at the time of eligibility outside of the sewer connection map and/or new developments need a type of test to determine viability. Chairman Whittemore noted that the Board of Health always airs on the side of connecting to town sewer as does the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. She also confirmed with Mr. Westerling that properties that encountered a septic failure and are on the Sewer Connection Phase List would be connected to town sewer. Mr. Westerling agreed and confirmed Chairman Whittemore’s statement. Chairman Whittemore revealed that the Department and Board of Health have developed the following viability guideline to assist the DPW in their decision of sewer connections. Mr. McAuliffe described the following set criteria of Title 5 to assess whether a proposed lot for new construction is suitable for on-site sewage disposal that the department conducts: ● The percolation rate of the soils is less than 60 minutes per inch, BOH October 29, 2018 Minutes Page 3 Approved November 19, 2018 ● The vertical separation distance between the bottom of the stone underlying the soil absorption system above the high ground-water elevation shall be ○ four feet in soils with a recorded percolation rate of more than two minutes per inch; ○ five feet in soils with a recorded percolation rate of two minutes or less per inch. ● The distance between the bottom of the stone underlying the soil absorption system above impervious material (rock, ledge) is greater than 4-feet, ● The on-site sewage treatment and disposal system cannot be installed in any of the following: ○ any impervious material, ○ any organic sediments, ○ any material found in the following horizons: O (organic), A (topsoil), and E (mineral), ○ any bedrock, including saprolite or weathered bedrock, schist, and ledge. ● The on-site sewage treatment and disposal system will not degrade the water quality of the site or surrounding area, ● The system design and construction must meet the setback requirements established in Title 5. Mr. McAuliffe further clarified that the above criteria will be assessed for suitability under the oversight of a health department representative. If a party challenges the aptness of a lot and/or development area, under the above Title 5 criteria, and requests to connect to town sewer instead of constructing septic systems, the DPW shall request from the department, to apply the following viability assessment of connecting to town sewer: 1. Would the installation of individual on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems represent a degradation of the existing shallow groundwater at each lot, the development and adjoining environmental resources? 2. Would the installation of individual on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems significantly alter the natural topography of each lot and/or the development? 3. Has the Developer explored all alternatives to connecting to sewer and the financial implications?” 4. Has an approval to connect been previously approved by a past municipal board or department? 5. Would the construction cost for on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems exceed the cost to connect to tie-in to the municipal sewer system? and 6. Would the cost to replace an on-site sewage treatment and disposal exceed 10% of the most recent median value of owner occupied housing units (US Census 2017)? If a party answers yes to four (4) or more of the above questions, the department will collect the field data and the responses to the assessment, for review, and will present the findings to the DPW for their final decision on sewer connection. Ms. Flanagan asked Mr. Westerling if the Town would be expanding its capacity usage in the future. Mr. Westerling stated that the Department of Environmental Protection Permit allows the Town to use up to 350,000 units and the Town has only built 100,000 units to date. BOH October 29, 2018 Minutes Page 4 Approved November 19, 2018 The Board of Health, unanimously, agreed to execute the requested Standard of Operations Procedure Agreement for sewer connection viability to assist the Department of Public Works, as explained and discussed. State Title 5 Pump Slip (Form 4) Non-Compliance Letters Mr. McAuliffe offered three (3) Title 5 Pump Slip non-compliance letters of various Septage Hauler businesses for the Board’s awareness. The department will continue to monitor their submittals of the 14 day requirement. Director’s Report Mr. McAuliffe updated the Board on the following items: · Hunger Relief - The Department continues to work with Project Just Because on hunger relief solutions. The Project and Director will meet this week to discuss potential opportunities that may exist with the school system and retail food establishments in town. · Intern/Tick Program – 1) The Health Director will be assisting the Commonwealth of MA (off hours) with tick collection research on November 26 and December 1, which corresponds with deer hunting season. Ticks will be removed from harvested deer and sent to a laboratory. 2) The Director will be meeting with HCAM to design digital PSAs on ticks, tick testing and future programming. 3) The Director will be attending a Tick Symposium at UMass on November 19, 2018. 4) The grant proposal to the MetroWest Health Foundation to aggregate tick data and promote tick awareness within MetroWest has been tabled until Spring 2019. · Vaping – The Director will be coordinating anti-vaping activities with the Vice Principals and Genesis. A formal schedule for 2018/2019 should be completed within 2 weeks. · Vaccination Clinic – We are facilitating a clinic for the School Department and looking into hosting another clinic this winter to respond to recent calls for a clinic. · Legacy North Soil Stockpile – The MADEP has issued notices to both Pulte and Heritage that NO soils are to be transported from the Legacy North development without authorization from the MADEP. The Department is supporting the MADEP in this and other matters. · Digitization – The Department is seeking an additional vendor to interview and then will provide a summary and recommendation to the Board. The Department has submitted a $20,000 capital request to support the program. The Department has the support of the Town Manager and will be meeting with other stakeholders over the next two weeks. · Complaints and MAVEN Follow-UP – The Department received 7 new tick illness cases this week, bringing the total for 2018 to 61. · Neighborhood Assistance – The Department is facilitating discussions with the residents of Colella Farm Road regarding the operation and maintenance of their conjugate septic system and a proposal to request sewer service for the neighborhood. · Nursing – The Director met with a public health nurse and manager from Salmon VNA to discuss a public health nursing contract that would replace the contract previously held by the Natick VNA. The VNA is completing a proposal for review and decision by the Board. ADJOURN: Vice Chairman King motioned to adjourn the Board of Health Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Ms. Flanagan seconded. Chairman Whittemore, Vice Chairman King and Ms. Flanagan in favor. Respectfully Submitted, Nidia Ruberti LaRoche, Board of Health Administrative Assistant