Monday, March 10, 2025, 5:00 pm until 6:00 pm
Town Hall Office Meeting Space
A meeting of the Board of Health
Meeting opened: 5:00 PM
Meeting closed: 6:39 PM
Meeting Opened / Attendance Taken (see above).
Minutes Approved: Mon, Feb 24 - Board of Health Meeting
General Discussion...
One pump out record / Noodle Soup Catalog
General Discussion...
* Annual Title V Meeting - one hot topic was ADU’s - they will be considered new construction.
* Updated Local Septic Regulations
* Informal complaint from residents of Academy Hill Road regarding items being left roadside for “free”, these items are trash, unused OTC medications, old bottles of Acetone, Peroxide, etc. Wind is blowing things into the wetland area and being left there. Property is vacant so nobody to watch over the property. Violation under the housing code?
MOTION, moved by Regina McNeely, seconded by Daniel Sheff: To make a formal complaint to FRCOG, therefore, requesting a housing inspection.
Pass: Aye: Emily Sweet, Kathy Llamas, Hanna Sherman, Regina McNeely, Daniel Sheff.
General Discussion...
Kathy - on-line DPH meeting / CPHS Oversight Board meeting / Maphco meeting
Daniel - CPHS Oversight Board meeting (see below report) / Green Burial Massachusetts training / training to facilitate dialogue within the community (facilitation skills)
Hanna - Green Burial Massachusetts training / training to facilitate dialogue within the community (facilitation skills)
Gina - MassHealth Offices Association virtual training
Emily - communications with MDAR regarding resuming inspections immediately taking full precautions now that Avian Bird Flu levels have declined
CPHS Oversight Board Meeting:
Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District (30 Minutes)
Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District (PVMCD) - an update of the program and benefits to the towns.
Reason: for us to learn about the District, as requested in our emergency preparedness discussions after the tabletop exercise
PVMCD - Provides coordinated mosquito control across the region
Monitors mosquitos for EEE, WNV
Early detection, public awareness
Use data to assess risk, create risk maps, set risk levels
Available to present to BOH, schools - best time in the spring
There are changes in species working their way up the east coast, likely to show up here eventually. With warming, a longer growing season would allow for more mosquitos and more related diseases.
Membership - decided by each town
$5,250/yr - to provide surveillance, public outreach, support to BOH
Bernardston, Erving, Gill, Heath, Leyden, Rowe and Shelburne are members. There is also a question as to if Buckland is still a member.
Conway is listed as member in one place of the website, but not on the list of member communities - clarify if we are members or not
• Dynamic: if some towns are mosquito cautious and other towns are not, it puts us all at risk.
Small towns have greater difficulty shouldering the $5K fee
It is our role as the BOH to prevent disease.
Consider a letter to Sen. Jo Comerford about the need for grant support for membership of small towns in the PVMCD - Randy /John
Heath Letter to Senator Comerford Feb 2025 (PDF, 1997 kb)
Seeking funding for membership, esp towns <5000 residents
Maybe write a letter, w support of selectmen -
Suggest:
Look over letter, discuss w selectmen, send to senator
Let Susan Gruen, Heath BOH know what we are doing
What is the politically savvy approach to who we write to first?
Conway discussion - already line item in the town budget
Veronique - suggest we come to selectmen, present letter to consider
Proposed Local Regulations: (20 Minutes)
CPHS currently doing:
• Review of Employment of Outside Consultants existing/proposed regulations
Local reg in CPHS when had 6 towns, now have 15
Allows you if you need expert opinion to require the applicant to pay to provide it
They will bring to BOH for decisions
• Review of proposed Battery Energy Storage Systems
Risk of water contamination from batteries, fire
CPHS Met with the author of the Wendell regs.
They were able to write regs, scared off the battery company.
Looking at that as a model.
Invite EMDs into the conversation as well.
• Body Art
• Cannabis - Working on it - will be back in summer or fall
• Local Septic Conway, Ashfield
Will bring us septic regs - hearings in May or June
• Tobacco Announced that Conway BOH moved to adopt the 'retiring cap'
Regional Surveys – (10 minutes)
• Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) Survey
Giant list of what local BOH is supposed to provide
What is expected, what we are doing
Completed by Phoebe on our behalf
Expect results this spring or summer
• MAPHCO Local Comprehensive Emergency Mgmt Plan Activities Survey
Notes
We each received the survey - Randy happy to help complete it
Where is Conway at with this?
