Minutes of Meeting
January 26, 2004
A meeting of the Sharon Board of Health was called to order at 7:20 P.M. on Monday evening, January 26, 2004, in the Sharon Town Offices, with the following members in attendance: Chairman Anne Bingham, Vice-Chair Elizabeth Barnett, M.D., Jonathan Goldberg, Suzi Peck, and Sherwin Goodblatt. Also in attendance was Jim Andrews, Health Agent for Engineering.
Minutes of January 5, 2004
VOTED: (Bingham/Goldberg) to accept the minutes as corrected. Bingham,Goldberg,Goodblatt, and Peck voted in favor. Barnett was not present for this vote.
Stony Brook Court FAST Unit
The Board reviewed correspondence from Wastewater Treatment Services, Inc., asking for the Board’s assistance; i.e., they feel the need to increase the discharge pipe from the fast unit to the pump chamber to an 8" or 10"
pipe. Jim Andrews agreed that this change would improve the functioning of the system. It was agreed to write to Stony Brook notifying them of this proposal, and asking them to get back to us to discuss methods of reducing flow.
Hearing - Proposed technical changes to Article 7
Chairman Bingham opened the hearing, which was advertised in the Sharon Advocate on January 9th and January 16th, in addition to Sharon Community T.V. She noted that these amendments are being promulgated pursuant to authority of the appropriate chapters of the M.G.L. and that more stringent regulations are required by the town due to Sharon’s entire dependency on local groundwater....small lot size...dependency on septic systems. She specifically mentioned a change in section 9 - Depth to groundwater: in the prior promulgation some clarifying text had been deleted or misrepresented and further clarification is now made. Also included is the statement that new construction not be mounded above existing topography (inadvertently left out in prior promulgation).In addition,
misnumbering was corrected.
There were no comments received and no objections to any changes.
VOTED: (Bingham/ Goodblatt) unanimously to accept the changes to Article 7 as proposed.
Agenda organization
Anne Bingham proposed, and Board members agreed, that the Board continue keeping all septic variance/Article 7 business at beginning of agenda, as much as possible, possibly completing these issues by 8:15 P.M., as a rule.
In addition, the Board agreed to attempt to have some “septic-free” meetings, if feasible.
Complaint: 1545 Bay Road
Contractor Dick Morse was present and stated that, following the Board’s letter to him, he had spoken with the homeowner and, once the frost is over, will investigate and help the homeowner solve the problem....although, he stated, the problem was not caused by his work. He further asked the homeowner to write a letter to the Board of Health notifying us of these efforts. The Board was most appreciative of Mr. Morse’s assistance in this matter.
3 Park Road - Variance Hearing
Homeowners Fred and Carol Lehman were present, along with David Oberlander of BDO Engineering, regarding variances needed for the .replacement of the existing system. ---- 2 cesspools which have failed.
An extremely slow percolation rate was noted . Jim Andrews agreed that, for the existing small lot, BDO had come up with the best, simplest solution to meet the standard of maximum feasible compliance. Sherwin Goodblatt expressed concerns about protecting neighbors’ property.
The following additional requirements were imposed:Annual pumping; all plumbing fixtures to be replaced with low flow toilets and other devices; the homeowners agreed to a deed restriction that the home may never be expanded to more than 4 bedrooms. In addition, the Board recommended that a low flow washing machine be installed when the current appliance needs replacement.
VOTED: (Bingham/Goldberg) to approve the application for variances as requested in the letter from BDO Engineering dated December 23, 2003. Bingham, Goldberg, and Peck voted in favor; Barnett abstained; and Goodblatt opposed.
Kindercare
The Board reviewed correspondance from the LSP of the Shaw’s Plaza, sent at the request of Irv Frankel of Sharon Investment Partners, LLC. The Board further reviewed and agreed to send to Kindercare a letter drafted by Suzi Peck, at Kindercare’s request, containing information which the Board would like to see forwarded to the parents.
Paul Lauenstein - Water Management Advisory Committee(WMAC)
Paul Lauenstein, a new member of the WMAC, shared his concern with the Board about rising nitrate levels in town wells over the past few years. The WMAC had voted to ask the Board of Selectmen to request $50,000 from the Water Department to hire a consultant to advise on where the nitrates are coming from....as a first step. Mr. Lauenstein further stated that, although the levels have been rising, he is unsure whether or not the numbers are statistically significant, although they seem to indicate a significant trend. Anne Bingham suggested that the Board of Health might provide a show of support for the WMAC’s request. In addition, Mr. Lauenstein noted a continuing potential discrepancy, i.e., an increase of 3000 people in the summer in the census used by the DPW, which has a bearing on per
capita use of water.
VOTED (Bingham/Goldberg): unanimously that, following receipt of a copy of the WMAC vote on this issue by the BOH, Anne Bingham will draft a letter of support to the Board of Selectmen on this issue. She also suggested that, as long as a study is being done, other contaminant markers should be investigated. Furthermore, the Board would agree to support the WMAC’s request for $50,000 for a water conservation program.
Other issues for future discussion
Board members suggested the following issues for possible future discussion:
Jonathan Goldberg: Public Health Community Assessment, to determine unmet needs in community; the possibility of a consultant to help determine what the important public health issues are; possibly focus groups with citizens to determine their ideas of what issues really are important to the community? Linda Rosen suggested the LEPC be contacted.
Anne Bingham: to be more proactive regarding water supply and quality.
Elizabeth Barnett: education regarding various public health issues.
Sherwin Goodblatt: concerns regarding alcoholism, drugs, sexuality amongst younger people in community. It was suggested that the BOH attempt to develop a role and coordinate with ongoing groups. on these issues.
The meeting was adjourned at 9 PM.
| 
