e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all right excellent so welcome everyone to the rever Board of Health um public meeting for the month of April uh first can you please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance great so I am uh Dr Drew bunker I the chair of the Board of Health and with me today are um two other Board of Health members Kathy Savage um and then vivana katano who's here for her first time on the board of health also um Municipal staff Michael Wells who's the health agent director of inspectional services as well as Paula Su who's the Board of Health clerk um and in attendance we also have attorney Anthony Bronco um just briefly just because this is viviana's first meeting going to um ask her if she just mind just saying a few things um just about herself and um um what she looks forward to and working in the Board of Health hello everyone my name is vivana katano I work from as general hospital I have been working for the hospital under the rir cares Coalition for over 13 years uh the Coalition Works to implement Public Health initiatives in the community um we work with residents and leaders to identify issue in the community and and address um these issues through collaborations I previously led the Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Task Force in the community so I'm very well-versed in prevention science and implementing policies that help especially young people make healthy choices uh currently I co-lead the food working group which is an initiative that came out of the mass and motion funding and mass and motion is about implementing policy system and environmental changes again to help residents eat better and move more uh so this is the experience that I U bring into this group I also live in reiv I'm raising two kids here and I care about what happens in the community and I want to make sure that the policies we're implementing are you know helping people to make good choices around their health thank you great thank you we're happy to have you great so the first thing we'll do uh in every meeting is we review and approve the minutes from the March meeting so um because it was just Kathy and I so Kathy I'm just going to ask you to approve the minutes oh sorry vivana can approve them as well yes I approve of minutes yes I approve of the minutes great thank you next is going to be the inspectional services monthly report from Michael Wells thank you Dr bunker uh board of health inspection numbers for the month of April are as follows for the interior housing division we completed 37 certificates of fitness 10 reinspection on certificates of fitness 12 interior complaints nine interior reinspection we had three um I'm sorry nine I'm sorry 12 interior complaints we had nine reinspection on interior complaints we had three pool inspections and then on the food Inspection Division We performed 38 routine inspections 13 reinspection three complaint inspections and two pre-opening inspections uh on the exteria sanitation division we um issued 321 violations for trash um 12 uh 30 for improper bulky items and 27 for accumulation of trash and litter and debris and we issued one violation for working without a permit great thank you Michael next is um we're going to do a uh discuss the condemnation um proceedings regarding 71 uh pit Kern street I'm going to have uh attorney Anthony Bronco um come up to the uh front here and speak thank you thank you members of the board attorney Anthony Bronco um I serve as outside Council for the city of Riv with respect to public health and safety issues in the city so we're here before you for uh for a matter of uh condemnation for 71 pit streets um this is a property that the city actually believed to be vacant for over a year came to the city's attention in uh January of 2023 there were complaints from the city uh from from uh from Neighbors regarding um you know a jeep that had been parked in the driveway for a long time uncut grass uh Rat infestation you know so the city in good faith tried to reach out you know as as Mr Wells pointed out you know they they do uh exterior and interior inspections they requested a uh an inspection of the property they sent I I think five or six inspection requests between uh January and April of 2023 and received no response they sent uh I think eight or nine fines between January and August of 2023 and again received no response based on that the matter is refered outside Council in March of 2024 my office then got a letter out to the property requesting an inspection of the property we received no response and so what happened was our office we um we obtained a warrant from Chelsea District Court to go in perform an inspection the day before uh Mr alen bosel who was here today and will speak on his own um you know uh to the merits of uh his argument he uh he explained that he was living at the property it was not vacant it was not abandoned and he was a gentleman he cooperated and allow us us to go into the property at that time what the city found though was uh there were a number of issues that there rise to the level of making the property unfit for human habitation um I provided the uh the board members as well as Mr bosel with the brief um outlining this within that brief as exhibit D I think is the order to correct so that's an inspection report that the city issues after an inspection it's under uh 105 CMR 410 which is the state sanitary code and so uh what happened was they found a number of issues including no running water uh there are portions of the property that without heat and electricity I think it's just the attic in the basement but that still stands um there's inadequate fire protection there there is a partially or illegally constructed uh unit in the Attic cons consisting of some sort of bedroom and and uh and cooking space I believe you know as well as the the rodent infestation which you know uh is is apparently stemming from or ascended around the property so given all this um even before the inspection report was issued uh we sent a letter out to the occupant asking him uh not not to stay at the property anymore saying for your own health and safety please if you have another place to go go and what we'll do is we'll put this before the Board of Health uh you know for a condemnation he on April 25th you know uh pursu to a conversation we had a few days ago um and he just confirmed just a moment ago with me he's no longer living at the property um he is going back and forth to to move possessions which which is understandable