HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-19 Board of Health Minutes p 'vCLERt<
Town of Reading
Meeting
Minutes ! C 8 [A" 9: 08�
Board - committee - Commission - Council:
Board of Health
Date: 2020-11-19 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Location:
Address: Session: Open Session
Purpose: Open Meeting - Remote Meeting Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Chair Richard Lopez, Vice Chair Kerry Dunnell, Paula Curren; Associate
Members: Geri Cramer, Kevin Sexton
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Health
Director Peter Mirandi, Facilities Director Joe Huggins, Assistant Facilities
Director Kevin Cabuzzi, Public Health Nurse Kristine Harris
Minutes Respectfully submitted By: Jacquelyn LaVerde
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was held remotely via Zoom.
Chair Richard Lopez called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and reviewed the agenda items
for the evening.
Public Comment:
There was no Public Comment.
Review of Minutes:
The Board reviewed the meeting minutes of October 15, 2020 and November 5, 2020.
Some edits to the October 15'h minutes included:
• Correction from $25,000 increase in expenses to $20,000;
• Include the vote to support the motion increasing the number of voting members on
the Board to five members;
• Clarification that Ms. Dunnell volunteered to contact the DPH, not the MIAA for
guidance on interscholastic games; and
• Clarification on Incident Command minutes indicating the travel policy is making
people unclear about quarantine.
On a motion by Ms. Dunnell, and seconded by Ms. Curren,the Board of Health
voted 3-0-0 to approve the meeting minutes of October 15, 2020 as amended and
November 5, 2020 as written.
Roll call vote: Kerry Dunnell-Yes, Paula Curren-Yes, Richard Lopez-Yes.
Town Manager Re ooeninn of Town Hall and Budget Planning
Town Manager Bob LeLacheur began the discussion by reviewing the plan to re-open the
Town Hall on a limited basis by appointment only. Members of the public who have a need
to meet with staff in-person, for example, for marriage intentions and abatement
Page I 1
applications, will be asked to complete a health screening form to be used to assess for
symptoms of COVID-19 and for contact tracing. A staff member will greet the person, have
them sign the form, let them in for their appointment, then escort them out of the building
when their appointment has concluded. The doors will remain locked to prevent people
without an appointment from entering or wandering around the building. Face masks will
be required by everyone who enters the building and by staff.
Facilities Director Joe Huggins was present to answer questions Board members had about
ventilation systems, safety barriers, and cleaning protocols. Facilities was able to purchase
Lexan glass before the demand for it really grew. The in-house maintenance staff outfitted
the windows where each department's staff greets the public with the safety barrier. Once
the general public is allowed back inside, vinyl floor markers will be utilized to direct traffic
flow and socially distant spacing.
The Facilities department has a preventative maintenance program that they perform on all
mechanical equipment regularly. The amount of outside fresh air coming in is optimized
and the frequency of air filter changes has been increased.
For cleaning, the Town Hall has four custodians and a full-time maintenance worker. At
night, a contracted cleaning crew comes in to clean the common areas. Custodians and
cleaners clean and disinfect high-touch areas using the CDC recommended spray & wipe
method. The department also purchased four misting machines, one of which will be at
Town Hall, that use EPA registered chemicals proven to kill the coronavirus, that need a
one-minute dwell time with no wiping needed. There is also an emergency process in place
in the event someone in the building has COVID symptoms, where the deep-cleaning
contractor is dispatched to clean and disinfect.
Mr. LeLacheur shared additional measures being taken at Town Hall to ensure the building is
safe. The staff lunch room is still closed and meeting rooms are not being used. Due to
gathering limitations, it is still not practical to use meeting rooms for public meetings. Face
masks are wom by employees when in a space with another employee, but not required
when alone in an office.
The Board agreed that the Town Manager's re-opening plan of Town Hall was thorough and
ensures a safe environment.
On a motion by Ms. Curren, and seconded by Dr. Lopez, the Board of Health voted
3-0-0 to re-open Town Hall on an Appointment-Only basis and to require the
public to wear a face mask when entering the building.
Roll call vote: Kerry Dunnell-Yes, Paula Curren-Yes, Richard Lopez-Yes.
Mr. LeLacheur continued with a review of the Health Department budget. Ms. Delios will be
presenting the department wish list to the Select Board in December. With help, the
department and Board can prioritize and develop a plan for what needs to be added over
the next two to three years.
The Board is planning a community needs assessment for next year. The Board can also
utilize existing resources for community needs, such as the Reading Coalition for Prevention
and Support (formerly RCASA) for mental health needs. Ms. Cramer suggested partnering
with local non-profit hospitals for a community needs assessment. Ms. Dunnell voiced her
support for a full time Health Director and the need for additional nursing hours. Ms. Delios
and Mr. Mirandi were asked to provide a formal recommendation on the budget including a
summary of the current budget, the proposed budget, and the changes between the two.
RFP Status for Health Board/Division Evaluation:
Dr. Lopez reviewed the decision to seek Requests for Proposals for an independent
assessment of the Health Division and Board of Health to try to improve the function of the
organization. The RFP was sent to four consultants, but only MAPC submitted a proposal.
The project was budgeted at $10,000, but the proposal received was for $36,000.
