##VIDEO ID:dZxUvW8i-zg## good evening welcome to the August 19th 2024 meeting of the armor Board of Health and just one note that this is a hybrid meeting which means that people can participate uh from at home or wherever they are the website there's a lot of directions how you can zoom in call in so on so why don't we start with attendance Eric are you present present okay Mary present okay I'm Hillard I'm present Larry present okay Charlie present okay definitely a quorum and perhaps Jay you have something you wouldd like to share with us if I could Mr chairman just on uh certainly on beh of the the staff uh in the health department and really across all of Yarmouth um want to pass along our thoughts and prayers to the family of uh Mike Stone who is the chair of the uh of the select board has been a longtime member and a a strong supporter in the in the community in so many different ways um we had unfortunately the sad news of his passing last week um and let the community understand that later this week on Thursday they'll be uh awake and Friday funeral services but Mike Stone was certainly a supporter for for all the for the Board of Health the staff and and and so many departments and in so many ways uh a tremendous a tremendous loss and just that we're thinking of his family and thoughts and prayers just that the community if if they if they're not aware his obituary is posted on the on the website and and we're thinking of him thanks Jay okay uh first item on the agenda as always is the public comment if someone like to come forward here or from wherever they are if they're zoomed in or called in before anyone any any action on the uh Magic wall there I think you're all set okay we can move on then okay second item the agenda is the update presentation Wastewater project and drinking water quality uh I think director Colby's here this evening and there he is welcome appreciate you coming in yes thank you very much thank you for for having me um Jeff Colby the Public Works director Lori rosala is here as well uh the way we intend to break up this presentation is she'll uh deal with the water items I'll deal with the Wastewater items uh she's been dealing with a significant water main break today which is why uh she's on the phone uh but we really appreciate you having us here there's so many uh excellent things going on with regards to water treatment that the town is bringing online uh Wastewater um treatment uh and collection system so there's a lot of good things to talk about and you've had some great representation at our uh Water Resource advisory committee from the Board of Health and uh Mary's your current representative and is is very diligent in attending the meetings and is a good participant in that uh you know that that board so with that said we can uh jump right into the water items well um primarily I want to focus on some of the things that are going on with the service line inventory and Posas everyone's interested in in Posas these days uh what we have done and what we are doing going forward and then of course we'll talk about Wastewater we've got some exciting news with a groundwater discharge permit recently issued a final permit which is uh great because we've been working on that for a long time and uh the status of the contracts we've such a large phase one of our Wastewater program it's broken up into six contracts so we'll go into some detail about those six contracts that's an overview of what we want to talk about with that said I'll turn it over to you can control it okay that's great we'll turn it over to laor to talk about the water items okay so um since we're talking about water um I just want to take the opportunity to talk about the service line inventory um EPA is requiring that all Water Systems put together a water service line inventory and it's all related to lead and drinking water um because of the issue at Flint in Flint Michigan um so we have to put together this inventory we have some records of what material service lines are made out of um but we don't have every house in um we don't have records for every single house so we have to try and uh get as much information as we can so we have sent out in all the bills letters requesting that people go and do an online survey it shows you how to determine what your material is and then upload you know upload some pictures and submit it to us so that we can um you know know what the service type is um we to date have gotten about 200 or so people respond to that out of our 16,500 customers so we're hoping to get some more people to follow through on that um once we get as a minimal amount we can start using some um computer models to kind of um determine predict what materials are out there the important thing for Yarmouth is that we've never found a lead service line nobody who works here has ever seen one in town um and we don't have any records we actually have records showing that back in 1931 when the system was created we bought copper um and there's no reason once you use copper to go back to lead um um lead was used for its malleability and copper replaced that so we don't think there's any lead in town but we do have to do this survey to meet the EPA requirements so um the link is there there's a t the tiny URL um it's also has been in your water bill um it would have been not your probably your last bill before this month um it would be in there as a stuffer so if you can go back and find that uh if not you can always go to the town website go to the water page and um give you more information there so we just ask that people are doing that um but as kind of more of a bigger issue um is the posos so uh I think hopefully every at this point everyone has heard about posos it's just a a group of substances that was made manufactured to be fire resistant stain resistant waterproof um it's in you know your waterproof clothing it's in you know firefighters uniforms which they recently passed regulation that it's no longer going to be in firefighters uniforms in Massachusetts um um it's used in firefighting foam and that's the biggest problem on kod with posos um and it's shown to cause various health issues kind of laid out there on the slide um in Massachusetts Massachusetts D started regulating posos contaminants in 2021 um it's one of the first states to regulate posos uh in drinking water I should say um and they decided to take six of these chemicals the most common and it's the sum of those six has to be less than 20 parts per trillion um so that went into effect in 2021 uh the EPA is now coming out with new regulations that are different than Massachusetts regulations just to confuse us um but this one limits specific compounds so pooa and p f are the first two they're limited to four parts per trillion um and one thing just to keep in mind that detection level here on the when they in the lab is two parts per trillion so we're getting barely we're barely getting above the what the lab can even detect um with some of these chemicals so it's a very minute amount um and then they also regulating um three other contaminantes up to 10 parts per trillion and then this mixture um has a hazard index um so some of the chem all of the chemicals overlap with what's regulated in Massachusetts but it's just regulated differently um next one so the EPA regulations are were passed in 2024 um but they don't actually go into effect until 2029 there's a a monitoring period up until 2027 which being in Massachusetts where we already had the regulation we're kind of ahead of the curve on that um and then we need to be meeting those mcls laid out on that previous chart by 2029 so you want to go ahead so in Yarmouth and drinking water we started the testing in 2021 as required by mass D our first round of tests everything was good I thought we were in the clear but um after a few more rounds of testing we had three Wells um over the limit of 20 parts per trillion so Wells four and five which are off long Pawn drive and well 10 which is off Forest Road um so those have been off uh we turned them off as soon as we exceeded the limit and they've been off since then uh and then uh other than those three only other well that's a little bit over a little bit of concern would be well 11 which is um it's actually on Christen path but it's also off a Forest Road if you go through the woods so it's right in that same area um so uh the red circles on there actually show where those four Wells are they're in that red circle so the question is you know where where did it come from um we don't have the Smoking Gun the um firefighting Training Academy that's not coming towards us that's off uh IM Barnstable luckily not near any of our wells uh we don't the airport is you know not coming this way um so our the we don't have any known industrial sources so the only kind of potential options would be the landfill which is in that green oval um and then septic systems so because posos is in so many consumer products it's likely that it's just going down the drain um every day into every septic system and slowly leeching into our drinking water that way um so it's a good plug for Waste waterer um keep going so what have we done so far uh Wells 4 and five are actually back online um as of June um we built a treatment system those are just some pictures of it it's a considered a mobile unit they're not really that mobile but um those all this treatment on the right is inside those um containers uh on the left um and it was kind of put up there it was something we could get up up and running relatively quickly that's why we did it that way um and we were actually did that in as an emergency through D um so it was done relatively quickly sorry for 10 and 11 um we're going to treat them both together because they're both off Forest Road um but we need to follow the normal procedure for treatment um adding treatment which means we have to do a pilot test and then do a full design and then um bid it and everything so we're looking at potentially having that online sometime around 20 27 so in the meantime well 10 is off and well 11 we're we've reduced use of that as much as we can um right now in the summer months we kind of need it but we'll be um cutting that way back by u in the fall oh that's all I have so we do want to take a pause here for a moment before we switch to Wastewater in case there's any questions that you might have about water generally or uh things that Lori covered if not I can jump right into Wastewater Eric Mary um yes I have a question how are we doing with water usage this summer um we are uh we're doing pretty well we're not as high as the drought years um you know we've the our kind of level that we get nervous at is 10 million gallons per day and we the highest we've gotten is just under nine um this summer so we're actually pretty good shape this summer in terms of Demands thank you yeah so no mandatory uh conservation measures but I think that when some of those kicked in in previous years as Lori mentioned the drought I think people started to think more about