you can't move everything out you know on one day um but he's no longer living there which which is good that that's what the city wants um at the same time though we we can't unsee what we saw you know the Board of Health is is now unnoticed that there is a property without running water with inade fire protection you know portions that don't have heat and electricity a rat infestation these are things that under you know 410 uh I think it's section 630 you know it basically states that these shall always be conditions with material impair health and safety based on that I would be asking the Board of Health to issue a finding that the property is unfit for human habitation in two orders the first order would be to vacate the property which has already been done but it would formalize that and the second being to secure the property what I can say is that houses that look abandoned you know and someone ends up moving in trespassers so what we want to do is we want to preempt that want to make sure that the property is secure and to make sure that any possessions that the occupant has there still are secure you know and so we're cognizant that you know the effect that this order will have on the occupant you know this is a case where he stated that he's not necessarily living at the property he's able to live somewhere else but should that long no longer be the case he won't be able to go back to this house you know the city is not unsympathetic to that what we've done is we have now preemptively filed a petition to enforce the state sanitary code and to appoint a receiver in Easter housing court so what that will do is hopefully that will have a receiver be appointed that receiver will have the wherewithal to go through and fix this property bring it back up to code you know such that the the condemnation order can be can be lifted should Mr bosel need housing you know the receiver will be empowered by the court to go find him housing and put him up the other issue is that I'm not concern I'm not sure that this work can be done by any person that's not a receiver given the fractured title the last record owner died in I think 2021 and his his estate is fractured in as much as as six different pieces so so I think that there would be there need to be some sort of consensus to either sell the property or or to do the work right so so based on that that's why we filed a receivership case hoping that the receiver can go through and try to help and work in tandem the last thing I'll say is that so it was I was made aware of this just uh you know not long ago that uh Mr bosel has has enlisted in certain Social Services to try to assist him you know we appreciate that that's more than a lot of people do in this situation he's seeking help you know um and and so it's been represented to me that they may be able to do the work to bring this up up to code if that's the case the Board of Health can can go through and can lift that condemnation order in whole or in part as soon as that work is signed off on um and Mr Wells is here with me too you know we both work very closely with the the building and Department right trying to trying to go through and get permits and everything we can expedite permits we can work with contractors we can try to get the stun that he can get back in there if they're willing to move um but but even even based on that what I would say is like I said the Board of Health can't unsee the violations that it's before it and I would still recommend that the the finding both orders issue thank you yeah good evening um all I can say is I've been living in a house for past 25 years my parents and everything and when they passed away I had nowhere else to go I mean I've been staying overnight in my fiance but I can't live with her because she's on housing in Section 8 so I'm not allowed to live with her so that's why I was staying a lot of nights in the old place because I had know where else to go um the things that were done without um permits I didn't know about my father took care of everything around the house so it's just andway it feels like I'm being punished for what they're doing what they've done in the past and my brother's name was on the deed and my stepfather's name was on the deed so the house was to go to their next to K my brother's daughter and my stepfather's grandson because both his kids passed away so um no one's giving me any answer of what's going on I'm not getting phone calls or anything so everything's up in the if I don't know what's going on the so it's great that you're working with some social plan to work with some social services um Is it feasible to to get those Social Services going and and and do you plan to hopefully be able to go go back in the house because there he's get we have enough information at this point that I think from a from a legal perspective we have to condemn the property um and so I just want you know we want to help you though we don't want you to we understand you live there for as long as you did and you know this is your only home and but Is it feasible to work with these services and and and see if you can we can reverse the condemnation yes okay I I get take all the help I can get okay you know as as hard as it is to go ahead with this we you know we want you to at the end of the day I feel very strong that people should have housing and deserve that right um so we want to help you in any way we can um but I think from a legal perspective we have to do the condemnation and it's awful for me to say and it's I I I hate to think about it um it is reassuring though that you have somewhere to go although it's not your home and there it's not an ideal situation right um yeah and I'm afraid that if um something happens we get an argument and she kicks me out I have nowhere to go yeah yeah that's where it gets yeah so that's why I think we need to get things going as quick as possible yes um and uh you know any way we can assist you um and uh be there when things are you know able to be lifted we should do it as soon as we can and I think these are fixable things this is not nothing I've heard so far has told me that oh this is no it's done we can't I mean there's electricity so there's no electricity there's no there's no reason why we can't get you know heat right um there's the the water issue I can't see why we're in the city of river I mean there's I can't see why we can't figure that out and and get you support to get running water um these I told I talked to a um plumber he said it would cost me if they had to cut