Board of Health

Meeting Minutes
December 09, 2008

12:00 Noon
Rice Conference Room

Present:	Dr. Francis Fox; Mr. Brooke Greenhouse (arrived at 12:15 PM); Dr. James Macmillan; Mr. Michael McLaughlin, Jr.; Mr. Frank Proto; and Mr. Greg Stevenson
Staff:	Mrs. Sylvia Allinger, Director of CSCN; Mrs. Liz Cameron, Director of Environmental Health; Mrs. Alice Cole, Public Health Director; Mrs. Sigrid Connors, Director of Patient Services; Mrs. Brenda Grinnell Crosby, Public Health Administrator; Dr. William Klepack, Medical Director; Mr. Jonathan Wood, County Attorney; and Mrs. Patty Stamm, Administrative Assistant
Excused:	Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker, President; Dr. William Tyler
Guests:	Steven Kern, Sr. Public Health Sanitarian; Audrey Balander, Sr. Public Health Sanitarian; and Mr. Lee Scott for Marguerite Smith

 

In Dr. Snedeker’s absence, Mr. Proto, Vice President, called the regular meeting of the Board of Health to order at 12:14 P.M.

Dr. Klepack circulated a proposed Draft Gas Drilling Resolution to be brought before the Board later in the meeting.  He explained it had to do with potential ground and surface water contamination linked to the Marcellus Shale issues.  Mr. Proto requested Board members review the proposed resolution so that a vote could be taken at the meeting.   

Approval of Minutes: 

Dr. Macmillan moved to accept the minutes of the October 14, 2008 meeting as written, seconded by Mr. Stevenson, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.

Financial Summary:

Mrs. Grinnell Crosby reported she had no written financial report this month.  She stated they continue to have problems with the department financial system, however added that ITS is making changes to the program. 
            Mrs. Grinnell Crosby stated the department continues to keep tight fiscal control on spending, as well as trying to get in as much revenue by year end as possible. 

Administration Report:

In addition to her written report, Mrs. Cole:

• Passed around a “Thank You” note she had received from Sharon Kellogg, a nursing student who was a guest observer at the October 14th Board of Health meeting.
• Passed around an e-mail she received from a local physician, Dr. Steve Allen, Jr., who expressed concern over electronic stylus pens people use in stores when signing credit card purchases.  He feels these pens are “germ magnets.”  Dr. Allen would like to see some kind of campaign whereby the stores would be required to clean the stylus pens or make sure the ball point pens available on counters for people to use are cleaned on a regular basis.  Mrs. Cole stated she had had several conversations with Dr. Allen regarding this issue; however the Health Department has no authority over department or grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.  She added it is everyone’s personal responsibility if they feel strongly about this issue to ask the store if they have a policy on the cleaning of these implements and if not  encourage them to create one and to carry a bottle of hand sanitizer and practice good hand washing. 
• Passed around a brochure celebrating the 40th Anniversary and highlighting the accomplishments of the Health Planning Council of Tompkins County. 
• Expressed gratitude on behalf of Board members and staff to Dr. Snedeker for his years of service as President of the Board of Health. 

Medical Director’s Report:

Dr. Klepack reviewed the draft resolution he distributed regarding water concerns pertaining to potential gas drilling.  (Mrs. Cameron also distributed copies of Resolution No. 252 – Tompkins County Comment on NYSDEC Draft Scope for Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) on the Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Regulatory Program for the Marcellus Shale which was passed by the Tompkins County Legislature.) 
            Dr. Macmillan moved to approve the resolution as written, seconded by Mr. Greenhouse.
            Mr. Greenhouse suggested that on Page 1 of the resolution under “And further resolved:”…first sentence – the word delay be changed to prohibit and on Page 2 under Resolved further.”…the sentence is changed to read: That the Board of Health of Tompkins County urges the New York State Legislature to support H.R. 7231, a bill intended to repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing where it pertains to the chemicals used in oil and gas drilling in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
            Mr. Proto recommended the resolution being proposed by Dr. Klepack include the same distribution list used on the Legislature’s resolution No. 252.  He also suggested that NYSACHO and the Tompkins County Board of Health be included in the distribution list. 
            Following a lengthy discussion among staff and Board members, Mrs. Cameron suggested that under the 3rd resolve, item (c) be added to the resolution to read as follows: “require mitigation of contamination of drinking water aquifers;”
            The resolution with recommended amendments (agreeable to Dr. Macmillan and Mr. Greenhouse) was passed unanimously.  Mr. Proto volunteered the services of the Tompkins County Legislature in the distribution of the amended resolution.