water conservation and maybe just doing doing that generally and that's certainly helped with the volumes that have we've seen are lower yeah we think that some people changed their sprinkler systems during the drought and haven't changed them back so that's good for that's good news for our uh meeting our demands Charlie Larry yeah I think they um I've seen a lot of Lawns that are managed a little differently I know we are uh We've let the grass grow a little longer and you know we're Browner yeah well I know but but it seems at least this summer holding up pretty well yeah so I think that may be part of it as well it was a big push for people to be aware of that we actually we did we did see a drop in demand when we put the ban in so people people did listen which was really good to see yeah there's less water running on the streets you can see it frustrating I just had one question on the inventory on service of what exactly should people be doing or how what do you need from them I'm not sure I follow what you oh sure we need the to know the material right um so what there's a that um there's a tiny tiny URL that was listed there if they can go there it's a survey it just you answer a few questions and tell us what material it is and in within the survey it tells you what to look for to determine what material it is kind of goes through step by step you know if it's magnetic it's this if it's not magnetic based on the color it could be different things so it walks you through what to do and just um submit that information and that's it that would be the their line within the home right but what happens between the home and the street then um yeah so that's what's coming in um so because we had um the proof that we've never had led with what we've purchased um the EPA is allowing us to consider everything from the main to the house as non-led um it's really what's inside the house that you know we technically don't own that could be something different okay so it's from it's like right before the meter that piece of pipe is what we need to look at okay and it's usually pretty representative of what's right outside the house too so fine thank you just have question Lor what when you on the P pass what is the filtering system without a chemistry lesson what is going on there what is the filtering process that's going on it's absorbing to the media absor okay so it's extracting p y okay and those could be those are look they look Al though they're they're substantial in size they they're fairly portable and they can be moved around right yeah that's the idea that if we down the line we could use it somewhere else terrific it wouldn't be moved on a regular basis but that got deactivated for some reason that they are containers that can be moved exactly right yeah yeah and who takes the pasas from us we It Go the media um it goes back to the company that we bought it from or we have to landfill it it depends it can be like burned off the posos so it depends on the media and but yeah it's either I have a question about the testing Can Can you all hear me yes yeah okay so the treatment um system when you test those Wells do you still test the water before treatment as well as the water after treatment yes for posos we do yeah so that so you have an understanding of the raw water in the well as it's untreated yes yep awesome okay all right well we'll jump right into Wastewater I had mentioned before if we could just back up one just to kind of give a little overview uh the six contract so it's a very large $27 million project just for phase one and in order to accomplish that in reasonable chunks we've broken that up into six different contracts so they're outlined on the screen we call uh contract one is in green that's the treatment facility and then we've got contract two it's in yellow uh that's currently being worked by Robert B hour um and it's probably not a surprise to anybody here but we're actually actively out there working they're not on Route 28 uh during the summertime but they are actively working on Main Street uh Long Pond and uh so there is the work that's going on uh the green area which is contract three that's for Voli construction they have taken a break for the summer uh it's they're required not to work in certain areas such as Southshore and Route 28 but because there's so few other areas in that green area for contract 3 they've opted to take the summer off but they will be starting uh right after Labor Day the week after Labor Day uh to do some uh work along Route 28 and then a crew on Southshore as well and then there's contracts five and six which are currently uh in that bidding process and um that's just a general overview so next slide please uh so contract one is the treatment facility I I like these Graphics we've used these a couple of times now because it gives people a visual of of what we're talking about uh these are generally pretty industrial types of facilities this happens to be the process building you see here on the right uh we did receive the sub bids it's uh $106 million is the engineered estimate for the contract Construction contract so it is a a large chunk of our overall project uh sub bids were received on August 6th uh we have one remaining sub bid that needs to be rebid and we're opening those August 27th uh and then the general bids had to be pushed off a little bit till September 4th we do have a deadline of October 31st to award all the remaining contracts uh that's beyond the ones I just mentioned contracts two and three current actively being worked but even the ones that aren't being worked need to be awarded by October 31st and the contract time for this first contract here is approximately three years it's a lengthy process to uh build the tankage and the components necessary as part of the treatment process uh next slide please so here's just a site plan layout of what that looks like over on that left hand side of the screen you see the current water department building that's existing uh everything kind of to the right of that to the right of that driveway area is all new it's all of the treatment plant itself uh there's four infiltration beds on the right hand side but if you have been to that water site at 99 Buck Island Road you look out at a big kind of cleared field grass area that's essentially where all those treatment components are there's very few trees that need to be removed it fits nicely within that uh current grass area that current grass area is a recharge area for treated effluent from the septage facility so it's already forming that you know same type of function but we'll be building in uh additional uh treatment and Disposal capacity at that site next slide please another graphic I think is good to show just shows what that tankage looks like again the building on the kind of the upper left there is that uh process building that you saw on the previous slide but the bulk of the rest of the uh hard structures are really just tankage and uh filters uh that are part of that treatment facility next slide please so I talked about this a little bit already but contracts two and three are the ones that are actively being worked uh they will be returning back to Route 28 uh after Labor Day actually the September 16th for contract two which is Robert bow and then roli on contract three will be starting at some point each of those uh Crews and there's only two of those contracts being worked are going to have three crews in each contract and then with adding three more contracts contracts four five and six there's multiple Crews potentially associated with each of those contracts as well so there is we're gearing up for a lot of work to be happening in the roads for the collection system of uh for Wastewater we're really just starting the process we had a good taste of what that looks like in the spring uh but that's going to be going on over the next year and a half um and then really ramping up with the other contracts coming on line here shortly uh next slide please so this is progress this is essentially the same uh presentation we'll be giving the the select board in the very near future and one of their big questions that they'd asked Lori and I to report back on is how much have you got done of what you're doing so of contracts two and three uh you can see that the green is what's been completed and the blue is what's yet to be done and the completion is over on the right of the slide contracts two is approximately a third done and contract three is almost a quarter done as far as completed work uh so that's a good thing we really were staggering these contracts to try to get as much done in those first two contracts before the other ones kick in uh but there'll still be a lot of work going on uh next slide please so there's a good graphic representation of where work will be happening after Labor Day where the crews will at least initially be uh working three of them on Route 28 and one down on Southshore Drive and described that a little bit earlier but that slide really does a good job of showing kind of where that activity is going to be happening uh next slide please so we talked about the remaining contracts uh we have uh tentatively awarded the contract number four to Robert bow and as I mentioned before contracts five and six are in that bid process and will be uh awarded shortly uh next slide please so we always like to wrap up with how can I get more information because people always want to know you know where can I look uh so they can certainly go to the town website the construction page it's right there on the front uh it's right at the banner it says construction project Wastewater construction project that's a great spot to go uh we've got information like the detour map you see on the right hand side the police department's doing doing a great job of putting together a graphic that they can send out on social media showing exactly where the detours are uh because those will be changing on a regular basis as the work progresses so that they've been doing a great job trying to stay on top of that working with the multiple contractors and multiple Crews within the contracts it's been uh a challenging job but I do have to give them a great deal of credit because they' been able to stay on top of that uh also if you look at that website that I was mentioning before they've got the weekly look ahead schedule so so if you want to see where they're working this week where they're working next week and the week after they're all posted there primarily right now just for the two contracts that are actively being worked but as each contract is being worked that updated information will be there as well and an overall schedule for the project is there on that uh on the website and if you have any other questions that maybe the website doesn't answer for you there is a general uh Wastewater mailbox it's the very last bullet on this slide here Wastewater yarmouth.ma us we'll get you to multiple people that are monitoring that and answering questions uh and we do get