Minutes of Meeting
May 21, 2003
A meeting of the Sharon Board of Health was called to order at 7:35 P.M. on Wednesday evening, May 21, 2003, in the Sharon Town Offices, with the following members in attendance:
Chairman Andrew Stead, Vice-Chair Susan Peck, Elizabeth Barnett, M.D., Jonathan Goldberg, and Anne Bingham. Also present was Jim Andrews, Health Agent for Engineering.
Minutes of April 28, 2003
Voted (Barnett/Peck) unanimously to approve the minutes of April 28, 2003.
Minutes of May 5, 2003
Voted (Stead/Bingham) Stead/Bingham/Peck voted to approve the minutes of May 5, 2003; Goldberg and Barnett abstained.
Request for Testing Reduction: 339 South Main Street
Andy Stead reviewed the test data and stated it appeared they are not doing sampling on a quarterly basis, as they should have been. He will contact them for further followup.
Mr. And Mrs. Davidson - 595 Bay Road
Jim Andrews recounted that Mr. And Mrs. Davidson are requesting relief from septic regulations to construct a 3 season porch at their home, which has a cesspool and is located in Stoughton’s Zone II. According to Title 5, expansion of habitable space to a home with a cesspool triggers an upgrade. Jim noted that the Davidsons are elderly and on a “fixed income”.....and, therefore, recommended the Board require they have the system inspected and, if it meets pass criteria, okay an agreement to upgrade when the property is transferred.
Reorganization of the Board
The Board discussed reorganization of chairmanship and vice-chairmanship. The Board members expressed sincere appreciation to Andy Stead for continuing in the position of chair for the additional time required to provide additional stability to the Board and to allow for a smooth transition.
Elizabeth Barnett extolled Anne Bingham’s qualifications to be chairman, noting that she (Elizabeth Barnett) felt that someone with a strong background and knowledge of septic systems would make the best chairperson. Anne Bingham agreed to serve as chairman.
VOTED (Barnett/ Peck) unanimously to elect Anne Bingham as Chair of the Board of Health for a one year term..
VOTED (Peck/ Bingham) unanimously to elect Elizabeth Barnett as Vice-Chair for a one year term. The new positions will be effective immediately following tonight’s meeting.
Variance Hearing: Striar Hebrew Academy; Ames St. Realty, LLC
Continuation of hearing begun on April 7, 2003.
Present: Ari Schwartz, David Berg, and Howard Diamond representing Striar Hebrew Academy;
Joshua Beiser and David Gebler representing Ames St. Realty, LLC;
Jim DeVellis, Engineer, of Geller DeVellis;
Len Simons, Counsel who helped draft the consent (with Anne Bingham of the BOH)
Ari Schwartz presented plans for full build-out of the Ames Street site, with no requested
variances for the septic system. The 1st phase would be to add 6000 square feet for the school;
it is possible that the synagogue will be enlarged at some point in the future (not now planned); also possible that there might be 2nd floor for the school at some point in the future(not now planned). They propose to build a septic system large enough to accommodate the maximum buildout, although that buildout may never be reached. Student population = 350 for maximum buildout. There are no plans at this point to go beyond grade 6 in the school; potentially could go to 8th grade at some point.
The question of mounding arose since, in one area of the parking lot, the final elevation will be higher than the existing elevation. In this location, fill will need to be brought in to maintain 4' separation to groundwater. A mounded system requires a variance. James Devellis, P.E., reviewed that further work will need to be done in light of the mounding issue (he was not previously aware of this). Maximum feasible compliance would be the alternative if a system cannot be designed without a variance.
Suzi Peck expressed concerns that expanding the classrooms constitutes increasing the flow. Discussion took place of use of the Clivus system– from which there actually is no flow. The worst case scenario, if a design to put the current system into compliance to serve the existing building cannot be produced, would be that they would be required to remove the temporary classrooms and Clivus systems and return to the current # of students. The possibility of long-term use of Clivus was also presented.
An abutter, Francis Fox, expressed concerns about drainage towards his property and asked about adding another catchbasin. He also asked about the possibility of venting to reduce odors...and also asked if alternatives to all paving could be used, e.g., plantings, etc. It was encouraged that these issues be reviewed prior to submission of the final plan.
Clivu s system for temporary classrooms and Consent Order
Review took place of the proposed use of the Clivus system (self-contained recycling/ compostingsystem) to handle the temporary classrooms.
Review took place of the proposed consent order — developed in consult with Anne Bingham.
Following a review of estimated construction costs, it was agreed that $40,000 would be placed into escrow for the septic system. It was also agreed that the existing system should be pumped every 6 months - with review of this requirement after the first year. A maintenance contract for the Clivus will be provided to the BOH. No additional design flow to be added to the existing system without BOH approval beyond 5/25/03. Stricter penalties for non-compliance will be built in to the consent order – written notice and reasonable time for compliance will be provided. Status reports will be provided every 3 months
VOTED:(Bingham/Stead) unanimously to approve a Disposal works construction permit for installation of a Clivus system to serve 2 modular classrooms, and that the Board enter into a consent order with the applicants as modified during the meeting of 5/2l/03....setting forth an outside date for use of Clivus systems and to upgrade the existing system. A clean copy of the amended consent order will be forwarded to the Board to execute.
The meeting was adjourned at 10 PM. (The Board agreed to meet at 7 PM on June 9th.)
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