Environmental health
At the November 5 meeting of the Board of Health (the Board), Acton Environmental Health Director Matthew Dow provided updates to the Board.
With the end of year fast approaching, the Health Department (the Department) was trying its best to get all inspections completed, as well as get permit renewal applications out to all vendors.
The Department had four applicants interview for the per diem food inspector, one of whom would be a good fit for the department. They could start soon and they had all the credentials. The applicant had the most experience and flexibility.
The Health Department had sent the Board’s questions regarding Dover Heights to Town Counsel, and Counsel was still in the process of reviewing those. (Note: In previous meetings, the Board of Health requested legal opinions regarding the responsibilities of the Town and the state with regard to the replacement of a wastewater disposal system at Dover Heights.)
Gould’s Plaza septic design had been reviewed at previous Board meetings, and it had been sent back to the engineer for edits. This is the septic system that is in failure, for the bank and the hair salon. The system was designed with tight tanks and nitrogen reduction technology. The tight tanks had not been installed yet.
Board Member McInnis said, “Last meeting they asked us for permission to proceed with the tight tanks. They had [indicated] that they were going to do it within two days.”
Dow answered, “From my understanding, nothing did get put in the ground at this time.”
Member Conoby asked Mr. Dow, “Could you check back with them? We must be getting close to the 30 days. Ask them for a date and, if it seems reasonable, I think we did allow you to extend that time period another 30 days, but I think that 60 days is absolutely pushing it unless they can show they can’t get materials or if there’s some weather-related incident.”
Mr. McInnis stated, “They told the Board that they had their plumber there and he said they’ve got everything dry fit and they’re just going to drop the tank and hook it up. He was waiting for something else, but it wasn’t the tank.”
Mr. Dow responded, “The liner for the tank was a big issue. The liner for the tank was out on a four-week delay.”
Health and Family Services
Acton Health and Family Services Director Penny Funaiole also provided updates to the Board. She had worked on housing cases over the last couple of weeks, which required social service navigation.
She had continued work on the Community Needs Assessment. Listening sessions were held in the past week, with very low attendance. More sessions would continue in January to get more people to the table.
Funaiole said that there are focus groups popping up. The community ambassador model was being utilized through the Municipal Vulnerability Plan grant that the town had received. The grant was funding several people to help do outreach. This past weekend, one of the community ambassadors had done a listening session at the American Chinese Civic Society. There was one planned for the Muslim community and South Asian community on December 13. There was to be a neighborhood event for the Hosmer area and a scheduled meeting with the AB Community Compass on December 3. These listening sessions would be offered again in January and would be promoted a couple of weeks in advance.
Two transportation grants had been submitted. One was a dispatch grant that would keep the dispatch rolling, a grant that is applied for every year. The second one was submitted in partnership with Maynard. Post-submission, Concord also joined. This grant would allow an assessment of how to create fixed routes that come through all these communities, and analyze how to get that funding.
Funaiole said Public Health Nurse Susan Sama was doing a good job regarding public health education, in particular virus education, and that she was working with the police on the “Acton Safe Return” program. (The Acton Safe Return program is a new interdepartmental initiative to create a safer community for vulnerable residents. The program includes a form that a family member with a loved one who may wander from home completes so that if that person goes missing, the responding officers have information on where the person may go and the best places to look immediately.)
Finally, there had been an effort to improve the handling of instances of hoarding, focusing on training, managing cases, and monitoring follow-ups. The goal was to improve data collection on hoarding housing cases.
The nursing office had purchased a kiosk like the one at the senior center, in order to track information such as equipment coming in and out and blood pressures checked, to measure the impact of the nursing program.
Mr. McInnis asked, “How is our food security regarding the expiration of SNAP benefits? I know a lot of organizations and individuals stepped up to help deliver food and donate food and gift cards.”
Ms. Funaiole replied, “After the Board of Health’s October 28 meeting, we met with all our food helpers, people that are working in the school and the local pantries. They’re all operating at high capacity and receiving a lot of volunteer help. They’re getting a lot of food out there. They are seeing a lot more people coming.”
Ms. Funaiole noted that pre-packed boxes of food were available for families. She wanted people to know that the food pantry was active and food supplies were available. The group of food helpers had met to plan distribution of Thanksgiving dinners and would continue to meet once a month.
Funaiole said the community had felt the need, stepped up, and met the need. The Health Department allowed residents to come to Town Hall to donate to fuel assistance, housing assistance, or food assistance.
Acton Water District variance request
In additional agenda items, the Board of Health met with Matt Mostoller, Acton Water District (AWD) Manager. The Water District is seeking support from the Board for a variance from the State Plumbing Board. The variance would allow the construction of the Central Acton PFAS Treatment facility to be completed without including a restroom. Restrooms were not a requirement when the facility was designed, but became a requirement in a subsequent plumbing code update. Due to the location of the facility adjacent to public water supply wells, a tight tank would be required. The AWD made the case that a restroom is not necessary for an unstaffed facility that will only be occupied for approximately one hour each day.
Alan Noyes, Acton plumbing inspector, was uncomfortable with granting a variance at the Town level and recommended the District seek the variance from the State Plumbing Board.
The Board encouraged the Water District to request reconsideration from the Town’s plumbing inspector but indicated that if that was unsuccessful their consensus was that they would support the variance before the State Plumbing Board at a future meeting.
Health regulation changes to promote recycling
Lauren West, Acton’s environmental analyst, met with the Board to discuss changes to Article 2 in the Town health regulations that would help promote recycling at condominium and apartment complexes in Acton. The Board agreed with the goals presented by Ms. West and heard from several residents in favor of her stated goals. The Board asked the Health Department to place consideration of changes in Article 2 on a future agenda.
DK Halley was Acton Health Director from 1987 to 2015. He is now one of the Acton Exchange’s volunteer beat reporters covering the Board of Health.