regular um uh feedback from people on that email uh particularly if you want to change the location of your um sewer stub or you just have some other General Wastewater questions that's a good source to get those answered I think that's about it yeah so any questions um happy to answer those I just had one comment on the on non-waste water uh you mentioned the break today the main water line there uh people listening in what are the health issues that they should be aware of if there are any um yeah so customers will just want to if you have discolored water just flush your lines until it's clear um the best way to do that is through your bathtub or outside spigot because they don't have um screens on them um just flush till it's clear um and then you're good to go okay thank you unfortunately that uh with a significant utility project there's other utilities that occasionally are in the way or unknown um and it does happen we um have a a contractor working out there that's very uh quick and responding when things like that happen um but it is uh the nature of construction things do happen that you don't expect self-inflicted that's all unknowns in the water system unfortunately Jee I do have a question um that we get frequently here in the health department um people come in and ask what contract they're in we bring them to the computer we bring up the the site which is very easy to navigate they'll be then they'll say well why am I white why don't I have a why is why is my house not in any phases or anything like that how would how do we explain that to the to the residents that are asking sure uh Lori came up with this great tool on the website yeah it's probably what you're referring to you can put your address in there and it shows you exactly it'll it'll zoom in show you what phase it's really easy tool we refer people to it always definitely want to you know plug that because it's a great tool because people are very interested in that and they see phase one's going on but you know when can I be next kind of thing is is what we're hearing a lot uh but what I would say with regards to areas that are not within the current eight phases is because they're not needed in order to address the nitrogen issues the um the limits that we have uh with regard to what D is requiring us to address okay that doesn't mean that they won't be sewered for other reasons in the future I know one of the areas that I'm thinking of right now that's kind of that's white in the midst of all the other contracts that's going on we get that question from that area pretty regularly that's the area I'm asking area just uh just north of Southshore but between SE View and South you know the large chunk of that area it's kind of a triangular shape is is white we hear that from people a lot there um I believe that in the future that's going to be sewered because of other reasons High groundwater you know people wanting to remove that um concrete bunker in their front yard just more practical reasons than nitrogen reasons uh but I would say that if you're not in a designated phase it's because it's not needed to address the nitrogen issue but as we're hearing with um posos other emerging contaminants um who knows phosphorus might be a focus in the future there's other reasons that a Wastewater solution might be necessary but our primary focus right now is nitrogen and those areas that aren't included just aren't needed in order to address the nitrogen if I can eliminate one less call to you guys I'd be more than happy too so we appreciate that just if I could first of all thank you both for for being here we so appreciate this is very informative a lot of work going on generational project right a lot of work uh absolutely but there's a lot of enthusiasm I have to tell you there was there really is at our counter people are and they're excited about it one of the things that to the board to understand and they do when this was going going on uh with your guidance both of your help uh that the board is will actually be the one of the final steps in applying for as the residents apply for connecting permits right the decommissioning of their uh of their uh um systems right now right their title five systems and then connecting so we're not there yet but that process will eventually put in place and we'll guide the residents through that but they'll be they'll be appearing here maybe before that uh I think there's a two-year I think possibly a is it a two-year when it becomes available maybe you can talk a little bit about that some of the rules here for people to connect so we greatly appreciate that but there'll be a role going forward absolutely because uh you know technically uh the order to uh require people to connect comes from uh the Board of Health you're allowing them to use septic systems now and you have to tell them well you have this period where you're not going to be allowed to use your septic system now that sewer is available so there's an ongoing role for the Board of Health going forward absolutely right and actually we need the flow right you can't there's no option not to we need the flow in order to address the nitrogen issue we have to have everyone connecting as well right so more to come on that but that will be coming in front of the board you know as as this gets built out but this has been very informative appreciate you both being here good I'm good thank you any other questions I'm good anyone else it was great it was simple easy to understand thank you okay great thank you for having us thanks you okay we're up to number three and this is 74 Witchwood Road poultry application and Jay just want to you want have it Barry yeah that would be me is um I would just say this that the board has if you look at the pack that was given to you tonight not the pack that was delivered on Friday but the poultry regulations you have in front of you you may want to reference them is uh Diana Abu on Zoom or any the other neighbors we do have one neighbor here give you a quick little background uh 74 Witchwood new owners a year and a half two years ago um it was brought to our attention about six months ago of a rooster there right in the midst of all of our changing of the pouy regulations as so I went out and investigated and they had and that indeed a rooster and chickens um further investigation come to find out that they didn't have a poultry reg certificate yet so do some language barrier and everything but they don't have a rooster anymore which is it's very happy with uh but going through the um the regulations and getting the certificate they have to send out a letter to the abuts um asking permission if it's all right um she did do that two of the abutters uh responded Yes that they're very happy we have one here that's um if you want to speak Mr Quirk you're more than welcome too uh the third of butter um I when I delivered the letter letter letting them know that they'll be coming from the board is the reason why they're in front of the board this one said no um I did deliver her letter she invited me into her house um talked to her for a little bit she said she loves chickens she's not against chickens but she's against um rodent activ she mentioned that she has had rodent activity in her yard twice previously before rodents were even there or before the chickens were even there um I found that kind of odd and I was like okay she took me to her backyard very well manicured very well laid out beautiful lawn multiple bird feeders um feeds Birds uh and hand feeds the the turkeys and squirrels throwing seed on the ground I informed her that's kind of a an attraction for rodents itself um so that in theory that's my thing on that um I I said just if you want to eliminate them from your yard I would eliminate the bird feeders um Food Water Shelter eliminate one of the three that's so that's kind of the background of this I wish they were all here Mr Quirk if you want to come up and talk just introduce yourself please I'm Robert Quirk I've lived in the town since 1950 M you know that Charlie so I lived in a town where we had chickens we had roosters we had every kind of livestock there was now all of a sudden we have a problem with livestock or chickens my neighbors have been wonderful neighbors I'm the only AB but that has an open way between my yard and my nextd door neighbor the chickens never come into my yard these people are wonderful people okay they're doing a great job and you know I I just think you should give them a license as far as the rooster goes I miss the rooster we grew up with roosters when I was a kid you know it was fun getting people out of bed but I just have to say this they're good neighbors they're working hard they they're family I see you know a whole family over there celebrating on a Friday or Saturday night as a family we don't have that anymore and it's wonderful to watch maybe it gets a little loud I don't care but that's why I'm here okay and you know I think it's a good thing and if eggs go any higher maybe I'll be back in front of you to get my own chickens how's that sounds good so we're here tonight to vote on whether she can get a permit for the chickens or not to have chickens can you divulge who the opposing neighbor is the name it's behind her the her their Back Fence you have the name could you give us um but they have a Joyce hey Joyce hey they do have they they have a full fence um wire I looked back there I didn't see any Burrows any um sign of activity yeah between the two between the two um properties they she has gone through and got the permits for the shed permit from the building department so setbacks are are good where where is that uh uh shed for the uh chickens on on it's in the back right corner I is it on is it does it comply with the building yes you can see it it's the second page of the her application yeah I saw the shed but it looked pretty close to the it it's it's close but they they granted it to her so now in relation to that shed where is Joyce's house right behind it okay you're right where it says need approval so yeah if it's the same Joyce Healey that I'm thinking it is I know her really well she was a really good client for a long time I'd be happy to talk to her if she has dogs yeah she had yeah wonderful I think she had a little uh Scotty yeah Scot she chill does I'd be happy to talk to her she got to Scotty the Box she got Scotty the Box all the time I don't complain yeah yeah okay sure but I chickens don't buk no but to keep everybody happy I'd certainly be happy to talk to yep but that's and that's 80 Witchwood I live at 80 Witchwood Road just one second live at 74 I'm adjacent to him no I'm the question was you said 80 I live at 80 which just a second okay what I'm asking is looks like 80 Witchwood Road person didn't sign it is that the one cuz no I don't think that would make sense if it's behind 80 signed it um 77 uh Lakefield did not sign what I have here is 70 signed and 77 Lakefield is that's the only reason I'm trying to I think they're just not lined up with the addresses that