through the ceiling between the first and second floor to get to those pipes and the pipes in the basement he should cost be $6 to $20,000 I don't have that yeah I'm on disability yeah so we're that I think that's the the where you need to bring in the social services and I it's unfortunate that like we at this point I wish it could have been done preemptively um and I'm sorry that we're at this point where it's like okay now you got to go but I think things can move quickly if we want if you want them to move quickly um and uh you know we'll be here to assist you in any way we can okay yeah all right thank you okay thank you yeah so I think I'm going to vote from a legal perspective that we do have to condemn the property um but uh we will you know this case is not done and and ended here where we'll be supportive and and and and work on getting you back to that property um because you've been there and and I think it's very possible in talking with um the attorney today that that can be done so I'm going to yeah Dr bucker on on a on a positive note and a condemnation is certainly never the road that we want to go down um as we we do feel for for you um however this this is not a property that we're talking about that needs to be demoed right yeah you know it's a property that needs to have some um improvements made to the you know the electric the plumbing um and some interior work so that that is a positive um that it's certainly not a a case where the house needs to be demolished and and and rebuilt so yeah um I think you know once a receiver is appointed the work should move uh pretty quickly you know especially with cooperation from from uh from everybody involved um and we can certainly help the receiver and get the permits expedited um to to get them in there as soon as possible to get the work going once the receiver is appointed the receiver um they where do they get money to make these um adjustments just question so what happens is the receiver is able to uh so what happens is they're able to borrow money um or sometimes they sell fund and at the end they have a priority lean on the property um with some of the calculus that goes into you know uh on our end it's the city's end you know requesting receivers fig out is your equity in the property you know by our by our estimation there is um and really at this stage it it it sounds like this is kind of kind of the only shot there is to get this thing uh resolved um again now so so we have filed a receivership case in uh in housing courts um we expect that case to move quickly but on the other hand if you know Mr bosel is able to get um Social Services involved if they start pulling permits and start fixing things you know we can certainly pull the receivership case you know so so but what I don't want to do is is is to have him go all the way through with the social services find out he's not ineligible for some kind of program or whatever and then we're starting from zero and and and the clocks run out right so my my sense would be to push on every front we can always put the brakes on something but it might be too late to start later on so that would be my recommendation okay great thank you all right can I just ask a question because this is my first time can you just briefly explain who the receivership is is it uh a state employee a city employee who's the receivership and and so it sounds like if the receivership is able to use equity or find the funds get the property up in order get the water running electricity in the basement um the illegal construction and the attic taken away so it sounds like if the property is back in order he can have his house back right but who who's the receivership because again this is my first time I I don't know so I HTE to give the lawyer answer but it depends um but it it's true so so what happens is a receiver is basically either an attorney or or a project manager or GM or some sort of contractor appointed by the court and the courts typically have their own list of approved receivers so it's it's not some Fly by Night contractor right um so it's essentially someone who's who is appointed to take charge you know because absent its involvements the work will never get done so it's someone with experience in the fields um who who is able to I I think the statute is uh chapter 111 section 127i they were able to to borrow funds they were able to to go through um they could even rent the house if they wanted to right um and so they're able to pull permits on behalf of the owner and get the work done um does does that kind of answer your question yeah and just very briefly how do how does the receivership get how do they get compensated is it like if yeah how do how does a receiver get compensated um so so uh what happens is essentially the city will will file the city will be a petitioner for you know to enforce the state sanitary code they will petition the court the court will F will appoint a receiver who either will have his own counsel or you know has done this enough that he doesn't need counsel the receiver then goes back and forth um and files status reports usually every eight weeks with the court to kind of stay on track part of what the receiver does is before the work before the work begins they submit a a a they do a motion for a budget and uh and approve it of approval of the uh the scale of the project and so baked in there usually is some sort of receivers fee and it can vary it could be I think usually it's up to the court on on what they pay but certainly it's never anything outrageous um it's enough to compensate the person you know putting their time in there right but usually um at that stage when there's a motion to approve the budget and scope of the project all the parties have a chance to to weigh in on that and they can oppose it so you know kind of the way I look at it is the receivers is is meant to bring the property up to co but it doesn't have to make it into a palace so so if Mr Basel says look you know I I need you to fix the pipe there I don't need you to put in Mobile countertops I don't want to pay for that right he has a chance to oppose that you know so so you can oppose the scope um I every receiver is different and I wouldn't represent this receiver so I wouldn't know but whatever fee structure they have would get would get baked into there and at that point in time um you know the parties would be able to challenge that if if they didn't agree with it okay thank you sorry it's just one question how how much time does the Social Services have to