Town of North Andover, MA - 5-22-08 BOH Minutes

Mr. Beauregard from Healthy Communities was present to explain the circumstances of the ticket. A male youth, age 17 went to purchase a package of cigarettes. The date of the first sale was March 24^th, 2006. Mr. Beauregard spoke with a young adult male, an employee of the store. The ticket was appealed on March 7^th,2008, at court. The clerk magistrate received evidence from both sides. The issue came down to how the student appeared. Anyone who appears to be age 27 or younger needs to be identified. The Clerk Magistrate thought that the student appeared to be 27 years old. The Clerk chose not to impose the $200 fine. Photographs were observed.

Dr. Trowbridge stated that at the last meeting, Mr. Sam Ameen, the owner of Sam’s Mobil, stated that he appeared at court, and the ticket was dismissed. Therefore, he felt that the entire penalty should be withdrawn, including the suspension.

Town Counsel rendered an opinion that there is no double jeopardy, and there can be more than one civil action taken. For this type of tobacco violation, the North Andover Tobacco regulations provide for a fine and a penalty. Under Mass General Law, the fine is referred to as a sum of money, and it can be voided. Also, the regulation states that the establishment shall not sell to a minor. The Board of Health recommends that all purchasers be identified.

Ms Sawyer and Dr. Trowbridge both spoke with Town Counsel. Our Town Counsel does not have a different opinion to offer about this. Ms. Sawyer noted that she received a faxed letter from the license holder the night of the meeting.

Dr. MacMillan states that the onus is on the license holder that tobacco should not be sold to a minor. Ms. Brennan agrees with both points. There was no identification asked for. Dr. MacMillan states that it is not up to us to determine how the license holder upholds the law in his establishment. Businesses in North Andover who have tobacco licenses, cannot sell to minors.

Mr. McCarthy states that he does not believe the young man looks even the age of 17 in either picture. There are two parts to our violation penalty. This is the second violation within a 24 month period. The Board can accept the decision on this or not.

The last Board of Selectmen meeting rendered an approval for the license for the recyclable agreement between the Town of North Andover and TBI. The Attorney, Jonathan Klavens, prepared a summary of the negotiations. Dr. Trowbridge passed the information around. The Board of Health was empowered by the Town to act as a liaison, but is not directly involved in implementing all the tasks with TBI. Recycling pickup will start in mid-June.

Dr. MacMillan asked about updates on the traffic light. There were some notations that were discussed. Dr. Trowbridge and Ms. Sawyer made a list of items that BOH needs to work on. Some items pertain to Conservation or Police. There are 10 items that need to be addressed in the near future. The facility may start building by the end of the summer.

This site has very high groundwater. The dashed lines on the plan represent the existing topography. The elevations were noted. There is a slope with exposed bedrock. This is a reason there was no additional soil suitable for testing. Therefore, they needed to keep the system close to the house. There are wetlands to the right and left of the home. This is to be 1” above the water table. Dr. Trowbridge asked what the invert is. The invert is the bottom elevation of the pipe. The invert should not be below the water. Concrete and plastic do not mix well where the pipe comes through the wall of the tank, so that groundwater is not infiltrating the septic system.

In February a hole was excavated, and water poured in. A sample of the soil was sent to U-mass and they do a grain size analysis. They classify the soil. That gives them the loading rate, which was determined to be Class 2 soil. When there is no percolation test, they take the worst loading rate, which is .33 gallons per square foot.

Mr. Rivard spoke on behalf of his property. His lot is the last lot on the street. The plan is about to expire this month. He cannot afford to start this project right now. One additional year is the maximum allowable extension, which is what Mr. Rivard is requesting.

Ms. Sawyer states that there are no variances required. There were confirming tests done a few years ago. Ms. Sawyer recommends approval of the one year extension. If the site has changed or been altered, the engineer would have to redo the plan. It is not the intent of the regulation to cause harm to a homeowner who needs an extra year.

Ms. Sawyer comments that Mr. Whyman is currently a licensed installer in the Town of North Andover. With regard to the septic system installation of 755 Winter Street, there was a request for a Bottom of Bed Inspection by Mr. Whyman. Ms. Grant went to the site. She took one measurement, and called Ms. Sawyer. Mr. Whyman was asking her to measure from an area not on the plan. She also reported that the tank was not where plan stated. Mr. Whyman changed the location per his own discretion, and own thoughts on the property. This caused the plan to be re-designed, and re-reviewed.

Ms. Sawyer looked back at the history of this installer. Back in 2002, Mr. Whyman was on probation for the year. Mr. Whyman had a couple of other locations that he was not prepared for, using a different pump, etc. Ms. Sawyer recommends a permanent revocation of this license.

Mr. Isaac Rowe of Mill River Consulting went out to inspect 755 Winter Street, and things were not as they should have been. Ms. Sawyer then had a problem with Mill River based on manipulation of the facts from the installer.

Ms. Sawyer would like the Board of Health to determine if there is reasonable cause for license revocation based on the history of the installer. A notice to Mr. Whyman was mailed on May 13^th, notifying him to attend this meeting. A public hearing notice needs to be 14 days ahead. Therefore, if there is to be a public hearing, there will need to be proper notification.

Mr. Whyman spoke and defended himself at length. Dr. MacMillan stated that we need to have a hearing on this issue. The issue has to do with following proper protocol installing septic systems in the Town of North Andover.