correct bar yes the roads didn't make sense that way I'm just trying to it might have got written on there incorrectly I so okay yeah yeah she's on a different Road I I would looks like it but the two on the left and right facing the house say yes the one behind right is the one who did not sign that's the Miss who you know so okay so any thoughts anyone Mary yeah I I just think that um the comments about the bird feeders are right on and the fact that you know there's seats scattered around I have a friend in South Yarmouth that found a rra and she's been an avid bird feeder and his cut back now one of the things that um you talked about food shelter and water water is a great thing to attract birds especially in this heat that we have um but I I'm guessing that the bird seed on the ground is what is attracting the the rat yes I I I speak with probably three times a week I go out to some kind of Rod a complaint and that's usually one of the biggest factors un It's usually the people have the nicest prettiest Lawns and they just like to feed the birds it's they're nice to watch they're pretty I I explained to them they they've lived for millions of years without being fed if you want to don't want rats don't feed the birds it's kind of a hard conversation to have with an elderly person who likes to watch the birds and the squirrels and the turkeys and stuff but to counter that Barry I would would have to say that we've removed so much of their habitat that it's very difficult for these wild birds to survive without us helping them a little bit I mean I'm a unfortunately I'm guilty of feeding the birds and and feeding the bunnies and you know it's your background that you I expect it from you though yeah but I I I I see their point yeah and also I I don't think we'd see wild birds if we didn't help them they especially in the winter oh yeah definitely but also if we could get all the neighbors to agree um then it would be more I think more harmonious than to go counter to Joyce um and that's why like I said I I have a strong feeling that I if I spoke to her she would agree and I think that might just uh it just might smooth things over if that that's agreeable fine with that you're great Bo's decision so if it's the same Joyce Hy I think it is which I which I suspect it is nice little short lady with a Scottish Terrier yeah yeah that sent her up to the board that's up to you I mean obviously want to speak with speak with because I would have trouble approving a permit if a neighbor objected because they're there before the chickens were there now all of a sudden they've got the chickens and I don't see anything wrong with the chickens but if they do they sort of have a legitimate objection in my opinion yeah can I ask a question yes because I I'm confused here okay yeah if those chickens aren't coming into my yard or bothering me because I've got a fence why would there be any objection I totally agree but I mean this is this is we we're getting ridiculous here I mean I don't disagree with with what this is just simple but if we can smooth this over don't go crazy they don't do they're just chickens totally unfortunately it's not about the chickens it's the rodents getting into the coupe eating the feed and then going into neighbor's yards I think we're can lay that apprehension if we explained yeah educate Joyce about chicken I talked to Phil about this um one suggest we we could instead of doing a yearly inspection we could up the inspection to make sure they were and I'd be willing to do it Phil City be willing to do it um up the inspections to make sure they're properly have the metal containers and properly cleaning and maintaining the the uh the coupe if the board would want that also that'd be an option yeah there's a minimal chance if chickens are properly housed and fed that there would be anything left over for rats yeah you know chickens are you know they're very very efficient at cleaning up whatever's out there that's edible yep and there wouldn't be much left for the chickens and I agree with you that it's probably the feeders the bird feeders is where the the you is a source of food for the rats and I think we can just let Joyce know that it might just make everybody happy okay that was that's sort of what what I'm saying Mr chairman yes like would you like a motion to to table the decision until next meeting after Larry has had a chance to speak with Miss Healey that's what it will come down to right now yes whether to postpone it or not so yeah you can make that motion for sure that'd be that'd be helpful I move that we table decision on a uh uh granting this license for chickens until Larry has had a chance to to speak with the abutter who right now is um saying or objecting against it second okay I think if I could just add a little little bit I think that when we design this um permitting process the way we did we we did it in the Spirit of Harmony for for the whole neighborhood yes 100% And if we can maintain that I think that it it'll work better for everybody yep appreciate you going out there talking to her so appreciate your input though Mr cork you're absolutely I I'm in total agreement with you I was here for a waste of time no you weren't you weren't you actually gave us a lot of insight oh this is this like makes no sense to me this makes no sense I got bird feeders I've got plums coming from the other side okay and they've come and coyotes have come through my yacht everything's come through through everybody's yard okay and it's a simple thing it's just a guy's got a couple of chickens they get to eat the eggs they're good people and all of a sudden they're fenced off the only one not fenced off is me and I'm the only one sitting here because those chickens have never come in to my yard and then we just put it off and put it off and put it off and it's just you know make a decision I it's interesting you said that because chickens actually are U very relaxing for the people that own them I was over to a a lady in maron's Mills the other day to look at her setup she actually has a lounge out in her Aviary where she goes out and sits and it's she said it's just so therapeutic to be out there watching those chickens yeah I love it I love to watch the kids are feeding the chickens if we maybe if we could educate Joyce she she might I I I really think she'll agree okay so we have a motion on the table um so um first time I've we we ought to vote sir just a second let's see have any more comments otherwise we're going to vote we've got a long agenda I wish you would vote I wish you would vote okay thank you very much then we can move forward um all in favor of the motion just raise your hand say I I I that's for Larry you voting for the motion or against the motion you're voting against the motion okay fine so it's four to one it passes then um and so thank you Larry we'll just try to put some calm in the neighborhood for everyone I'll do the best I can I I think we'll make it happy make everybody happy if I can um um okay let's move on then thank you for coming in thank you for having me thank you all means thank okay uh number four is a West n virus and it's reference to the our recent positive test sample here sure um so that the board understands and the community the uh residents listen listen in that uh there is an alert on uh education alert on the on the website the to town home uh page that uh will provides monitoring on a daily basis as you know middle of this month there was a West virus a positive mosquito testing the board was made aware but but now the residents are able to look at a map and see in fact what that what the testing and the monitoring and what what risk level Yarmouth is in the other part is now we've had a a human case of uh Triple E Eastern equin and sephtis you know rare but serious having had a triple E case in Massachusetts in 2020 um so not completely unusual but but it's rare and it it's certainly uh you as you know Mr chairman the medical risk for Triple E significant the point being is on if you go onto the website there are precautionary measures um um again this is transmitted by mosquito bite and the personal protection measures that can be taken also the property management that can be taken as far as standing water uh Dawn and dusk things of that nature all the uh as far as reducing activity during that the time when uh mosquitoes are most active I would really ask that so the board is aware but that the those listening would go on to the website trip it it says just mosquito alert and you can go on and get some information as to what measures you can be taking and where the where what the risk level is for residents but that's come out from the state and we did have a mosquito middle of this month test positive in Yarmouth and I'm I'm assuming with those measures and we're one of six seven communities um in this area but I I I would suggest I would imagine that with that positive testing we're going to see more testing onto the Cape um to help identify and and better inform the community I think we use the pression to immunize them with good information so that's what we're looking to do just the public knows the uh Eastern coin sephtis about I think it's about a third of the people die actually it's that serious right um and it's usually due to severe brain damage as the West Nile Virus most people don't have any symptoms at at all uh if they do generally it's generalized body aches and fevers be some vomiting um but you can also have a risk of a brain infection with that um and that's essentially en sephtis and menitis those are different structures we all have in our brain uh so quite serious as well so encourage people to read about the you know precautionary measures they can take okay just to be clear Jay this uh positive was it a mosquito that was tested positive yes I'm sorry yes so they do they do M yeah they do mosquito testing um the surveillance happens throughout the Commonwealth and now that we're seeing it comes with this time of year um and but residents need to be aware and with height and vigilance they always say they find the water in other words puddled Water Somewhere next to the garage or whether it's in a tarp or if the um wheelbarrows slipped over even along the edge they they've always said they find water any standing water water is sitting somewhere cranberry B ditches are notorious for exactly right standing water so to be aware anything you can do to to to help you know just kind of protect on you on your property if everyone's taking a taking a look on their property weeks make it's standing water for two weeks for two weeks exactly right that it doesn't take that long right so but encourage uh those listening to uh go on to the website and there's a a a red alert right at the top of the page it's right next to where the beach sampling and that that'll be that'll be coming to a conclusion fairly soon the beach samp the water sampling uh so that residents can see that as well but um the West Nile Virus and the Triple E uh mosquito surveillance will continue