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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHEALTH 10032013_201312110923Mansfield Board of Health Minutes October 3, 2013 Present: Catherine Memory, Chairperson; Michael McClean, Clerk; Michael Healey; Scott Leite, Board of Health Agent. 1. Call to Order @ 7:00 pm in Meeting Room 2A /B. 2. Consent Agenda a. Approval of a Temporary Food Permit Alberto's - Oktoberfest Capriotti s — Oktoberfest Daggett - Crandall- Newcomb Home - Oktoberfest Edible Arrangement - Oktoberfest LCI /District 335 Lions Mansfield Shelter Friends, Inc. Nature Springs Water Co., Inc. — Oktoberfest Tri -Town Chamber of Commerce - Oktoberfest b. Approval of a Disposal Works Installers Permit Dyer Construction, Inc. c. Approval of Permit to Operate a Food Service Establishment Mansfield Pop Warner Football @ Memorial Park Qdoba Mexican Grill Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt d. Approval of a Retail Snack License The Home Depot 92609 e. Approval of a License to Sell Milk and Cream Mansfield Pop Warner Football @ Memorial Park Qdoba Mexican Grill Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt f. Approval of a License to Manufacture Frozen Desserts and /or Ice Cream Mix Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt Motion to approve the Consent Agenda: Healey /McClean 3 -0 -0. 3. Correspondence: 4. Old Business: Tobacco Violations: Marilyn Edge, Director, and Sarah LeRoux, Inspector, Western Bristol County & Foxborough Tobacco & Alcohol Prevention Collaborative, and Patricia Harrison, Head Nurse at the Mansfield Public Schools, were present. Robert Langton, Fair Winds and Following Seas, Inc. dba Tedeschi Food Shop, 242 Chauncy Street was present. Ms. Edge said in June, the board recommended the hearings for the owners of the three establishments that failed compliance checks in May 2013 be continued to give the store owners and /or employees time to attend the retailer training course and create an employment policy. The policy was to be sent to Ms. Edge for review and then to the board for approval. She said all three establishments attended the training. Mr. Langton was the only one to develop the policy. At the September meeting, after reviewing Mr. Langton's employment policy, the board expressed concern the wording regarding the reinforcement and how it would be documented was too vague and made suggestions that Ms. Edge outlined in a letter to Mr. Langton. Ms. Edge said Mr. Langton used the original Tedeschi employment policy for restricted products as a model to create the training policy and he was asked to attend tonight's meeting to review the suggestions and close out the hearing. Mr. Langton told the board when the violation occurred, the employee followed all the procedures when selling age- restricted products, which was to check ID, but then she did not follow through on it. He said, in addition to counseling sessions, the employee was suspended for three days without pay, issued a written warning and was told an additional violation would result in termination. This information was sent to company headquarters and is now part of the employee's employment file. He said anything he can add to the policy to make it more affective he will do. Mr. McClean said the main question that was raised during the board's discussion was how often the re- enforcement and documentation would take place. He said the wording, "Continuous Re- enforcement", is very vague. Ms. Memory asked Ms. Edge how often the re- enforcement and documentation should take place. Ms. Edge said if the checks are done too often, requiring the employees to sign each week when receiving their paychecks, it becomes more of a routine, with the employee signing but not really reading the policy. Mr. Langton said he agreed with Ms. Edge that it becomes less effective when the message is given too frequently. He said he has signs everywhere as reminders of the importance of following the appropriate steps when selling age- restricted products because 90% of his business involves age- restricted products - lottery, alcohol and tobacco products. He said $91.00 of every $100.00 that goes into the register is for age- restricted products. Mr. Langton explained that computer -based training is done yearly as a condition of employment and his employees are also required to take additional computer training in money laundering because he sells money orders and is involved in SNAP, a food stamp program. He said putting together a training and counseling schedule with documentation would not be a problem; the training and counseling sessions could be done on a quarterly basis and the computer -based training done every six months with the employee required to sign and initial the document, stating they have reviewed and understand the policy. Mr. Langton said he also arranges for TIPS training, which is primarily for alcohol but the principals are the same. Mr. Langton stated Tedeschi's has a certified instructor for this training because it is a