Conway plan -
Contact Amanda to get updated EMD plan for the town before our next meeting Mar 24
Discuss at BOH, then talk with Randy
• Recent Power Outage/BOH responsibilities.
Notes
Heath and three other towns were out of power 3-4 days - no serious injuries
EMDs did a lot of work, door to door
Remind towns - full staff at FRCOG ready to help - call
Temp housing or feeding - need to assure safety - don’t hesitate to call
We’re here, we’re ready, call us!
Have EMD contact Randy
FY25 Budget Report
All budget numbers are looking good
Federal spending here -
most of the federal money for this year and the next two is already in MA
Watching carefully - no crises right now
Working w regional planning agencies, hired lobbyist
May try to underspend money towns send FRCOG to keep it available
Spend from grants to keep cushion, covers 3 months of operations
Will contact us to write legislators about funding
Next reports: Apr 14, May 12 - agenda item?
General Discussion...
Respiratory illnesses as a whole peaked in the first week of Feb, continue to trend down
Flu still highest of these -
levels across the state are still “Very High”
and are starting to come down into the “High” range
COVID - trending down but still increased
Compared to lowest levels we saw in Oct, after summer surge, before winter surge
Increased 15-fold at peak in late Dec
Now 5-fold above
RSV - very low levels
Norovirus - national pooled data
peaked in mid Jan, at 19x baseline levels
now lower, but:
still 10x baseline level
Still 10% above the highest peaks of recent years
EEE risk - low here, but already Low or Moderate in eastern MA
Avian flu
no recent updates from MA DPH
FRCOG now has its own page - https://frcog.org/bird-flu/
General public
Avoid touching sick or dead birds.
Report disease and death in birds
Practice food safety. Cook meats to recommended temperatures and
consume pasteurized dairy products.
Get your flu vaccine.
Work with animals or have a backyard flock
Links to guidance
Measles outbreak:
As of March 7, 2025, Texas and New Mexico have reported 208 confirmed cases
198 in Texas and 10 in New Mexico
Two deaths have been reported:
one in Texas and one in New Mexico.
More cases are expected as this outbreak continues to expand rapidly.
General Discussion...
No topic yet, expected from FRCOG on the 12th or 13th
General Discussion...
Kathy cannot participate in the public hearing because of a conflict of interest.
Reviewed through Section S
MOTION, moved by Emily Sweet, seconded by Regina McNeely: For Daniel to speak at public hearing on behalf of the BOH.
Pass: Aye: Emily Sweet, Kathy Llamas, Hanna Sherman, Regina McNeely, Daniel Sheff.
MOTION, moved by Emily Sweet, seconded by Regina McNeely: Section G re oral pouches to be sold adult tobacco stores only.
Pass: Aye: Emily Sweet, Kathy Llamas, Hanna Sherman, Regina McNeely, Daniel Sheff.
MOTION, moved by Emily Sweet, seconded by Hanna Sherman: Section F - preventing a smoking bar from opening in Conway.
Pass: Aye: Emily Sweet, Kathy Llamas, Hanna Sherman, Regina McNeely, Daniel Sheff.
MOTION, moved by Emily Sweet, seconded by Hanna Sherman: Section L - no to discounted tobacco items, as in no coupons, rebates, etc.
Pass: Aye: Emily Sweet, Kathy Llamas, Hanna Sherman, Regina McNeely, Daniel Sheff.
MOTION, moved by Emily Sweet, seconded by Regina McNeely: Table to next scheduled meeting.
Pass: Aye: Emily Sweet, Kathy Llamas, Hanna Sherman, Regina McNeely, Daniel Sheff.
MOTION, moved by Regina McNeely, seconded by Emily Sweet: To order 50 of the envelopes .
Pass: Aye: Emily Sweet, Kathy Llamas, Hanna Sherman, Regina McNeely, Daniel Sheff.
MOTION, moved by Regina McNeely, seconded by Emily Sweet: At this time not to get the tick removal kits.
Pass: Aye: Emily Sweet, Kathy Llamas, Hanna Sherman, Regina McNeely, Daniel Sheff.
General Discussion...
None
General Discussion...
None
Minutes approved on Monday, Mar 24, 2025
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