on right through until the first hard Frost okay thank you anyone else questions comments if not we'll move on okay uh um so here we are number five this is a flu and covid uh clinic so Barry looks like yes sir thank you Mr chairman uh the health department the armor Health Department along with the VNA will be hosting a flu and covid shot clinic this year last year we just did the flu shot we are incorporating the co shot this year at the Yarmouth Senior Center at 528 Forest Road in West charmouth again this will be on October 29th from 1:00 p.m. to 300 p.m. you can register by scanning the QR code that we have up right there that also will be the QR code will be downstairs in the health department we also have it posted upstairs in the front lobby of the of the Town Hall it will also be at the senior center it'll also be on the Senior Center website you can also get the QR code from the VNA website also uh most uh most web most uh insurances do cover this uh the the flu and Co shot for yourself so um it was we had a great turnout last year it was a new first year we did it back at the senior center um we got down to a pat it's going to be very nice I highly recommend signing up early to tell a friend bring a friend or two with you too so it's it's a good thing we got going on here any more information yes ma'am are you offering both shots at the same time yes ma'am thank you um not everyone would probably feel comfortable with QR codes perhaps you can just state with the phone number that people should call yeah the phone number people at home just that's all yeah right um You can call us uh the senior center 508 39822 31 extension 1246 um we can get you from there uh I think the senior center number I don't have the senior center number but it will be up on our web page though for everybody they can go in and give them a call um the VNA I'll we'll have all the phone numbers up there listed so and the latest vaccine will be available then by October uh for the most recent variant of uh the covid virus right now it's not available good it should be out certainly in October if not sooner okay uh next on the agenda is tick prevention and we have Dr Venia actually as our speaker this evening table's yours okay so I mean there's a plethora of information I think these handouts that um I think Barry supplied are wonderful um and also the um Barnstable or cap card um the um it's the um what is it the um the website that um I always forget who the capot Cooperative yeah Cooperative Extension Service right uh I think even Barnstable has a a great um I think it's barnable County extension service uh website has a really good page on um tick diseases and and uh I I think though that these three handouts are really complete so I'm not really unless you want me to I'm not going to go over these uh because they're they're excellent uh will be up on the website also yeah so rather than take up a lot of time I'm just going to give you my experience with lime because I love to walk in the woods I find it uh very relaxing and therapeutic and also I've uh uh contracted anaplasma um uh which is a a tickborne disease it's carried by the IID uh uh Deer Tick as is the lime uh U disease um the exid a tick is a hearty little cre uh creature and it uh it it can be difficult to remove so my suggestion would be to take every precaution you can to not have it um attached to your to your skin because uh you know after it's there a couple of hours it could be very very difficult uh to remove and also it's very fragile um if you do try to remove it um it's not uncommon to leave the mouthpieces in the skin uh they do borrow very deeply and um unlike the American dog tick which is the one most of us are familiar with that's the one that uh the females a tan and engorges and very much larger than the deer tick even a a female deer tick with the um kind of a copper reddish body uh it's much smaller and she's only about the size even engorged of a um a male American dog tick so they could be very difficult to detect and I know I've had a fair number of them on me and I can tell they're on because I'll get a localized itch they will set up a local hypers sensitivity reaction that you'll sense and you'll feel like you've got a spot that's it it's almost like a mosquito bite and a lot of times though these ticks are embedded somewhere that you can't see on your body whether they be the back of your neck neck uh they back on your back uh just some hard to see area and that's why it's always good to have your partner uh somebody uh close to you take a look to see in fact if there is a deer uh tick embedded um when you go to remove them one little tip that I found that does help prevent the um mouthpieces from being left in there is to just spray it lightly with some uh Deep Woods Off just spray the tip lightly uh with it directly onto the tick and that'll uh a lot of Times Release it it'll kill it on site and then it's much more easy to remove having said that if you do go ahead and try to remove it and you leave the mouth pieces Don't Panic um the body will will reject it'll act it'll the these mouth pieces will basically act like a foreign body and the body will re uh are uh immune system will kick out the um um mouth Parts within two three days maybe a week and you'll just get a scab there it might be a little itchy um you know you can apply some over-the-counter uh triple antibiotic ointment or something like that to it um and that that if it's really itchy you could even get the 1% uh cortisone uh 0.1% I think it's right over the counter and apply that just to relieve the itch um the the tick disease itself comes from the mid gut of the of the bellia the organism that causes lime um or the organism that causes anaplasma actually live in the mid gut of the tick and when the a tick actually embeds and starts a blood meal it takes a little bit of time for that um organism to habituate itself to the um to the uh blood meal and it'll migrate to the salary glands of the tick and that's where it'll enter the um the uh host and uh typically a natural or or a typical host for the adult uh deer tick or or bellia actually bellia and anaplasma the two organisms that are carried by the deer KCK um the uh it takes probably 24 to 48 hours before it can really um habituate enough and get into the into the host um most of the hosts are they're they are larger mammals and of course people um deer coyotes fox uh raccoons uh other wildlife and our own uh pet dogs are good uh sources for for um uh for this uh for the tick to complete its adult life cycle uh it'll engorge itself and then drop off uh it'll go through a a a a a stage where it'll produce eggs and lay the eggs then the eggs will hatch uh into a Laval stage progress to a lymph stage uh to a a a nymph a nymph stage and and it during those periods the main host are small mammals like a white footed mouse or a a a shrew a v other smaller mamals um they they're what we're we're we're probably not going to be able to see those if they did get on us that's probably unlikely that they would get on us they're really low on the ground they're right on at ground level in the leaves um the it's the adult uh tick that Carri cares the bellia the adult um um IX tick that carries bellia in anop plasma that actually is more likely to um bite a a human and um like I said the best prevention or the best way to prevent this disease is to keep the tick offers to begin with and as I said I like to walk in the woods and I hate to give that up so uh once I developed anaplasma uh and it it having developed that disease it's a little bit different than uh it's it's quite a bit different actually than uh lme disease although I think at least in animals most of the symptoms of these diseases are immune mediated and I think that's true in people as well as I recall although I'm No Authority on um these diseases in people but I think most of them are actually the body's um immune system gone a little bit Haywire because the location of these um organisms are usually uh in the skin they're in the uh connective tissue near the sight of the bite or in a joint capsule so typically symptoms are related to um real stiffness soreness pain inflammation in the in a single joint um in some cases it can be generalized but more cases than not at least the ones I've seen in dogs are located are usually localized to a single joint a lot of times the carpass uh which is equivalent to our wrist or the Tarsus which equivalent to our ankles um so that the dog typically would present with a fever mes lethargy uh uh just an aidence flu like Sy uh symptoms uh almost but at the same time a specific lameness and it's usually like I said confined to one joint um having said all that the best way to really prevent this is to uh keep the Tex office to begin with and the way I found um that still allows me to walk in the woods and I there's a where I walk mostly is a trail off of um up by the Bay View is it Bay View Golf course I think is that b is that a golf course off of West yth Road um there's a a bike trail there and if you park in that parking lot and head down the bike trail oh maybe 3/4 of a mile you can see that dirt trail that goes off through the woods and you can follow that trail all the way out through the woods it parallels the highway it does it you know you're the people in in their cars on the highway can't see you you can see the highway through the trees but it's a very relaxing walk and comes out the old Higgins coll extension where that water um The Well field is over there used to be um the old where Higgin cow used to come out to Willow Street and now it's uh gated off you can't there's no traffic there anymore so that's a really nice trail that comes out there and you can walk all the way down to the um gate and then back to where the uh pump houses are and get back on the trail and come all the way back out another Trail all the way back out to that um bike trail again so it's about a three and a half mile walk it's very relaxing however even though it's um it's well trodden there's still uh Tall Grass there's still underbrush places that are ideal for ticks uh and you have to understand that if you're in an area where there's a lot of Tall Grass if there's a lot of undergrowth it's not a matter of if you'll get ticks you will get ticks just when you get them uh so uh that's why I found these uh they're called Gators and they're really they're inexpensive you can get them online and they're very easy to put on your lower they go around your ankles and they um they go on and the ticks will get on these and they'll borrow into the little they're all it's they're um vented you can see they're vented and the tick will get right in there and what I'll do maybe every couple of weeks is I'll spray it with this um Permethrin spray you can get at any uh uh outdoor shop or hardware store it's called Uh Sawyer clothing gear intents trigger spray it's uh uh uh per methine um and I just spray my My UM Gators um you know every three weeks and I've been I've never found a tick since