MINUTES
OF THE
BOARD
OF HEALTH MEETING
January
31, 2006
Time and Place of
Meeting: The January monthly meeting, held at the
In Attendance: Bernice Shapiro, Board Vice Chair; John Jackson, Board Member; Cheryl Coyle, Board
Member; Angela Cook, Board Member; Dr. John Coumbis, Board Member; Lynn
Forrester, Registered Environmental Health Specialist, Middlesex County Public
Health Department; Sharon Martens, Middlesex County Public Health Department;
Edward Konin, Esq., Board Attorney; and Kathleen Wasson, Board Secretary. Mayor Thomas F. Panconi, Jr. attended the
meeting. Two Cranbury residents also
attended.
Call to Order: With
a quorum present, Vice Chair Shapiro called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
and stated that adequate notice of the meeting’s date, time and place had been
provided to the public pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A.
10:4-6 et seq.) by mailing to the media, posting on the Township
bulletin board and filing with the Town Clerk.
The Board proceeded with new business.
Reorganization: Nominations were opened for the positions of Chair
and Vice Chair. Cheryl Coyle nominated
Bernice Shapiro as Board Chair. John
Jackson seconded the nomination. The
vote was unanimous in favor of Ms. Shapiro.
Cheryl Coyle was nominated as Vice Chair by John Jackson. Bernice Shapiro seconded the nomination. The vote was unanimous in favor of Ms.
Coyle. Board Attorney Edward Konin issued
the oath of service to all Board
members.
First order of business: November
and December Meeting Minutes
The November minutes
were unanimously approved; motion by Cheryl Coyle; second by John Jackson. The December minutes were unanimously
approved; motion by John Jackson; second by Cheryl Coyle.
Second order of
business: Public Health Report
The Board members received the monthly report for December,
2005 and January, 2006. Lynn Forrester
reviewed the substance of the reports for the Board. January report: Hot Wok should be opening in two weeks.
Jessica conducted a pre-certification inspection. Thereafter, the procedure is that, when it
opens, Jessica will go back within 30 days on a surprise visit to inspect
again. December report: Dr. Coumbis asked whether there was any sign
of abuse of the dogs involved in the attack.
It was apparently a random, unprovoked attack. Ed Konin asked whether the dogs were declared
“dangerous dogs” under the new statute.
Third order of business: Environmental
Report
The Board members received the report for the month of
December, 2005. There were no
activities. Sharon Martens attended a
meeting and received a model management ordinance for the maintenance of septic
systems. This was prepared because new
systems are being developed more frequently than in the past. Sharon Martens said that the Board might want
to adopt an ordinance based on this document.
Fourth order of business: Old Business
The Spring Rabies Clinic has been
scheduled for April 22nd from 12 noon to 2 p.m. The Fall clinic is scheduled for October 21st. Dr. Coumbis discussed that there is a
shortage of rabies vaccine for humans.
Lynn Forrester said that she has not heard anything about a shortage. Dr. Coumbis asked whether the veterinarian
and animal control officer are vaccinated.
Chairwoman Shapiro will follow up with the Board physician.
Cheryl Coyle confirmed that the 2
blood pressure cuffs were installed at the school using the BOH donated funds.
Community programs – last year,
discussions were held about sponsoring community education programs provided by
Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) and
Fifth order of
business: New Business
Dr. Coumbis wanted to know if anyone
is interested in serving on a medical reserve corps (MRC), certified and
credentialed by the federal government (HHS) in conjunction with the county,
for the Township to be trained to deal with a public health emergency. Dr. Coumbis will make a presentation for the
Board at the next meeting.
Mayor Panconi said the Township Committee would like a year end report
from all Boards and Commissions for 2006.
A copy of the Environmental Commission report was distributed as a
model. Mayor Panconi said that ConAgra
is presenting a problem for the Town. He
described the functions of the business, which creates odors. The company and ConAgra have been contacted
and the issue has been going on for a long time. There was a meeting yesterday with county
officials to determine a course of action which would attempt to avoid imposing
fines on the company. There are some
filtration systems, however, they are not complete. There will be a meeting with ConAgra in a few
weeks. A Cranbury resident said that he
spoke with Township Administrator Tom Witt yesterday concerning who to call
about this issue. The resident said that
Mr. Witt did not have the telephone number and had to ask his secretary, Linda
Scott, for the number. The resident said
that Mr. Witt, as Township Administrator, should have that number in his
head. The resident said that Mr. Witt
promised to provide him with the telephone number today and never heard from
Mr. Witt. The resident further said that
the Township sanitarian did not return his call until the day after he called
her. Mayor Panconi provided the county
telephone number to the resident. Mayor
Panconi noted that the odor is a nuisance odor, not a hazardous odor. Sharon Martens said that Jessica Smit has a
pager and if she can not be reached with that by a secretary for the town, the
county health office can be called and they would send an officer if she can
not be reached. Ed Konin asked if there
is any experience in dealing with this in
Public Forum: The Chair opened the public forum at 8:30 p.m. A resident asked who the Township Committee
liaison is and was told that it was Pari Stave.
A resident discussed invisible fences and how people are scared and
delivery people can be menaced by animals regardless of the invisible
fence. A resident said that there is a
barking issue as well with his neighbors.
Chairwoman Shapiro said that she would table this issue and do some
research for a future meeting.
A
resident said that the Township should have a health fair for all townspeople,
as the Four Seasons did for its community residents last year. It was noted that the County provides health
screenings individually, but not all in one location at one time. Dr. Coumbis said that a health assessment
should be done to ask the residents about their health needs.
Adjournment: There
being no further business before the Board, Chairwoman Shapiro stated that she
would entertain a motion to adjourn. The
motion was made by John Jackson and seconded by Cheryl Coyle. The vote was unanimous in favor of adjournment
and the meeting was concluded at 8:45 p.m.
Certification: I,
the undersigned, do hereby certify that I am the duly appointed Secretary of
the Cranbury Township Board of Health and that this document, consisting
of pages, constitutes a true and
correct copy of the minutes of the monthly meeting held on January 31, 2006.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I
have hereunto subscribed my name this 1st day of March, 2006.
Kathleen S. Wasson
Board Secretary