Procurement Officer Allison Jenkins contacted the vendors who did not respond to ask why.
Page 1 2
Reasons included a broad scope of the request, some standards of consultants were too
high, and the requested time frame for the report to be delivered was too tight. Dr. Lopez
outlined options and next steps for the Board:
1) Pause the RFP and work with the new Health Director, who has already begun to
work with staff in identifying problems and improvements that can be made. The
Board can reassess in February to see if enough changes have been made, or if it is
worth pursuing the RFP again;
2) Propose additional resources;
3) Send the same RFP to more consultants;
4) Work with MAPC and negotiate down the price, which may entail reworking the
scope, or dividing it into two components: one for the Health Department
comparative analysis and the other for national accreditation standards.
Board members agreed to pause the RFP, but still believe it would be beneficial to have an
objective assessment done in calmer times. Ms. Cramer suggested that outlining the
accreditation standards would be a good capstone project for a graduate student. The
Board will revisit the project in January or February.
Restructuring of Public Comment section of Meeting/Data elements for monthly
Health Director Report_
Dr. Lopez opted to skip these agenda items in favor of advancing to the COVID-19 updates.
COVID-19 Updates:
Incident Command Updates
Ms. Dunnell updated the Board on the discussions from the recent Incident Command
meeting including: testing capacity and offering a testing site in Reading, and emergency
dispensing sites. The emergency dispensing site plan is a collaborative effort by the state to
provide support according to regions. Health Agent Laura Vlasuk is currently working on
that plan with the regional planners. Emergency Management is also assessing the plan.
Incident Command is preparing for the vaccine and how much vaccination could and would
be available in the community. The vaccine would be dispensed according to tiered groups.
The first tier includes health care workers and those directly exposed. The second tier
would include first responders. And the third tier would be the general public, which is
currently projected for the April-May timeframe.
The"Mask Up Reading" campaign has been very successful. Business Administrator Jayne
Wellman has done an excellent job of rolling out the information, and has a plan to keep the
campaign live and active in the coming months with banners on public buildings and yard
signs.
The School Superintendent gave an update on school sports, and the School Department is
assessing them now. The Schools continue with food distribution at the High School twice a
week.
The downtown area has a shopping campaign to shop local and come do business safely.
Businesses are enforcing COVID guidelines of face coverings, hand sanitizing, and capacity
limits.
Incident Command discussed the MEMA testing site map and challenges people are facing
when trying to find testing locations. The site is not user friendly. Ms. Dunnell raised the
issue with the local public health Q&A session and was told that the information would be
forwarded.
Case Count Updates
Public Health Nurse Kristine Harris provided the latest case counts. Reading is now a
"yellow"or elevated risk community. There is a total of 485 cases in Reading with 51
current active cases, 372 recovered, 38 deaths, and 4 transfer cases.
Page 1 3
Since November 1#, there have been multiple households infected and several cases in the
school system. When cases occur in the Public School system, Ms. Harris collaborates with
Mary Giuliana, Director of Nursing at RMHS, and Sharon Grottkau, Nurse at the Killam
Elementary School.
Current number of cases by age group are:
Age 0-2: 1 case
Age 2-5: 0 cases
Age 10-18: 8 cases
Age 18-45: 30 cases
Age 45-65: 6 cases
Age 65+: 6 cases
There have been 18 cases at Austin Prep. None of those cases were Reading residents, and
several were related to sporting events.
There is concern about electronic lab reporting with the state, as reporting can be delayed,
and transferred cases can take up to two weeks to reflect in Reading's data.
Compared to neighboring communities, Reading is comparable to Stoneham and Wakefield,
also "yellow"communities. North Reading is still "green" and Woburn is"red".
New guidance allows asymptomatic individuals to come out of isolation on day eight after a
negative PCR test. It can be difficult to get PCR testing covered by insurance, but Ms.
Harris is hopeful that testing sites would be able to provide the tests with new guidance.
There are no current clusters, but clusters in late October were attributed to sporting
events, specifically girls' hockey. Contact tracing was difficult, as the coach and owner did
not want to provide the roster. The CTC got involved to help get the roster. Ms. Harris
continues to have weekly phone calls with her contact at the CTC.
Civic/Recreation Permit Issues
Permitting and the COVID addendum is now available online.
Mr. Mirandi noted that since the last meeting, only one event was approved for a vigil on
the Town Common for transgender people lost to violence. The applicant was a high school
student, and was happy to share the -Mask Up Reading"campaign at her event.
Next Agenda Planning/Review:
Topics to be discussed at the next meeting on December 3rd, 2020 include: revisiting the
Public Comment format, the Health Director report, and a review of the budget proposal.
Ms. Cellos suggested reverting to one meeting per month in the new year. Dr. Lopez
agreed that going back to one meeting per month would be favorable, but with the vaccine
nearing approval, and the rise In cases with holiday gatherings, it would be best to continue
with two meetings per month for the time being.
On a motion by Ms. Curren, and seconded by Dr. Lopez, the Board of Health voted
3-0-0 to adjourn at 9:14 pm.
Roll call vote: Kerry Dunnell-Yes, Paula Curren-Yes, Richard Lopez-Yes.
Page 14