I've been using these Gators it's they're 20 about $20 online and uh they're very effective for um keeping these ticks off us I know that they talk about taking your clothes off and putting them in the dryer and you know personally I'm probably not going to do that um but after having anaplasma I don't want to get that disease again so I did go ahead and um get this set up and I've been really really happy with it um as far as dogs go you also have to be aware if you are a dog owner even if you do take these precautions dogs will pick up ticks and as a matter of fact I think the ticks would much prefer dogs than people uh and and you're very susceptible to getting ticks on you if the dog sleeps with you or gets on your chair they come off the ticks come off the dog uh so you want to really be take precaution uh and treat your dog and and there's a couple of different ways you can do that a very effective uh product are these isoil laners they're they're a a probably a a recent um uh generation uh insecticide it's an oral very safe um uh product that um it it give it's given orally either once every month or there's even a once every three-month product uh the the monthly products are called NEX guard or um uh Syer and they're both um the same uh they're both isoyan are very effective the other product that's had pretty extensive uh testing is bravecto it's it's also an is oxal laner it's given every three months the only issue I have with the brao is I become a little concerned about the 10we period where it starts to the effectiveness starts to WAN a little bit and in a really height of a tick season you may want to uh give that again it's there there oral they're palatable they're very safe um the isoyan work on a part of the insect that um that the part of the insect nervous system that uh ver uh Verte uh vertebrates don't have so it's it's a very safe product for for humans it's very safe for dogs um um and it's it's very effective it's also a game Cher for certain types of mange and um certain types of uh mites that uh dogs will pick up and uh works very well so um the other thing if you wanted added protection uh you could use a Deep Woods Off if you put it on a baby wipe wipe your dog's legs down with it quickly before a walk that's effective also there are topical um uh canine um insecticides advantics is one Frontline is another there are several other commercial uh commercially available ones the problem the problem with the um isoyan is they are prescription so you would have to get a a written prescription from your veterinarian um but uh they're very probably the most effective product that's available for for for dogs uh but just in summary after having had um an plasma um I do everything I can to prevent U reinfection and reinfection is a real issue there's really no long-term immunity uh uh with these diseases so um it's they're not like viruses where we'll get a longstanding immunity from vaccines um these organisms very very interesting life cycles if you want to read the read about them um just as as an aside um the uh the aelia is an organism that lives intercellularly but it comes out of the cell uh it lives intercellularly for about 28 days and it comes out of the cell for about two days that's really the only time that it's susceptible to antibiotics uh and the antibiotic of choice for um both anaplasma and uh for um Lyme disease is um doxic cycling um doxic cycling the dose is well described uh when I was treated at the emergency room uh one little uh Pearl that the uh er do gave me was that in the future if I did find a tick embedded on me if I took 200 milligrams of doxy morning and night for one day if I got the tick out be you know within 24 48 hours then that's probably I was probably safe as far as getting um a tickborne disease again and so far you know like I said uh before I started using these Gators I did have a few ticks um and I did that and I haven't had a I I test every year for these tickborne diseases and I was negative of this year so um they they do work uh you know if when you go to take the um iay tick off the deer tick it embeds very deeply so you it's much more difficult to take out to take off your skin than a american dog tick which you can usually grasp close to the head by your fingers and gently pull directly out with a deer tick I recommend you using a pair of tweezers that gets a really good get a really good hold on the head of the tick and gently pull straight out don't twist just gently pull that tick out and most of the time you can get it out but but I like I said once you remove the body of the tick you're not going to get um any of these tickborne diseases from the mouth Parts because the organism is in the intestinal tract of the tick so that's important to know just don't panic um just um you know you can put a little antiseptic on it and eventually uh by uh your immune system will kick out the the tick um they also recommend if you want to identify the tick and find out whether or not in fact it is harboring an organism um there's there's a on the website on the extension Ser Service website there is a a an address where uh if you take that tick put it in a little plastic bag you date it um they will look at the tick and tell you what organisms whether it be your liia anaplasma lime disease babesia it's another disease that are transmitted by these ticks um um hzo but that the heatzone isn't in our area we don't really have to worry about it but Rocky Mountain uh SP fevers and other disease um it's interesting just as an aside from a Veterinary perspective when I when we run routine screening tests for dogs for these tick diseases we find probably you know a a at least 95% of these um tests when they do come back positive the owner was complet completely unaware that the dog was ever sick uh most of these uh diseases in dogs aren't even picked up by the dog uh by the owner uh they're they're U kind of a natural host for it and I think they between the organism and the the host they're reach sort of a I think the word it's a symbiotic relationship as in any well-developed parasitic disease most of the time the offending organism if it's going to survive itself will have to develop in a host and they'll have to reach a symbiotic relationship otherwise if the uh this organism killed every uh host that it invaded it would kill itself so over time most of these infectious organisms reach a in their natural hosts will reach a um a symbiotic or commensal relationship so I think that's important to to point out humans aren't natural hosts and I think that's why most of the disease manifestations at least from what I understand about lime and people uh is uh they're it's an immune mediated disease it's your actually immune system kind of uh reacts so aggressive to the uh organism that it it creates its own set of issues so and that's what makes it such a devastating disease basically like any immun mediated uh disease in in humans or even in dogs so um I think I pretty much covered everything it's just a matter of trying to keep these ticks off of us to begin with and it's pretty simple to do if we take these precautions so I don't know if there's any I hope I covered everything but it was great very informative it was very informative much it's it's a very interesting feel to these tick diseases and there's there's volumes written on it you could just spend forever learning about these different diseases and they're very intriguing but obviously not pleasant if you get them so the the the object is to prevent it rather than yet it one other thing I didn't say that the incubation period once it infects a a host it's usually if it's going to cause clinical disease can be long it can be uh four to five weeks and even up to five months so doesn't necessarily mean if you took your vacation on the cape in August and didn't get sick till January that you don't have lime disease cuz you very well could have if you're living somewhere else so it's important to note that very good I don't know if there any questions I might know the answer if I don't I'll find it that was find it for you all right so what should the people at home do um when they remove the tick um is the information on the website the options of if they want to get it identified what they should do yes there are um there are like I think it's I brought it up the last meeting um the like the University of Rhode Island has uh you can take a picture again we have the uh QR code nowadays uh posted out here you can you can download it you can take a picture of it of the tick itself and upload it and they'll it's it'll tell you what kind of ticket is also we have many of these flyers um around the one bite can change your life um and on the back is it has resources of where to go what to do where to send it to all that good stuff so and all this is up on our website too yeah which is great information for the public I said just yeah your website has excellent information great just uh some kind of Deep Woods Off if you're going out even for I put on before my daughter softball games because they go into the evenings for ticks or mosquitoes just I recommend the the public to just take that extra second and just spray a little bit on yourself the pran is great we have it in the office I use it a lot too so yeah just one disclaimer I don't think any of us have any um investment interests in any of these products that we recommended I have investment interests in humans so whatever product you use make sure okay all right Larry that was that was fantastic that was great education thank you for that all right thank you well it's a disease you I know as far as anaplasma goes and I've met many people with lime it's those are two diseases you want to avoid you know they the the the anaplasma responded very quickly to doxcycline but the lime is a whole different story and I think it's more because it is an immune mediator once that immune system gets it's triggered it's difficult to turn it off I think the other problem with the one thing I the other thing I didn't say is it's not the kind of disease we can pick up with PCR readily because as I said they're not they're not free floating in the bloodstream generally speaking they're either intracellular localized to the area where the um bite was or they're in a joint capsule and those areas are really hard they're impractical to biopsy for obvious reasons and so PCR is is not the gold standard generally the gold standard for diagnosis I'm not sure about people but in in dogs the the um goal standard is corology and Elisa or IFA tests uh that we routinely run and they're very they're they're specific very sensitive and very specific tests that work very well but they just indicate exposure they don't indicate actual infection as PCR would like for example the covid test which PCR so you know it's it's a type of organism that's not readily amenable to PCR testing makes it more difficult okay uh number 17 Gena is overdose Awareness Day sure I'll take that um you've probably seen in on in the front of the