Division for Community Health: 

Mrs. Connors reported due to the high number of report deadlines, the Communicable Disease Report would not be available until January.  It is important this report be correct and have the time allowed to review it.

Children with Special Care Needs:

Mrs. Allinger reported:

• Due to the extended absence of a staff member, she is looking for a Special Education Teacher to temporarily fill a position in the Preschool Unit.  Mrs. Allinger stated they have divided as much of the work as possible amongst staff, which has made quite an impact on their workloads.  She is hopeful that she will have someone within the next month.
• Due to the state of the economy and challenges families are facing, under the Children with Special Health Care Needs Program their Public Health Social Worker and some of the Early Intervention staff did a mass mailing to clients in Early Intervention and Children with Special Health Care Needs to help them apply for winter and holiday-type programs.  45 families were assisted in applying for programs such as Cops, Kids, & Toys, Salvation Army, Christmas programs, HEAP, Share the Warmth, etc.  She added every family wanted to participate.  She stated this was a very big undertaking for staff members, however made a big difference for many families this year. 

County Attorney’s Report: 

Mr. Wood stated he had nothing to report.

Environmental Health Report: 

In addition to her written report, Mrs. Cameron added:

• Comments have been submitted by the Division regarding the Department of Health’s proposed tanning regulations which are currently being pushed forward.  In addition to the tanning regulations, she added it appears NYSDOH is considering moving forward with tattoo regulations and setting aside changes to the food code.  
• Her Division is finalizing an internal mold policy whereby staff will only be responding to mold calls if referred by a physician or code enforcement officer.  They will be providing educational materials to people who call with mold inquiries, but not actually making home visits unless they are referred.

 
Approvals and Actions

Report from the Nominating Committee (2009 Officers):

Dr. Macmillan, Chair of the Nominating Committee, stated since there were no volunteers for the position of President of The Board of Health he would be willing to put his name forward as a candidate for this position. 
            Mr. Stevenson moved that Dr. Macmillan be nominated for the position of President of the Tompkins County Board of Health, seconded by Dr. Fox; carried unanimously.
            Nomination for the position of Vice President was deferred until January of 2009.

Selection of Candidate for Board of Health Vacancy:

Following a lively discussion among Board members regarding candidates who had applied for the “Consumer Member” position on the Board of Health and the role of the “Consumer Advocate,” it was decided it would be in the best interest of the Board to defer a decision until the January 2009 Board of Health meeting.  This will allow time for the Nominating Committee to further investigate potential candidates.  It was also decided that no additional applications for the “Consumer Member” position on the Board will be accepted.

Approval of New Policy: Tuberculosis Case Management and Follow-up Policy:

Dr. Macmillan moved to approve the policy as written, seconded by Mr. Greenhouse, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.

