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HomeMy Public PortalAboutBoard of Health -- 2022-10-19 MinutesTown of Brewster 2198 MAIN STREET BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS 026314898 PHONE: 508.896.3701 EXT. 1120 FAX: 508.896.4538 brhealth abrewster-ma,gov W W W.BREWSTER-MA. GOV Board of Health Meeting Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 7:OOPM Town Hall, Room A �: r. f •. r C 1 kj Health Department Amy L. von one Director Sherrie McCullough, R.S. Assistant Director Tammi Mason Senior Department Assistant Board members attending: Annette Graczewski, MT (ASPC), Chair; Kimberley Crocker Pearson, MS, MD, MPH, Vice Chair, Penny Holeman, MPH, MA, MS, David Bennett, and Casey D. Chatelain Others attending: Amy von Hone, R.S., C.H.O., Health Director and Sherrie McCullough, R.S., Assistant Health Director 1. Call to order Meeting was called to order at 7:OOPM. 2. Chair announcements Flu season is coming up and the CDC is recommending that everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated. Ideally before the end of October. The Health Department operated a successful clinic this week, administering 181 doses of Flu/Covid vaccine to residents. In addition, 114 doses were administered to town staff and family members earlier this month. Several retailers in the area still have vaccine or people can register for an appointment at capecodhealth.org Peter Lombardi, Town Administrator will be convening a new task force to advance water quality planning and implementation efforts in Brewster, recognizing that these are complicated and impactful decisions that will affect the entire community. In addition to Town staff, Mr. Lombardi has requested participation from the Chair's of several committees and boards in town, including the Board of Health. Based on his expertise in the field, his knowledge of Brewster and prior history on the Town's Water Quality Planning Committee, I have asked David Bennett to represent the BOH on this task force in my stead. Mr. Bennett will keep the Board apprised of the task force progress towards addressing the needs of the community. 3. Citizen's forum Janice Riley, 32 Old Red Top Road. She spoke about the clinic the Town held. She also spoke about ARPA funds that are being used for non -health related issues such as Cape Cod Sea Camps and the boardwalk at Wing Island. She wanted the Board to know that the residents are upset by this. AVH-while the Health Department doesn't have plans to hold another flu clinic, the Brewster Baptist Church will be holding a clinic in November. 4. 0 Seamans Lane —Abigail Rhodes —continued Animal Regulations variance request, discussion &vote AG -Ms. Rhodes supplied the Board with a revised site plan and results of the well water test. Based on the addition information the variance requests have been amended to: 1. Request fora 31.1' variance from the 50'required distance between the barn and the abutt er's property line. 18.9' held. 2. Request for a 14.2 variance from the 100 required between the barn and the property owner's potable well at 6 Seamans Lane. 85.8' held 3. Request for an 8', 14' and 58.5' variances from the required 100' distance between the barn and the abutters dwelling. 92', 853 and 41.4' held 10/19/22 BOH Minutes Page 2 4. Request for a 5.8variance from the 25' required distance between the enclosure and the abutters property line at 6 Seamans Lane. 19.2' held 5. Request for a 62.4' variance from the 100' distance required between the enclosure and the private potable well at 6 Seamans Lane. 37.6' held AR- told the Board that everythi"U0 V has one on both the properties has been done in good faith and she has met all the requirements requested by the BOH to date. Of the 4 variances requested, 2 are on her property at 6 Seamans Lane. The other 2 are to the direct abutters who are in support of these requests. She reminded the Board that she spoke with experts about this, including George Heufelder from the County. She feels she has gone above and beyond what is required to get this project done so she can get the donkeys here. The shelter is only a 12X12 enclosure, less than 200sf. She has considered all the needs for her animals, including water, feed, light and access to fresh air. She is willing to test her well water and will move the fence to comply with the setback. Morgan Kelly- 55 Seamans Lane. Thinks that the extensive number of variances indicates that this property should not be used for housing animals and his belief is that there is no hardship that would allow for the granting of the variances. Annette Zola- 31 Seamans Lane. She has concerns with the project. She was concerned that she saw