Ms. Rillahan states that she probably has about 10 doses left. This is not enough to do a clinic. She gets a couple of calls a week, so what she has will go. However, Ms. Rillahan would like to have another clinic. The vaccine is only approved for people aged 60 and over. For a clinic, we can advertise in the paper, and at the senior center.

Ms. Rillahan feels strongly about offering this vaccine. The private physicians will not stock up on it, as it is so expensive. How much is in the revolving fund? There is approximately $13,000 left. The first clinic, had a turnout of approximately 30-35. Dr. Trowbridge stated we can order 20 more doses, and require that people sign up. We can then provide 30 doses for a clinic. This will be on a first come first served basis only. Ms. Rillahan is speaking at the Senior Center on June 11^th, and will start getting the word out then.

CVS on Main Street is opening on June 15^th, and we are running a sharps program at this location. Currently residents drop off used sharps at our office, and it is too far for them to go. The location is also not large enough. The ultimate, best plan is for people to go and dispose of their needles at the same place they buy them in.

This program encourages communities to not put syringes in the trash. Syringes would be disposed of in a kiosk which looks similar to a mailbox. One would open it, and put the sharps in. The Health Department will manage the pickups, but the program will be a joint effort with CVS. It is great publicity for the Town. Haverhill has this program also. Dr. Trowbridge asked about reports. Ms. Rillahan states that the Health Department will be paying for the pickups, so we will know how well the program is doing.

Ms. Sawyer states that Wheelabrator is going to start a program to train employees about safety, and do public outreach. They would like to somehow be involved in this program. Ms. Rillahan states that we have a monthly pickup. Perhaps there could be a sign on a box with the Wheelabrator logo. Wheelabrator is not licensed and cannot dispose of the sharps. Disposal would still need to be picked up and disposed of by a medical waste company.

Mr. Ottenheimer gave a presentation about Mill River, and his role in assisting the Town of North Andover. They are experts on issues related to wastewater. They provide the “meat and potatoes work,” as well as providing advice and guidance to the Health Department. They provide documentation of soil testing, and provide plan reviews. At some point, Mr. Ottenheimer and Ms. Sawyer will work together to come up with amendments to the local septic regulations.

Mr. McCarthy asked about wastewater treated by GLSD. Is Mill River involved in that? Their work relates to homes and businesses which have septic. There are an average of 30% of homes on septic systems in North Andover, and 70% are on sewer. There is a wastewater plan for the Town coming up. Ms. Sawyer would like another 10-15% to transition to sewer.

Dr. Trowbridge asked what the process of documents that get reviewed. The process was reviewed. Ms. Sawyer states that years back, it took a full 45 days to review plans. Monies that come in for these applications go to the septic revolving fund.

New plans are sent to Mill River, where they are reviewed. Ms. Sawyer completes the second review of all plans. When plans cannot meet local standards, they come before the Board for review. Ms. Sawyer stated that very few new subdivisions are built with septic. It is in the developers’ best interest to offer sewer connections. There is a subdivision going in with septic systems behind Jimmy’s Pizza. New construction and vacant land must meet all protocols. The plans the BOH acts on for variances are for repairs, which are unable to meet the standards of regulations.

Dr. Trowbridge asked if Mill River only works with municipalities or some private sectors. They work with towns, as well as private sector in the Cape Ann area. Mr. Ottenheimer passed out portfolios about Mill River. He went over standards that applicants should be meeting on their projects.

Ms. Sawyer asked Mr. Ottenheimer to define the difference between a Local Upgrade and a Variance for the benefit of the new Board Members. The state regulations state the standards of installations for Subsurface Disposal Systems. If this standard is not achievable for one reason or another, there are some things that are less of a concern to public health.

Local Upgrades: ex. – Distance from a septic leaching field (Soil Absorption System – SAS) to a Private Drinking Well standard of 100 feet, and requesting a change to 10 feet. This would require a high burden of proof from the applicant. In order to help expedite repairs, the state allows that if a particular situation is not heavily environmentally sensitive, the local Board of Health can grant a Local Upgrade – i.e. – a septic system, which by state standards should be 10 feet from the property line – can change to 6 feet from the property line. This is a decision that can come before the BOH for a repair. The LUA can be granted to reduce those types of setbacks.

Variances: these must go to the State for approval. The Local Upgrade Approvals include about 10-15 types. The septic designer tries to make a system as close to Title 5 compliance as possible. In the hierarchy, where does the reduction to groundwater come into play? The standard is to reduce groundwater to the bottom of the leach field. As the water makes its’ way through the soil mechanism, the microbes eat the pollutants before they get to the groundwater. As a standard, the bottom of the leaching area to the groundwater, is 4 feet. Sometimes the reduction request is 4 feet to 3 feet for aesthetic purposes, or because a particular lot does not allow for more space to create a subsurface disposal system. Unless there is an extenuating circumstance, the 4 feet should be kept as often as possible, and if they can’t comply, explain why.

This topic was discussed a couple of months ago. Dr. Trowbridge would like a newsletter to go out with the next tax letter. It can just be a simple five sentences on items such as: sun exposure, mosquitoes, Lyme Disease, etc. Ms. Sawyer noted that the cable show was taped and edited, and will air soon. We can get copies of DVD’s. The next presentation on recreational camps will be taped in June.

Mass DEP called Ms. Sawyer today and stated that they have some concern with any language that has to do with a factor, such as 75%, and what is the whole concept behind efficiency. The issue is who is going to measure that, etc. MassDEP currently has draft regulations for outdoor hydronic heaters out for public comment and will be holding public hearings in June.