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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH 04/11/2024Town of Mansfield Board of Health April 11, 2024 Minut+g Mission Statement: The mission of the Mansfield Board of Health is to protect, preserve and improve the public health, environment, and wellbeing of our citizens thropgh the en`�orcement of federal, state, and local statutes and regulations, education and promotion of sanitary living and working conditions, and protection of the environment from disease and pollution. Present: Antonia Blinn, Chair, Kasia Frenette, Melissa Almeida, Amy Donovan -Palmer, Graham Wilson Guests: Ted Monahan & Allan (Trattoria Romana), Dinesh Patel (Town News), Drew Patel Resident of Mansfield, Elias Kazan (Mansfield Service, Inc.), Farrron Lopez (XtraMart). The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm on April 11, 2024 by Antonia Blinn. There was no correspondence at this time. The motion by Ms. Frenette, seconded by Ms. Almeida to accept the consent agenda was passed unanimously, 4-0. The March 14, 2024 meeting minutes were approved with a motion by Ms. Frenette, seconded by Ms. Almeida, and passed unanimously, 3-0. Mr. Wilson abstained. Ted Monahan, the financial controller and representative for Trattoria Romana, took the podium. Ms. Blinn reviewed that Trattoria Romana was working with their required food safety consultant, Maureen (last name not specified) and requested an update. Mr. Monahan explained that Maureen hosted 4 reviews of procedure and food safety handling to reinforce their importance. Ms. Blinn explained through communications she hears that the managers were well-informed, and Mr. Monahan elaborated that they will be required to complete a food handling completion course. He has also extended Maureen's contract for another 30 days. Ms. Donovan -Palmer expressed that Maureen communicated positive results and progress. No motions were made. Ms. Blinn explained that tobacco permit holders are inspected once or twice a year, and recent inspections found that 4 of these establishments sold to minors. This was a second offense for 1 establishment but the first offense for the other 3. Ms. Blinn stated that consequences would need to be determined based on Article 9 of the related regulations. Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained that Kevin Duquette is the Tobacco Compliance Officer. Mr. Duquette works with a minor to try and purchase tobacco products from the permit holder establishments. Ms. Blinn emphasized the importance of reducing tobacco exposure to youth. Dinesh Patel - Town News Mr. Patel took the podium on behalf of Town News and stated that he now instructs his employees to check everyone's ID regardless of perceived age. He confirmed that his establishment has the ability to scan IDs, but the issue primarily concerned requesting customers to present their ID. The Powerball lottery crowded the store and they neglected to follow the proper procedures. Ms. Blinn stated that permit holder establishments must have policies to enforce these age restrictions. Mr. Patel explained that the employee responsible had been working for about 7 years and confirmed. Ms. Blinn suggested that employees sign a document agreeing to these procedures. She stated that the required fine was $1,000 but the suspension of the permit (for up to 7 days) could be decided by the board. Ms. Frenette asked Ms. Sarah McColgan if these suspensions were typically successful. Ms. McColgan responded that a 3-day suspension was typical, but that the board should look at past decisions to keep their consequences consistent. Ms. McColgan also clarified that his new plan to ID everyone has been a state policy since 2020, prompting a change in the board procedure checklist. Ms. Frenette proposed a motion to suspend the tobacco permit of Town News for 7 consecutive days based on the history of the town for other violations, seconded by Mr. Wilson. Mr. Patel asked if the fine or suspension could be decreased, but Ms. Blinn insisted that the state mandated fine was $1,000 for the first violation and that the board wanted to set a suspension precedent for other establishments. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0. Mr. Patel asked if he could cover up the tobacco products instead of completely removing them, as there are valuable cigars that would be difficult to move. Ms. Blinn referred this question to the health agent, but confirmed that all tobacco products would need to be removed. Mr. Dhruuv Patel - Town Food Mart A representative from Town Food Mart took the podium. Ms. Blinn explained that Town Food Mart received a letter on April 1, 2024 that indicated a sale was made to a minor. She requested an explanation of the new policies put in place to prevent further offenses. Mr. Patel says that he and another employee helps train new workers on the proper ID procedures, even for known customers. Employees also receive training on how to identify fake IDs. Mr. Patel further elaborated that employees with more than violation will be terminated. Town Food Mart does own a scanner but not all employees use it and instead check the IDs themselves. Mr. Patel emphasized that Town Food Mart has 5 employees, but the one responsible for the violation was new to the industry. Ms. Blinn asked if employees check the ID of all customers regardless of age, which Mr. Patel confirmed. He also stated that employees were required to sign the permit checklist. Ms. Blinn stated that this was Town Food Mart's first offense, and the new precedent was to fine the mandatory $1,000 and suspend the license for 7 consecutive business days. Ms. Almeida presented a motion to uphold this precedent and suspend the license for 7 days, which was seconded by Mr. Wilson. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0. Mr. Farron Lopez - Mansfield XtraMart Ms. Frenette asked Mr. Farron what steps were being taken to prevent further violations. Mr. Farron explained that XtraMart offers training and that the employee responsible had completed these training sessions. XtraMart uses a "scan everybody" policy and uses an ID scanner. Mr. Farron stated that employees are terminated when they violate this policy. Ms. Frenette proposed a motion to suspend Mansfield Xtra Mart's tobacco permit for 7 days, seconded by Ms. Almeida. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0. Mr. Elias Kazan - Mansfield Service Ms. Blinn stated that this was the second offense for Mansfield Service, and Mr. Kazan clarified that the first offense was a different violation and not sale to a minor. Mr. Kazan stated that the employee responsible requested the day off, but had to come in anyway, so he was unable to perform as well as usual. This employee's hours were reduced to 1 shift, and the establishment is now searching for a replacement. Other employees will also be receiving training, but Mr. Kazan stated that his training did not require everyone to present their ID. Ms. Sarah responded that state law now required all IDs to be checked for every purchase (105-CMR-665—.020) and that free trainings are available online (MHOA.com). Ms. Blinn explained that as a second violation within 36 months, the standard consequences include a mandatory $2,000 fine and a suspension for up to 60 consecutive days. Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated that the first violation was unrelated to this offense, as this was the first sale to a minor. Ms. Frenette made a motion to suspend the tobacco products sales permit of Mansfield Service for 8 days, seconded by Ms. Almeida. Ms. Frenette explains that a longer suspension was not necessary since this was the first violation of selling to a minor. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0. Ms. Donovan -Palmer mentioned that another inspection will be performed on the establishments found in violation. Ms. Blinn explained that there was still some confusion about the necessity of business licenses and requested clarification. Ms. Donovan -Palmer responded that there were only 3 locations in Mansfield that may be impacted by these regulations. Only 1 of these locations was mailed a physical letter but the other 2 were communicated with electronically. Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated that she was interested in holding a public hearing in May, which would be advertised on the front page of a website for 14 days. Ms. Blinn also suggested posting information about these new regulations on their social media page instead of using a newspaper advertisement. Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained that the application will be ready in June, but it would be best to implement these regulation changes in September. The fee will be determined at the public hearing, but Ms. Donovan -Palmer estimated that Weymouth's fee is approximately $100-150. The cost of starting and running the inspection program will be considered in the fee amount. Ms. Almeida requested to know the fee for body art, which is about $150 according to Ms. Donovan -Palmer. The regional inspector, Mr. Cliff, can also be trained by an experienced practitioner. Ms. Donovan -Palmer specifically referenced a body art example and stated that this would be a good learning opportunity for the inspector. Ms. Frenette stated that there was a case of meningitis on a college campus, but this individual is now recovering. She gathered information about close contacts and these individuals were notified. There are no other updates at this time. Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained that many mobile food establishments have a servicing area where they purchase food and bring their equipment to be cleaned. Although most establishments have these servicing areas, those that don't struggle to meet the food code requirements. Ms. Donovan -Palmer proposed a policy to require servicing areas unless certain exceptions are made. Ms. Almeida proposed a motion to require a servicing area for mobile food establishments effective April 11, 2024. This motion was seconded Ms. Frenette. Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained that food trucks may temporarily park in the parking lots of private businesses with permission. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0. Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained that this minor regulation change would allow a tobacco permit holder to relocate their permit to a different establishment/location. However, a new owner must apply for a new permit. This was not included in the original version of the regulations and Ms. Donovan -Palmer wished to explicitly clarify this. Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated that the new phrasing of Section 11 could be, "A permit shall not be transferable to a person or place, with the exception of a retailer changing location. A new owner of an establishment that sells tobacco products as defined herein must apply for a new permit. No new permit may be issued unless and until all outstanding penalties occurred by the previous permit holder are satisfied in full." A motion to approve these changes was made by Ms. Frenette, seconded by Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson sought clarification on the process of withholding permits until all penalties are met. Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained that in a previous instance where a permit was revoked and another establishment took it, the original business can no longer acquire a new permit. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0. Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated 18 individuals with disabilities signed up to participate in the Inclusive Health Coalition. Free Health Screenings including blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, Hands only CPR and associated prevention information • 2nd Tuesday at the COA, 255 Hope Street • 3rd Wednesday at Town Hall, 6 Park Row Household hazardous waste collection • June 22, Mansfield DPW building Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated that she will reach out to APHC for volunteers for the household hazardous waste collection event. Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated that she communicated with the Barnstable County Health Department to discuss a database of innovative and alternative septic systems. There is one household who has failed to pay their septic service after multiple warnings, so Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained that she has been in contact with the company to ensure they are not in violation. Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated that she will soon introduce new local septic regulations to mandate that Operations and Management companies send information to Barnstable County. There is a $60 fee per house. She also seeks to automatically fail cesspools in Title 5 inspections. Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained that she is moving forward with the FDA grant. Some of this grant money will perhaps be used to educate youth about food safety, so Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated that she will be attending the health and wellness fair of a local school. Ms. Blinn expressed appreciation of the PFAS remediation system in Mansfield. There were no visitor comments Voting on FOG Pretreatment System Policy It was determined that a quorum was not met during the last meeting, so Ms. Blinn stated that the vote should be held during this April 11, 2024 meeting. Ms. Blinn reviewed the previous discussion, reading, "if the Mansfield DPW/Engineering Division determined that there is a problematic amount of FOG in the sewer, any connected restaurant establishments must install a grease trap within 18 months or sooner." Ms. Donovan -Palmer elaborated that this statement should include that all new establishments are required to have an automatic grease trap. Ms. Frenette made a motion to pass the new Fat, Oil, Grease Pretreatment System policies, seconded by Mr. Wilson. The motion passed 3-0, as Ms. Almeida abstained. Ms. Blinn stated that the fee structure will be determined at the next meeting. Motion to adjourn made by Mr. Wilson, 2"d by Ms. Frenette. Approved 4-0 clerk Date