requirement for employees. The training can also be taken as an on -line course and Mr. Langton said he would cover the cost of the course and the employee would be paid for the hours dedicated to taking the course. Ms. Edge said retail store inspections are done every six months to look for signage and product placement, etc., and she could review the documentation log when these inspections are done. Mr. Langton said he will work with Ms. Edge to develop an employee training schedule for review and approval by the board. Ms. Memory suggested the training and counseling sessions could be done on a quarterly basis. Mr. Langton said if the one on one counseling sessions and a review of the policy were done quarterly, it would be sufficient. He said it might be helpful to develop a true or false test that would give him some input into how the employee interprets the training and policies. Ms. Edge asked that Mr. Langton make the changes that were discussed. She asked if this hearing could be closed tonight. Mr. Healey made a motion to close the hearing. Mr. McClean seconded the motion. Discussion: Ms. Memory said the board is closing the hearing, pending the receipt of adjusted documents. Mr. Healey said he is comfortable with the document; it is well written and the adjustments are good. He thanked Mr. Langton for his effort in putting the policy together and asked if he would come back to the board in a year to report on how well the policy is working. Mr. Langton said the document would be a "work in progress ", needing to be continually updated or amended. Motion passed 3 -0 -0. Hearing ended at 7:30 pm. Taber Samrout, Mansfield Gas Service, Inc., 54 Chauncy Street. Ms. Edge said in June it was recommended that one of the owners of Mansfield Gas Service attend the retailer training course and create an employment policy. Mr. Samrout did attend the training session and Ms. Edge provided him with all the materials he would need to create an employee training policy but she has not received any information from Mr. Samrout. Mr. Samrout said he did not understand he was supposed to send the policy to Ms. Edge for review. Ms. Edge asked Mr. Samrout if he had anything in writing and Mr. Samrout said he does not have the material anymore. Ms. Edge will send a packet by certified mail to Mr. Samrout. Mr. Healey told Mr. Samrout he is to develop and send the policy to Ms. Edge within 30 days of this hearing. Ms. Edge told Mr. Samrout she will be available if he needs help. Mr. Healey asked that Ms. Edge let the board know if she does not receive the policy by next month's meeting. Hearing ended at 7:35 pm. Dinish Patel, the owner of Four Corners Citgo at 4 South Main Street, was present. Ms. Edge said four employees from this establishment went to the training course and Mr. Patel received the materials to help him develop a training policy for his employees. She has not heard from Mr. Patel. Mr. Healey asked if Mr. Patel still had the materials he received from Ms. Edge. He said he has the material but has not completed the employee training policy because he needs help. Ms. Memory told Mr. Patel he needs a plan in place that outlines exactly what steps will be taken to prevent a violation from happening again. Mr. Patel said he has made changes at the register; when an age- restricted product is scanned in, the register beeps, alerting the employee that there are certain steps to follow before the purchase is made. Mr. Leite asked if Mr. Patel has implemented this feature at his other store, Town News. Mr. Patel said he has not. Mr. Patel is to submit the employee training policy within 30 days of this hearing. Ms. Edge said he should call her if he needs help. Hearing ended at 7:38 pm. Patricia Harrison, Head Nurse at the Mansfield Public Schools. Mr. Healey told Ms. Harrison the board has had discussions about raising the age for purchasing tobacco products. He said a few towns in the state have made that decision, most have not. The board has postponed any decision until they have additional information about the benefits of raising the age limit and would like some input from the schools; does the school think this is something the town should do, would this be a benefit to the students, and is there an active program, supporting those who are between the ages of 18 -20? Ms. Harrison said she has been compiling data for six years from surveys done every two years; the latest survey was conducted this past June. She said this information will first be presented to the School Committee and the Superintendent of Schools and then the information will be publicized. She explained this program is called "Communities That Care" and involves cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and high risk behavior. In the last six year, grades 6, 8, and 10 have been tracked. By doing the survey every 2 years, she now has data on the same kids that are now in grade 10 from when they were in grades 6 and 8. Two questions on the survey asks the students how easy it is for them