Town Hall uh purple Flags uh that is sadly it's a it's to commemorate individuals who have uh who have overdosed uh or succumbed to substance abuse and it's a it's a sad uh sad tribute but it's an important one if you've ever been to it on on uh the 31st of this month Saturday at smuggers beach it will be commemorated again dawn has been here in the past and had given that presentation but this is on our website as well and it on uh it's International overdose awareness day it's a time for individuals and families to come together they bring pictures and portraits of of their loved ones they tell stories it's it's more than even just raising awareness there's probably a half a dozen or more uh resource tables uh weac is there who have who is uh actually delivers and uh they do a lot of the substance in the opioid uh dollars they oversee that it is really quite a moving and and touching and uh tribute for individuals who have over who have been affected and succumb to substance abuse and the disease of substance abuse and if if you get a chance to go it's really it's it's sad but it's really something for the families to come together and there's a lot of sharing of memories and hopefully it is more than just awareness it actually delivers some prevention as well and that'll be the 31st at smuggers beach I believe the time is 5:00 it is 5 o'clock and that's on our website as well but if you go by the town hall and I'm sure you have you've seen the purple flags that are flying there it's just a remembrance of of each commemorate each of the individuals from Yarmouth who have succumbed to uh substance abuse had a mother last year come and give a very touching presentation I remember that's it that's she puts us on each year yeah yeah okay uh moving on uh next is the house that was condemned over in uh 14 albian so Barry just have an update from you want to do number eight first or you want me to move to number nine oh okay so you're absolutely right there's housing update I'm not sure what that is but just a quick overview of uh so the town of Yarmouth uh adopted a new program uh a way to like a registration program permitting program called open go which was introduced in uh late 2023 so with the with our housing program 2024 was our first year of running with the new program we discovered many great uh features of this program running new reports running great this B track uh mass emails to the rental programs and stuff like that we've also found some um parts that we need to be tweaked in 2025 to help us streamline the uh housing program um here in Yarmouth the um all rental registrations are required for all long-term short-term and seasonal rentals here in the town of Yarmouth um we are going to be getting a lot more of those um coming in soon inspections are conducted to ensure all properties meet Mass code C 105 for minimum standards of living these inspections also act as a thirdparty objective if something happens at in the home an insurance company ask about us um we can properly say that the home was expected on X date and the home was safe to be occupied um if no rental certification is issued sometimes insurance agencies might not cover uh certain situations if there is an accident in the home that's why another reason we encourage people to uh register with us also with this new program all rental reminders will be going out November 1st to remind owners to start uh getting ready to re re reregister for January 1st for the 20125 year rental season and year so it's it's a great program it's um it was what we didn't have much uh to track before but now with the with this new software we we are tracking our rental programs and and it's it's a great it's a great way to show results of what we're doing in the health department so so that's the main goal is to have the ability to track this that has been taking place yeah it's that it's very difficult to before without tracking it's it was hard to regulate people on how if they registered if they got their permits when was the last time they were inspected it was a lot of paperwork um in our office we have hundreds of feet of file cabinets and to go to property 123 Main Street it would be research now with the new program Open gov we can click on it we can see the rental registrations when it when it was inspected how many people are allowed if we get complaints from Neighbors um we can all that is at our fingertips right now and with the program we are streamlining it and make it even more simple for our staff to to work it for the upcoming season so it's very nice program to have great Barry how's the compliance very good it's it's uh we're getting it compar compared to most previous years we're we're getting there I we still have it's very hard to always get 100% compliance because you're working with homeowners and tenants sometimes to get back forth uh one example we have a homeowner who's uh in Ukraine fighting and we we just can't communicate with them so there there's always we're never going to get 100% but it's we we're tracking it now and we're we're getting really good numbers and we know who we need to talk to and how we have all their information now when they when you register with op go we now have phone numbers we have emails we have contact information which is all very nice so do do police departments have access to this information that I don't think they're on open gov but it's they have their own access to the stuff um they we work closely with the police departments and the fire departments and stuff like that on they'll call us hey we we just went to an emergency at 123 Main Street we know say it's a rental are they registered boom click yes or no um then we follow forward with that so it's a great program it's helping us out a lot and just as the first year of any other programs it always takes a little bit to get out the ks and we're working them out right now so if I could this uh be thank you on that this this gives us data right there's there's over 3,200 actually rentals in the town of Yarmouth right we don't know if we get them all it's volunteer program but we do also we check with you know social media um you know uh rental uh verbo and all those different vbo to see if renting it's a it's a bylaw it's required but 3200 it's a lot for two inspectors to do but it allows it allows the health department and the the town to monitor the housing stock not only for the homeowner but also for the tenant there are seasonal rentals and there are annual rentals and this is we come in to make sure that the the housing is meeting the minimum standards for human habitation um and as Barry said it's it's difficult it's a challenge there's a lot of the scheduling uh a lot of different schedule uh the tenant schedule what availability might have to go back multiple times to correct it's not in any way punitive it allows the health department to monitor the housing stock like I say we work closely with the building department as well we're catching as far as electrical and plumbing um you know midnight Plumbing that goes on and things that aren't being permitted properly well that that's a concern as as Barry talked about there can be Insurance concerns there safety concerns life and safety smoke detectors we work with the the fire department on a regular basis it's a good program there's a lot of moving parts and it's a lot of work for two two inspectors when you think of 3200 um it's quite a bit but it's a a great program and Barry really leads Le he's he rides points on that program and it's come a long way so that's off to Barry I run reports every morning to see where they're at make sure they're on track and everything so it's it's it's nice to instead of just going through paperwork and Excel sheets it's it's at it's at my fingertips it's nice so so next year I'll be able to give you even more perfect information so yes Mary that must have been a lot of data to entry though enter rather again it's the first year so it was it was a lot for the the front office staff the ladies and the housing department um at same with the QR codes a lot of our population isn't very friendly or familiar with computers so they'd still mail it in what they would have to do with our housing inspectors with the front office girls they would have to manually input all the information so that took a long time but now that all their information is in there after this first year a lot more simple a lot more streamlined for the coming up years you we'll always get the the people that want to do paper paper applications and bring them in just to say hi to us we always like to see those people too so and Barry um is that a typical Cape Cod home there that you've got up on the screen that's my summer house um the health department does me very well so Mary you don't see what the view is of though okay just kidding I wish it was that's a great question so and then on to do me do I'll move on to for to albon so uh as we remember a couple months ago we had a very uh side situation over at 14 albon I did there are some pictures the first three are the before and then the last ones are after there's been a major Cleanup in progress at this site has been done as you can see from the before and after photos all the cars are gone majority of the rubbish has been removed from the property there is just a little bit of rubbish back behind where the four-wheeler was um when I was out there two days ago the front deck had been completed very nicely done and both B decks have been completed uh and all permits have been pulled for all the work too which is made me happy so I they're doing all that um there's still work to be completed on the inside they have removed and replaced all the drywall uh the the health department will continue to monitor the progress on the inside for the work I have seen going on this is going to be a very nice unit that's going to be put back into the inventory for the armouth uh rental program we go back to doing inspections like I was saying earlier this is going to be a nice unit for a family to have um it's a big unit it's at the end of a uh a dead end street so nice quiet uh there's going to be a lucky family getting into it um the homeowners have worked greatly with us Jay's get in contact with her all the time in contact with the with the uh with the Carpenters and the those people so I'm if everybody in time could make it as nice as this we'd have a very nice community so it's it's it looks good over there I'm sure the people in the attached unit must be pretty happy we never wanted to reach to this level it's to reach a condemnation is a serious right concern we do everything we can to work prior to you know to avoid to avoid that but it reached that point homeowner fortunately was uh Cooperative the board was supportive we've worked now for this in a very short amount of time in about at probably about six week period This has turned around 180 it is it is now probably several weeks away from coming back online as Barry said so that's a good story it's a A lot happened there but