the enclosure and fence put up with no notice to the neighborhood. She spoke about the hardship reasoning and believes that the Town of Brewster failed its residents and made an egregious oversite by issuing a Building Permit without telling Ms. Rhodes about the BOH regulations. The neighbors should not have to shoulder the ramifications of a mistake the Town made. Fred Emanuelson- 43 Seamans Lane. Thanked the Board for requiring a survey to be done with accurate measurements for the variances. He spoke about his discussion 2 years ago with the Town when he needed a 3' variance and was told he probably wouldn't get it. Setback requirements were put into place to protect the neighborhood and he hopes the Board will do the right thing and deny the variance requests. Janice Riley -32 Old Red Top Road. She doesn't believe the variance requests are egregious. Neighborhoods have lots of challenges. There are year-round animals near and on the pond. The very small amount of waste from these 2 animals will not be detrimental to the pond. Steven Spear -32 Old Red Top Road. He spoke about the setbacks and noted that he was with the USDA when regulations were first done. The purpose of those regulations (with the exception of the wells) was because there were "bad actors" who were not disposing of the manure properly. These setbacks are for direct abutters. People don't always like things they see in the neighborhood. If Ms. Rhodes doesn't comply with the Manure Management Plan, it will be obvious and a conversation can be had with her or the BOH, but it should not rise to the level of nitpicking and harassment. The hardship is financial and emotional. Meredith Wertz- 160 Old Red Top Road. She is in full agreement with what Ms., Riley and Mr. Spear said. Nicole Vesey- Oner of the farm where the donkeys are currently. She is here to support Ms. Rhodes and offered to answer any questions the neighbors might have about the donkeys. Heather Cornell —145 Old Red Top Road. She believes that Ms. Rhodes has gone about and beyond in this process and has no concerns with the donkeys being on the property. CC -spoke about the part of the regulations that says, "variance to abutt ers dwelling", and the fact that if it was 1 lot, this project wouldn't be in front of the Board. DB -spoke about the Building Permit and how it states that the approval does not relieve the applicant from abiding by other department regulations and believes it's the applicant's responsibility to check on that. KCP- asked about the variances and the deed and asked what the possible implications would be if 1 of the lots was sold. AG -the variances run with the property. AVH-as ked Ms. Rhodes about combining the 2 lots. AR- stated that she is going to be doing an 81X, which would make it so the properties would be one (1). KCP-asked what was to keep Ms. Rhodes from getting more animals. AG -that is addressed in the permit process or the BOH can restrict the number of animals. 10/19/22 BOH Minutes Page 3 AG -stated that she is not as concerned with the health of the pond with these 2 donkeys as she would be with a septic system. She stated that she has great faith in what George Heufelder said and in the Animal Inspectors. There was discussion back and forth about these variance requests. Motion: Grant the requested variances with the conditions that no more than 2 miniature donkeys be sheltered on the property, any change in the kind of or number of animals will require further review by the BOH, no composting of excess food or waste anywhere on the property, must stick to the manure management plan (which states all waste will be removed from property), another well analysis must be done prior to re -issuance of the next years permit (2024) and inspector must verify that the enclosure has been moved as per revised plan. Motion: Penny Holeman Second: Kimberley Crocker Pearson Vote: 4 yes, 1 no Action: Motion carried 5. Brewster Farms continued Tobacco Violation discussion & vote No one was present from Brewster Farms. Motion: Continue hearing until November 1, 2022 meeting. Motion: David Bennett Second: Penny Holeman Vote: 5 yes Action: Motion carried 6. Septic variance request — 40 Elbow Pond Road John O'Reilly was present virtually as well as Robert Christy, Homeowner and Maryellen Fabiano (daughter of owner) JO —stated that a septic inspection for the sale of the home failed. The house was built in 1988 and has a current system comprised of a 1000 -gallon tank, a d -box and 2 trenches. They would like to remove the failed component and replace with a new one. The following variances are being requested: 1. Proposed SAS to be 5' from property line 2. Proposed 3' soil removal