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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20210503 - Board of Health - Meeting MinutesHEALTH DEPARTMENT Town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts REMOTE MEETING Monday, May 3, 2021 MINUTES Members Present:Chairman Whittemore,Vice Chairman Jacobs and Michael King Also Present:Shaun McAuliffe, Health Director; Kelechi Obika, Health Services Agent Absent:Kasey Mauro, Public Health Nurse Late Arrival(s): Early Dismissal: The meeting was called to order at 5:33 p.m. by Vice Chairman Jacobs. Ms. LaRoche announced the “Script for Remotely Conducted Open Meetings” guidelines (attached). Members and participants role call for attendance: Chairman Whittemore-Yes Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes Michael King-Yes Shaun McAuliffe-Yes (attended meeting at 5:44 p.m.) Kelechi Obika-Yes Nidia LaRoche-Yes Public Comment-Members of the community are invited to share ideas, state opinions or ask questions Request to Approve Meeting Minutes of April 5, 2021 Ms. LaRoche requested that the Board approve the meeting minutes of April 5, 2021. Vice Chairman Jacobs motioned to approve the meeting minutes of April 5, 2021, as presented. Mr. King seconded. Roll Call: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes and Mr. King-Yes. Department’s April 2021 Expense Summary Ms. LaRoche presented the department’s April 2021 expense summary and noted that the department’s operation expenses stand at $17, 677.31. Update Order of Succession Contact List Ms. LaRoche presented the updated order of succession contact list to the Board and stated that Mr. Obika’s contact information has been added. Local Upgrade List Review Ms. LaRoche offered the local upgrade list to the Board and noted that the Health Agent has received and approved two local upgrades for the month of March 2021; both of the approvals were for reduction of the required 4 feet to 3 feet of groundwater. BOH May 3, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page 1 Approved June 7, 2021 Update on Main Street Project (Downtown Corridor) Mr. McAuliffe informed the Board that the Department has received a number of complaints of dust/noise nuisance with construction work related to the downtown corridor project. He noted that he and the Health Services Agent have visited all of the complaint sites and have not observed any violations at the time of their visitations. The Department is functioning as the liaison between the Department of Environmental Protection, Town Manager’s Office and Town Engineer Department in regards to the project. Update on Housing Case Mr. McAuliffe explained that the Town Leadership doesn’t support the department’s recommendation of condemning the home. The department is working on other strategies. The residents of the home are currently housed at an off site location. Mr. McAuliffe noted that he is working with Representative Carolyn Dykema Office to formulate a Hoarding/Housing Legislation much like the department’s Community Septic Management Loan Program. He stated that he will continue to update the Board of any further developments. Request for Payout for Unused Vacation and Holidays Mr. McAuliffe advised the Board that he requested from the Town Manager and the Human Resources Department payment of 2 weeks of unused vacation time and a number of Holidays worked . He was informed that according to the Employee Handbook Policy & Procedures holidays are not permitted to be paid but that he will be granted only 1 week worth of vacation payment, not 2 as requested. The town manager and human resources department requested that he consider a 4 day work week. Mr. McAuliffe strongly noted that considering a 4 day work week is absolutely not feasible due to the department’s duties and responsibilities during the COVID pandemic regarding case management. He pressed the fact that questions and responses from and to the resident’s/public/State Agencies cannot be tabled to be addressed at a later day/time frame due to the spreading aspect of the virus. Mr. McAuliffe requested that the Board vote to approve the 1 week of unused vacation time to be reimbursed and to have the Chairman sign the reimbursement sheet. Mr. King motioned to approve Chairman Whittemore to sign the 1 week unused vacation reimbursement form for Mr. McAuliffe. Vice Chairman Jacobs seconded.Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes, Mr. King-Yes. Coronavirus Update & Director’s Report COVID-19 Mr. McAuliffe notified the Board that as of April 14th a total of over 4,500 individuals have been vaccinated at the regional clinic located at the Doubletree Hotel in Westborough. Approximately 35% of those vaccinations are from the seven communities regional clinic. Vaccinations have been administered to all hopkinton homebound residents, senior residents at Golden Pond and Fairview Estates. He indicated that according to the MIIS (Massachusetts Immunization Information System) shows that 6,201 of Hopkinton residents have been fully vaccinated.The following is a further breakdown of categories: ●Over 95% have been fully vaccinated for ages 75 and older ●Over 84% have been fully vaccinated for ages 65-74 BOH May 3, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page 2 Approved June 7, 2021 ●Over 50% have been fully vaccinated for ages 50-64 ●Over 39% have been fully vaccinated for ages 30-49 ●Over 28% have been fully vaccinated for ages 20-29 Mr. McAuliffe said that he and the Health Director from the Town of Northborough, Kristen Black, have discussed and requested from the Department of Public Healthof receiving more vaccines and to provide the regional clinic with Pfizer vaccines to be able to vaccinate the high school age population. It is anticipated, after these discussions, that DPH will distribute the Pfizer vaccines to the town’s regional clinic. He noted that it is a true testament that DPH trusts the regional clinic to administer the vaccines to the population. Mr. McAuliffe stated that the regional clinic is outperforming the other large vaccination sites. Hopkinton has currently 915 confirmed cases which is 20 more than last week; with another 10 possible cases. The town has been faring better since March 11th. The positive rate is high at 2.84% and will be a challenge to break the cycle of spreading the virus. Mr. McAuliffe voiced that in the last couple of weeks there have been 61 cases, out of those, 46 cases are under the age of 20 year olds, 33 cases are from middle to high school age young adults. The bulk of the problem is the middle to high school age due to contact sports and gatherings. The department has quarantined the following contact sports due to the suggestion that the virus in these groups is assumed to be the british variant: ●LaCross Team ●Soccer Team ●Baseball Team ●Volleyball Team ●Basketball Team Mr. McAuliffe has reached out and communicated to the leadership and the public that no basketball hoops will be replaced until the positivity rate is below 1%; the department has taken a regional approach to address this. The department is also helping the School Department and town residents understand the confusing changes that DESE has put in place in regards to isolation and quarantine guidelines. The department has been encountering a greater difficulty of people not being forthcoming with communication which has led to individuals becoming ill that could have been prevented and the use of COVID test results not notifying the appropriate departments if the test results are positive. Director’s Report Mr. McAuliffe apprised the Board that Mr. Obika has done an excellent job with the food inspections and has completed most of them successfully. He will continue inspecting the rest of the food establishments and will be completing additional food training.Mr. McAuliffe noted that he is working with the State to have Mr. Obika enroll in the Title 5 Training being offered soon. BOH May 3, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page 3 Approved June 7, 2021 Mr. McAuliffe advised the Board that a vigil at the Common, on Thursday, will be conducted for a High Schooler who was found unresponsive at one of the Town’s trails. The Police Department issued a very brief statement since it is being investigated by the District Attorney Office. The Department still has the face covering local regulation for the Town Meeting and will be rescinded, at a Board’s meeting, once more information is received as to how the State is proceeding with the reopening of Massachusetts. All local central and regional Boards of Health have received a grant to be shared in the amount of $300,000 for the next 10 years for the following sections: ●Food Safety Resources ●Hoarding/Housing ●Vaping ADJOURN: Vice Chairman Jacobs motioned to adjourn the Board of Health Meeting at 6:37p.m. Mr. King seconded. Role Call: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes; Mr. King-Yes. Respectfully Submitted, Nidia Ruberti LaRoche Health Department Administrative Assistant BOH May 3, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page 4 Approved June 7, 2021