Marguerite Smith, Krums Corner, T-Ulysses; Tompkins County Sanitary Code Violation (Open Burning):   

Mr. Lee Scott spoke before the Board on behalf of Marguerite Smith.  He stated due to health issues, Ms. Smith lives with his family in Trumansburg.  Ms. Smith has two nephews who occasionally stay at her house and have been cited on several occasions for burning garbage, etc. and creating a health hazard. 
            Mrs. Balander, Sr. Public Health Sanitarian, commented that two violation notices had been sent to the nephews; however enforcement could not legally be taken against the nephews since they did not own the house.  The Division then started sending violation notices to Ms. Smith.  Following the 3rd violation, enforcement action was taken. 
            Mr. Scott stated Ms. Smith is 94 years old and of the “old school” whereby you look out for family.  However, due to the turn of events over the last 2-3 months, Mr. Scott feels that Ms. Smith is going to give him Power of Attorney.  When this happens, he stated the nephews will be evicted from the home and the property will be cleaned up for future sale of the home.  With this in mind, Mr. Scott asked that the Board consider waiving the $250 penalty. 
            Following a brief discussion among Board members and staff, Mr. Greenhouse moved to accept the Resolution with a postponement of the penalty for reconsideration two months from now (February 2009 BOH meeting), seconded by Dr. Macmillan.    
            Mr. Stevenson expressed his apprehension to support this motion, stating this County has had an open burning law for some time, however open burning is still quite prevalent in the County and this troubles him.  He acknowledged the extenuating circumstances of this individual case, but stated it is still a problem.  He stated he is hesitant to support any action that puts less “teeth” in the ordinance that is on the books right now. 
            Mr. Greenhouse stated his intent at this stage is just to delay the penalty, not necessarily to eliminate it, adding this action is purely due to the extenuating circumstances. 
            Following further discussion on this issue between Board members and staff, the motion was passed unanimously.
            Further conversation brought forth the suggestion that in a situation where it is very clear that the tenant, not the property owner, is responsible for a violation, it would be nice to have a mechanism in place to pursue the tenant rather than the property owner.  Mrs. Cameron stated they would look into this when revising the Sanitary Code.   

Jeff McDonald, Facilities Manager, Taughannock Falls State Park, T-Ulysses; Revised GWUDI Time Table of Compliance: 

Mr. Greenhouse moved to accept the resolution as written, seconded by Dr. Macmillan, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.

Proposed Resolution Regarding Penalties Determined to be Uncollectible:

Mr. Greenhouse moved to accept the resolution as written, seconded by Dr. Macmillan.
            Mr. McLaughlin pointed out that “KFC” is owned by the same people who own Taco Bell, adding managers are moved between stores all the time.  Mrs. Cole suggested this be taken up with Mr. Wood since his office handles collections.  Mr. McLaughlin stated that Matthew Wright, former KFC Manager, currently lives in Newfield and still works for the people who own Taco Bell.  Mrs. Grinnell Crosby stated she felt their inability to reach Mr. Wright had been one of the reasons why the penalty had not been collected. 
            Mr. Greenhouse recommended removing “KFC” from the list of penalties determined to be uncollectible, which was agreeable to Dr. Macmillan.
            Resolution as amended was passed unanimously.

Decision on Proposed Revision to the Tompkins County Sanitary Code, Article VII – Water Supply: 

Due to the length of today’s meeting, this decision has been postponed until January.  (Please bring this with you to the January 2009 BOH meeting.)

Proposal for Two Brief New Loop Trails in Kennedy State Forest:  

Included in the BOH packets was a letter from Alex Gonzalez of Dryden asking for a letter of support for two new short loop trails proposed by Alex and Michele Gonzalez in Kennedy State Forest in Cortland County.   Also attached was a letter of support from the Cortland County Health Department.
             Mrs. Cole stated the Health Department’s Health Promotion Program highly encouraged supporting this initiative, adding this area is frequented by Tompkins County residents.  Mrs. Cole stated if the Board supported this initiative, she would write a letter of support similar to the one sent from Cortland County.  
            Dr. Macmillan moved that Mrs. Cole write a letter of support on behalf of the Board of Health for the proposed two new hiking trail loops in Kennedy State Forest, seconded by Mr. Greenhouse, and carried unanimously. 

Adjournment:

At 2:30 P.M. Dr. Macmillan moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Dr. Fox; carried unanimously.