you saw the original pictures I was in that at the beginning with Police Department there were raids there were warrants were out and it just fell into disarray to the point of condemnation the board took the Bold step to condemn it and look what has happened now it's turned back around so that's where we are we just thought we saw you should see the followup okay we done yes sir thank you okay uh so next we have set of minutes to accept or not that's look like we have four we have May 20th June 3rd June 17th and July 15th so to make it easier why don't we just go one at a time um if anyone has any comments any edits whatever and then perhaps we can just take one vote on all four sets of uh minutes so any anything on May 20th anyone wants to comment change alter okay how about June 3 anything in the minutes anyone pick up on needs to be addressed okay not June 17th I had one there on page two and that was about the eversource vegetation control Eric you can correct me uh if I need to be and that you had made a point about the timing of the IDE applications and I'm not sure that was in the minutes um I don't know if you recall that or not I just I think um the letter was written we sent a letter actually referencing you and your background and we had done the same with Larry and his comments about wildli am I correct on that yeah I did make mention that um a late season application would allow for plants to translocate the herbicide to the root Zone more effectively providing providing more effective control something along those lines right we didn't get we didn't get a very good response from the people who were applying it but um so perhaps we can just add that make that one edit right well we can do that okay we can go over that afterward if you want okay it was pretty critic I I know um and then it would be July 15th anyone okay is none okay so we just need a motion on the four sets of minutes whether we want to accept them or not if anyone would do that I'd appreciate it I move that we accept the minutes of the Board of Health for May 20th June 3rd June 7 18 and July 15th 2024 Mary thank you anyone second that I second it great done any further discussions see there none all in favor of accepting minutes just raise your eye and say I I okay I I will I will say this I apologize to the board with the transition from Erica to Mo there was a backlog we don't expect that you're going to be needing to approve four at a time we'll do minutes on a weekly B on a on a monthly meeting basis will you get a chance to look at at each me meeting minute so this is a rarity um and we apologize a little transition in uh in Personnel so no that that that's not how this should run there's public meeting laws that that need to be met and we will we will meet that obligation okay yeah all good uh new and old business I have a comment okay um I just wanted to point out that I think we're pretty fortunate in yaroth to be able to have a say in what takes place in our neighborhoods and to be informed of what's taking place um and anyone who's concerned with an application um has just as much of a right to be concerned with it as does someone who's in support of it so I just wanted to to point that out I think the health department goes above and beyond to try to do right by all people in town so I just want to remind all parties of that okay thanks Eric I I have some items Mr chairman sure okay um in terms of new business um the Massachusetts Department of Public Health sent out a clinical advisory regarding pusis that it has now reached pre-pandemic levels amongst adolescence particularly so just as a reminder that everybody should be up to date with their daap if they're young people and for us older people the Tdap vaccine against prosus um the second um old item is uh the paint stent ship did that bill get uh the Town Administrator did he write write to support that bill and then the second part of my old business is do we have some numbers for overdoses in Yarmouth for this past year Mary thank you on that let me uh let me tell you that we I did appear then for the uh in front of the selectman with uh with the assistant Deputy deputy director Roby and the select board voted in in the affirmative to sign on in support of the steward the paint stewardship program where that has gone I I don't know but yes it has left with both the boards the Board of Health approval and the select board's approval and then it moves on to the state the lawmakers I'm not sure where up on Beacon Hill that stands right now but it had the blessing of both uh like I said both boards select board and Board of Health um I I don't I I can get you those numbers I don't have um the updated numbers I can check with weac um the Yarmouth uh substance abuse committee on what the most updated numbers are on overdose I don't have those in front of me the Yarmouth police have been the ones in the past to provide those numbers so that's another source also yeah yeah thank you yeah and they report actually the police and fire a fatal and non-fatal overdoses it happens at every meeting so that's who I that's when I say me that's who I'd be checking they come in through the clerk's office and I get I get those numbers as well but that's who does report to us through the Yack committee and every meeting every monthly meeting they give an update on that so that's who I would be referencing to get that information and I'll have that for you thank you in reference to the pertois uh Spike you mentioned Mary uh just so people aware of it the classic sign is severe coughing that's prolonged um and That vaccine um is given along with the tetanus at the same time in general the recommendation for Beyond just real young childhood is every 10 years is a minimum some people know that um there's a version also where you can get a DI theor included with the tetanus and pressus so pretty pretty basic medicine though um what other new and old business do we have Mr chairman I have do you mind yeah uh one last thing a good it's a good deed I'm just going to read a quick little thing I wrote out um recently the health department was called out to a home here in Yarmouth a call from the police department and DCF to assist them at a home it was found that the family was in need of very of several Services due to multiple factors uh working closely with the armouth police department and the health department we were able to come up with some great solutions for the family the armouth police department one of the agents arranged for new furniture to be donated to the home and a new stove was donated to the home the health department was also able to gain through General donations from many businesses in town four commercial air pu fires one oscillating fan two window fans the AC in the home is not working so it's extremely warm in the home air circulation was very important to us um a new refrigerator was also donated and money for a permit to stall the new stove for the inside of the home was also donated from a local business um the outside of the home and the yard a local company donated 10 two 10 yard dumpsters which have been emptied nine times so far um they will be continued to be uh emptied as needed basis for the next three fill-ups uh between the local Yarmouth police department and local fire department 17 volunteers of family and children also showed up with their families to help clean up the yard they brought power tools rakes even a bobcat to help clamp the yard it was a very hot day that day a local grocery store donated a case of Gatorade and two cases of water for the volunteers and a local pizza parlor also donated six pieces to the volunteers that day also major work was accomplished through the Great Hearts of the people of Yarmouth to help the family do these projects they physically financially And Timely could not have done on their own the local dumpster company will continue to swap out the dumpster A couple more times while the discards items from the inside their home the armor Police Department fire department Health Department did not solve all their problems but I feel we made a major difference in this family's life doing this so impressive wow great w yeah something positive it's always nice to hear yeah the Board needs to know you know and Barry's being very humble in this but he took this personally and he led that information he did that along with officer Erica Weinberg from the police department backpacks were given food cards were given these are this is a family not we not identifying but they they were struggling both were disabled children they've got multiple complications throughout that family two with serious meta of the five children two with very serious medical concerns and they were struggling and they were actually just it was just overwhelmed and Barry LED this led this compassionate charge and really brought together in a very short amount of time this all happened in a couple of weeks and um they really have uh they can see the light there's some optimism there and more than anything that people cared to to have like I said the police and fire department came out in force and cleaning up and helping and that that really when when someone when you see that someone someone really that the community really cares and uh that was really something but Kudos are to Barry Lewis he did quite he did a great job on that so great job Barry thank you great thank you Barry thank you part of the job over and it's great um on I guess two things one uh School opening up soon maybe sometime during September we get an update on vaccination rates for the school that would be a be a good idea I think and the other is it's been a pretty hot summer uh really hot summer and maybe we could put on the agenda talking about possible heat alerts or something that we should address you know I we talking about people at risk for heat exhaustion or heat stroke what is some of the precautions they can take and if it's severe enough whether it needs to be an alert sent out um there are people who many of us can afford and have air conditioning uh there are people certainly in town who cannot um and many are even you know working outside during this summer it's been difficult really difficult so let's just for discussion purposes let's put that on the agenda well um we also need to schedule our next next meeting as well the first Monday would be Labor Day so that that is not available to us but September 16th would be the 3D Monday if that works for the board uh 16th is fine I know for the 30th I won't be available but that doesn't mean we can't have a meeting so um but certainly 16 everyone else September 16th a few people who can make that and we'll have a quum yeah that looks good okay okay anything else okay not we need one more motion if anyone wants to leave that is motion that we adjourn there we go how about second someone that's it that's credit for that second who Eric you got it you got it all in favor to raise your hand say I I this meeting is Jour I'm sure okay thank you everyone thank you board