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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH 10/09/2025Town of Mansfield Board of Health October 9, 2025 Minutes zQZS ti :C I , 10: 311 Mission Statement: The mission of the Mansfield Board of Health is to protect, presetvend i �aU improve the public health, environment, and wellbeing of our citizens through the enfo`rceni'nt'of 1 I 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: Kasia Frenette, Chair, Ryan Maxwell, Graham Wilson, Chris West, Emily Beura, Amy Donovan -Palmer. Absent: None Guests: Ed Underwood, Dan Merrikin, Zeina Tabbaa Hanna, Dean Boucher, Lorine Salley The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm on October 9, 2025 by Kasia Frenette. None. Motion to approve the consent agenda made by Ryan Maxwell, seconded by Graham Wilson. Passed unanimously 5-0. Motion to approve the September 11, 2025 meeting minutes made by Emily Beura, seconded by Ryan Maxwell. Passed unanimously 5-0 John' Dream is requesting a waiver from the Board of Health for the servicing area requirement for mobil food establishments. Joh's Dream is classified as an ice cream cart as opposed to a mobil food vendor. The cart is remote temperature -controlled and linked to his phone to monitor the temperature at all times. Paul Gilpin our Regional Health Inspector has inspected the freezer and feels comfortable with this waiver request. Mr. Wilson made a motion to approve the waiver for the food protection policy servicing area requirement for John's Dream Ice cream cart, seconded by Ms. West. Passed unanimously 5-0. Zeina Tabbaa Hanna owner of Lawadessa Cafe approached the podium and stated she feels that it is unfair that the Health Inspector came into the establishment on their first visit, and now are expected to pay a critical violation fee. Zeina feels there should be a warning, then if not corrected, a violation fee can be issued. Ms. Frenette explained that they have these policies in place for specific reasons, and when there is a violation that results in a re -inspection, there is an automatic fee that is instated whether you're a new business or an existing business. Typically, the Board of Health does not waive these types of fees. Since our Health inspector is contracted each time he goes back to an establishment who has a violation, we need to pay him for that. Ms. Beura made a motion to deny the request for a waiver for the Priority/Priority Foundation Violation Re -Inspection Fee for Lawadessa Cafe, seconded by Mr. Wilson. Passed unanimously 5-0. Mr. Maxwell explained to the Board what a shared system involves vs. a regular septic system. A shared system is very similar to a single septic system except it is much larger, and can be configured in all different ways. The shared system that is presented has every individual lot, with their own septic tank, which is nice because the septic tank is what does most of the heavy lifting. Shared systems also enter into an HOA agreement, where you are sharing the cost of any sort of common aspect of the system, which would cover any repairs. There is also an ESCRO account that needs to be established to cover the cost of a failure at some point or replacement pumps. Ms. Beura asked Mr. Maxwell why do our regulations prohibit shared systems? Mr. Maxwell responded with he believes some towns ban them is simply the headache that the shared systems can cause with the homeowner's association (HOA). The Health Departments job is to enforce that the system gets repaired. In some cases, it can become a legal battle amongst shared homeowners. Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated that is the past we didn't have the resources in the health department to sustain the time it took to maintain the systems, with such a limited health department. Mr. Maxwell mentioned that an Operation and Maintenance plan would need to be established. The Board of Health could condition an approval that specifies what each homeowner needs to do and agree on. Mr. Wilson asked the Board if there is a go to configuration for the shared septic that makes more sense than others? Mr. Maxwell responded that if there was an individual pump system on each property, then you're not sharing the cost of shared parts, but there is not much of a difference. Ms. Frenette asked Mr. Merrikin to approach the podium. Mr. Merrikin informed the Board that an HOA will need to be put in place. If we allowed this, then we would require the homeowner to enter into a service agreement/contract, which could include an inspection of the system every 1 to 2 years, and report that to the Board of Health. The way the system is configured, is there is a pump chamber at the bottom, this system with 8 houses on it would exceed 2,OOOgal per day. When you are over 2,OOOgal per day you need to have a pressure distribution also known as a pump chamber to push the effluent through the pipes. This reduced the overload, which is a nice advantage to having a larger system. Other than that, it functions just like any other septic system. Mr. Merrikin mentioned that it's 27 acres of land, considered as a cluster sub division. Mr. Maxwell asked if we could provide individual septic systems on this property? Mr. Merrikin responded with there are very slow soils, 50/minute per inch range, a lot not passing the perc tests. Ms. Beura would like to look into our regulations and the language further to see if we can educate ourselves better and figure out what works with shared systems, and what doesn't. Ms. Beura asked if we should get other Boards to weigh in on this shared system discussion. Mr. Merrikin shared that he was advised to meet with the Board prior to approaching the Planning Board. Mr. Merrikin will put together a list of conditions to present to the Board at the next BOH meeting. The Board will also review all documentation and all the perc test results from that location. Mr. Dean Boucher also came before the Board to oppose the shared septic system. Due to the simple fact that the underdeveloped land is very wet, as well as some environmental concerns. The size of the proposed shared septic system would meet the need of each one of the houses having their own septic system. Mr. Boucher asked what president would this would set for future development? Mr. Boucher asked the Board to really consider the long-term impact of a shared septic system. Amy -Donovan Palmer shared with the Board that Paul Gilpin visited all 6 Tobacco establishment, and each one had removed all tobacco for the day. Out of the 14 locations fined, we only have 1 outstanding, which will not be receiving their 2026 permit until it's paid. Paul Gilpin is training on tobacco inspections. The MHOA currently provides the town with 1 inspector, but since Paul already inspects all of our risk category 1 establishments he would be able to also do a tobacco inspection while he is there to check on compliance. Amy Donovan -Palmer also shared that we have set up a training one at the beginning of October and one mid -November for all tobacco retailer permit holders to participate in. The more information we can provide hopefully will pay off. Amy Donovan -Palmer shared a presentation on Zone II and Required Nitrogen Reduction in Septic Systems. Mrs. Frenette mentioned that Covid is picking up, EEE and West Nile Virus Mansfield is still in the moderate risk. Mosquito testing will conclude on October 101. We still encourage residents to use precautions for mosquitos and ticks until the first frost. Our tic diseases have gone down since July. Flu and Covid clinics for employees and residents supplies by Stop & Shop are offered throughout town. You can reach out to the Health Department for more information. 3 None. ;� ° Xli hnportar#motes �: Free Health Screenings including blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, Hands only CPR and associated prevention information 2nd Tuesday at the COA, 255 Hope Street, 9am-12pm 31 Wednesday at Town Hall, 6 Park Row, 9am-12pm The Health Department recently partnered with the Elks at the end of August to conduct a Narcan Training. The turnout was great, and the POP team received a letter from the Elks that informed them a current participant of the training was unfortunately put in a position where she needed to administer Narcan on another individual and because of the training the individual survived. Narcan and fentanyl strips are also available at the Health Department during hours of operation. • Permitting — 2026 Permit Renewals • Bristol -Norfolk Public Health Partners Coalition Grants Update • PFAS • Website/ Social Media Update • Housing Inspections • FOG • Grants o FDA Retail Standards Grant None None Motion to adjourn at 8:22pm made by Mr. Ryan Maxwell, seconded by Mr. Graham Wilson Approved 5.0. A, LN44 �2 56rk f Date