around field 3. Allow the proposed SAS to be 184' from Elbow Pond 4. Estimated high groundwater — 3.4' separation provided The property is on the south side of Elbow Pond with a southerly groundwater direction from the pond. There is no town water in this area and no expansion of flow proposed. AG- asked about the perc tests done in 1987. JO —ground water was at 14' this time and was just shy of 10' back in 1987. The soil testing that was done recently was done in the same area as the perc testing in 1987. KCP —asked how this year's drought is influencing the interpretation of the data. JO -groundwater that was encountered at 116" leads to an elevation of 25.4'. The wetland across the street has an elevation of about 28.3'. That is the 3' that may be attributed to the drought conditions. AVH-said to keep in mind that the Frimptor Method that is used on Cape Cod is a calculation that is done by looking at wells that may or may not be in the town the project is in. DB -questioned the difference in soil testing. AG- noted that this property is in Zone II and is probably in the Herring River Watershed. Motion: Approve the variances requested with the following conons: 1. Maximum 3 bedrooms. No additional bedrooms allowed without BOH review 2. Copy of the BOH approval lett er is to be recorded at the Barnstable Registry of Deeds with a copy sent to the Health Department 3. The variances will expire one (1) year from date of BOH approval 4. Existing well must be tested with results submitted to the Health Department prior to an installation permit being issued. 10/19/22 BOH Minutes Page 4 Motion: David Bennett Second: Penny Holeman Vote: 5 yes Action: Motion carried 7. Eversource/MDAR proposed 5 -year plan — discussion and vote on proposed letter of opposition KCP brought this to the Board's attention to see if they wanted to write a letter of opposition to EVerSOUl CVE She noted that every 5 years, Eversource is required to present a 5 -year vegetative management plan for their transmission rights of way to MDAR. There is a public comment period which ends on November 7, 2022. There is also a public hearing scheduled for November 3, 2022. The Zoom link for that meeting is on the Brewster website. The plan is mandated by law to be an integrated pest management plan. The Town, in 2018, sued MDAR for what they say was a "flawed" management plan. At that time, the Town received a "stay", until 2019. In 2020, the suit was dismissed for lack of standing. Spraying resumed in Town. That 5 -year plan is now coming to an end. She spoke about the "opt -out" option, where the Town would take control of the clearing. In speaking with the Select Board, they expressed an interest in the "opt -out" option and possibly determination of a "sensitive area" where spraying wouldn't happen. She noted that because Massachusetts is a "non -delegated" state under the Clean Water Act, there is some question as to who has the responsibility to authorize the spraying in potentially impaired waters. She will draft a letter and bring it back for the Board to review at the next meeting. 8. Discuss I/A local Regulation/monitoring of onsite system/review enforcement policy AG- stated that the County database only collects data for O& M contracts for I/A systems. The BOH can request contracts for pressure dosed systems also. She handed out information from MASSTEC about monitoring alternative onsite septic systems. She asked if the Board was interested in requiring more formal control over these systems. KCP-this could be good for comparative reasons. CC -spoke about malfunction systems. DB- would like to see the Town have a comprehensive wastewater plan and believes pressure dosed systems should be inspected on a regulation basis. He also spoke about the ppm of nitrogen with regards to these systems. AG- Brewster would be the first Town to require this on the Cape. PH -thought having a time frame and a termination date would be good. DB -thinks the Board should look at the regulation in depth. AG" she will pick the 5 worst performing systems and bring back to the BOH to look at. AG -asked the Board if they were amenable to going back to a work meeting for the second meeting each month. The Board agreed with that. 9. Liaison Reports AG -told the Board that there is a textile and mattress ban going in effect on November 1St. The Recycling Center will have separate bins for these items. 10. Matters not reasonably anticipated by the Chair None. 11. Items for next agenda DB- would like to see the 2022 update of SMASS on the next work meeting. 12. Next meeting: November 2, 2022 10/19/22 BOH Minutes Page 5 Noted. Informational items were noted. Meeting adjourned at 9:05PM.