to obtain cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol and when did the students have their first drink. Once the information has been presented, and with permission from the administration, she will come back and present the information to the board. Ms. Edge said the students are also asked if they have driven with someone who has been drinking in the past 30 days and if they feel safe at school or if they have missed school because they feel unsafe. Mr. McClean asked if the students are asked how they acquire cigarettes. Ms. Harrison said she is not sure, but will confirm this. She said she is now compiling the data from the June 2013 survey. She said protocol is that it be presented to the School Committee and the Superintendent of Schools and she will let the Board of Health know if she can release this information to them. This information once approved will be put on the school's web site. Ms. Memory said the board has reached out to the schools because there have been several inquiries asking the board to look at whether or not the age to purchase tobacco products should be raised from 18 to 21. She said the board has not been able to get convincing data to help make the decision. Mr. McClean asked if additional questions can be added to the survey. Ms. Harrison said no because it is a standardized test. Mr. Edge said the Youth Risk Behavior Survey gives you the option of adding questions. Mr. McClean asked when the survey is administered, is it a sampling of students. Ms. Harrison said every student in grades 6, 8 and 10 takes the survey. Ms. Harrison said she is connected to the Department of Public Health through the grant that Mansfield has for Central School Health and cessation programs for the high school are part of the scope of work requirement under this grant. Both high school nurses have received training to run these programs and this data is collected at the end of the year which then becomes part of Ms. Harrison's end of the year report, documenting how many students have attended and completed the cessation program. Ms. Harrison said an average of 4 -10 students use the cessation programs per year. She noted the school has seen a definite decrease in students attending the programs. Ms. Edge said the state has seen a decrease of 14 %. Ms. Edge asked if warnings or in- school suspensions are given when there is a smoking violation. Ms. Harrison said if the violation occurred on school property, it would fall under the school tobacco policy, whether it is a student or an adult; this information is on the school's web site. Ms. Harrison said the school now has a full time resource officer and a new SADD (Students against Destructive Decisions) advisor. The resource officer will be working with the middle school and the high school but has also done a lot of outreach programs in the elementary school as well. Ms. Edge said there are state programs available for 84.org chapters. She said existing SADD chapters apply to be 84.org chapters, making them eligible for funding to work on anti - tobacco projects. Mr. McClean asked Ms. Harrison to explain how the "Communities That Care" program works. She said the program started six years ago with the 6th grade class and that class has taken the survey every two years and will again take the survey at the end of their sophomore year. Ms. Harrison can then compare the 6`h grade, the 8th grade and 10th grade data to see what has changed. She is in the process of compiling all the data. Mr. Healey said the Board of Health would like to see the information about the school programs and the data from the surveys. He said the board is open to suggestion from the town on how to proceed with this issue. Ms. Edge asked if Mansfield is looking at synthetic marijuana regulations. Mr. Leite feels it would be better to regulate this under a town by -law for the police to enforce rather than through the Board of Health. Ms. Edge said North Attleboro is the only town in Massachusetts that has already passed a synthetic marijuana regulation. She was asked if she has seen these products in Mansfield. She said she has not. 5. Agents Notes: a. EEE — Mr. Leite told the board the EEE season is almost over; evening activities have lessen compared to the summer months and the threat will end once there has been a good hard frost. Bristol County Mosquito Control will conduct larvicide spraying next year in the area of town that revealed the EEE mosquito pool. b. Flu Clinic: The pediatric flu doses have been received. An adult flu clinic will be scheduled for late October, early November. Mr. Leite said the town will receive 200 -250 doses and one large clinic will be done this year instead of several small clinics. Mr. Leite said it is probably not necessary for the town to hold the flu clinics anymore because the vaccine is covered by health insurance as part the Affordable Care Act. 6. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 8:04 pm. McClean /Healey. Passed 3 -0 -0 Next meeting will b ovember 14, Clerk Date