before this um it it kind of depends on the courts so so we did file this week to um to go through so so there's a number of unascertained Errors I think uh Mr Basel alluded to uh his his father and brother being his stepfather and brother being on the deed I think so title is not entirely clear there are some parties that have to get served and we have to maybe track them down although with a conversation with the occupants hopefully I I can nail those people down and figure that out um I would expect to be probably before a court within a few weeks um but at the same time by the time we're for the court you know if if he's able to represent look I'm working with this program this is our plan we we have something to hang our head on the court may say okay I'm not going to report a receiver I'm going to let you try to do the work it kind of depends on who moves faster you know okay great any other questions any of okay all right yeah so we'll just have to vote here um this is never an easy thing to do um and uh but I'm GNA have to put my vote in first that uh yeah I'm going to have to approve um uh the condemnation uh for the 71 pit Kern Street um and and work to try to get things going as soon as we can um in any way we can help I just need a vote from the other members okay I also approve of the recommendations yes I also approve and wish you the best of luck in getting this resolved yeah okay all right um next part will of the oh go ahead Tony sorry um if I could just ask so so what I would ask is that uh you guys endorse I think it's um I think it's exhibit a we have two orders for you uh it's a finding that the property is unfit for human habitation and a condemnation order if if the three of you could just endorse uh one copy and um provide it to me I'll get that served uh in compliance with the sanitary code okay yeah no problem thank you thank you all right um next uh we're going to discuss um some licensing of the um city of Riv do you have those or I oh Michael okay thanks Dr bunker tonight we have six licenses um that need to be approved by the Board of Health first one is a bodyat establishment application submitted by Browse by camiller um mariao submission date was on April 5th of 24 in inspection date was April 18th of 24 and the result of the inspection has passed public health and inspectional services department recommendation is to approve this license next one is also a prati uh practitioner application an individual practitioner application uh for the same person mariao um submission date was April 5th 2024 the inspection date was April 18 2024 her inspection passed and the result um public health and inspectional services recommendation is to approve this license next one is uh body art establishment application it was submitted by face lip and Brow Bar and Anda Medina submission date was March 18th of 24 the inspection date was April 9th of 24 her inspection did pass and the public health and inspectional services department recommends to approve this license next one is a body art individual practitioner application for the same person Andrea Medina submission date on March 18th of 24 again her inspection passed on April 9th and public health and inspectional services department recommend that this license be approved we have a one-day temporary license for a body art establishment application submitted by lat letter rip LLC in Boston Holly Davidson located at 649 Squire Road the submission date was March 8 28th of 2024 the inspection date was March I'm sorry April 9th of 2024 the event date is May 11th 2024 her inspection did pass at her um at her uh establishment the public health and inspectional services recommendation to approve the license uh we also have another one-day temporary license for a body art individual practitioner application by David Martinelli his submission date was March 28th of 2024 the inspection was uh April 11th of 2024 for the same event date of uh May 11 2024 at Holly Davidson uh public health and inspectional services department recommends to approve the license that's all we have great excellent so we'll sign off on those and approve those got just get approval from uh the rest of the board members verbal okay I approve of the recommendations I approve as well I approve as well okay great that's it from this meeting thank thank you oh no it's not I'm sorry that time of year again Dr bunker where we have heating variance requests so I'll explain to um because we have new board members uh what a heating variance request is uh we have a number of buildings in the city um mostly condominium and apartment complexes that run off of one heating and air conditioning system for the entire unit where the newer buildings that are built today are able to um they heat pumps in their units and they're able to control their own heating and air conditioning within their unit uh we have six applications before us tonight um for buildings that have requested a heating variance um so the the heating variants um under the state sanitary code they uh the building is pro uh required to provide heat from October 15th to May 15th so as we are in climate change the you know these buildings are typically down uh beachfront where the sun is beating on them all day U with climate change you know it's getting warmer earlier um in the spring and staying a little bit warmer later in the fall as well so what we do is give these buildings an opportunity to apply for a variance to be able to switch over from heat to air conditioning sooner than what the state sanitary code requires tonight before us we have the breakers condominium at 474 Riv Beach Boulevard um they have requested a heating variance from May 15th through October 1st friendly Garden Co-op located at 235 R Street has requested a heating variance from May 15th through October 15th C viw towers located at 510-515 Rivier Beach Boulevard has requested a heating variance from May 15 through October 1st Seawatch Tower condominium located at 376 ocean app has requested heating variants from May 15 through October 1st St George Condominiums located at 350 Riv Beach Boulevard has uh requested a heating variance from May 15 through October 15th Ocean Gate Tower condominium located at 382 oceanv has requested a heating variance from May 15th through October 1st I recommend that they all be approved as they have been in the uh Year many years past as well okay yes I I approve of the request I also sorry I also approve the request I also approve of the request great thank you that will conclude this meeting thanks