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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM091715JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday, September 17, 2015 Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend WA 98368 Board Members Phil Johnson, County Commissioner District #1 David Sullivan, County Commissioner, District #2 Kathleen Kier, Vice -Chair County Commissioner, District #3 Kris Nelson, Port Townsend City Council Sheila Westerman, Chair, Citizen at large Jill Buhler, Hospital Commissioner, District #2 John Austin, Citizen at large Staff Members Thomas Locke, Health Officer Jean Baldwin, Public Health Dir Julia Danskin, Public Health Manager Jared Keefer, Env. Health Dir Veronica Shaw, Public Health Deputy Dir Michael Dawson, WQ Manager Chair Sheila Westerman called the September, 2015 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:30 p.m. A quorum was present. Members Present: David Sullivan, Sheila Westerman, Phil Johnson, John Austin, Kathleen Kler Members Excused: Jill Buhler, Kris Nelson Staff Present: Tom Locke, Jean Baldwin, Jared Keefer, Veronica Shaw APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Westerman asked that item 2, New Business move to item 1 in Old Business. Chair Westerman asked for approval of the September 17, 2015 Agenda. Chair Westerman moved to approve the agenda; the motion was seconded by Member Austin. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Westerman called for approval of the minutes of the August 20, 2015 meeting of the Board of Health. It was noted that John Austin was excused from that meeting. Member Austin moved to approve the minutes as presented; the motion was seconded by Member Sullivan. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT Helen Lauritzen requested an update on the Port Townsend Paper Corporation (PTPC) taking financial responsibility for its landfill. Chair Westerman asked Dr. Tom Locke, Health Officer, JCPH, to respond and he informed Mrs. Lauritzen that the Mill is licensed, and financial assurance agreements are nearing completion. The Department of Ecology is now working on final review and approval. In addition, Locke noted, since 2014, when JCPH approved the permit, the PTPC's financial responsibility for its landfill and any future closure costs has been incontrovertible. A representative from the PTPC said the financial assurances process with the Department of Ecology is near completion; November 2, 2015 is the deadline for this process. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Proposed Comp Plan Amendment: Active Lifestyle and Chronic Disease Prevention Ms. Karen Obermeyer, JCPH, briefed the Board on Chronic Disease Prevention activities funded through a grant by the Dept. of Health. Activities include proposals to integrate health language to encourage healthy lifestyles into the Comprehensive Plan. Research shows the built environments that surround us impact the decisions residents make concerning activities that impact their health by promoting healthy lifestyles or imposing barriers to healthy behaviors. One of the Jefferson County Health Priorities is Healthy Communities and Active Living with Chronic Disease Prevention. With this in mind, Ms. Obermeyer and Jared Keefer, Environmental Health Director, JCPH, are working with the Department of Community Development and local community groups (such as Food System Council and Local 20/20) to integrate into the county- wide planning policy explicit health language that links health to the built environment. Elements include access to healthy food, affordable housing, transportation, and impacts of climate change, all of which is in response to community request. Mr. Keefer told the Board the planning policy proposals now being vetted at the staff level will be presented to the planning commission in October. The next step is to present these proposals to the Board of Health and then to the Jefferson County Commissioners. Finally, the proposals to integrate explicit health language into the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan will be presented to the Steering Committee. Chair Westerman voiced her concerns about balancing the varied challenges with adoption of expensive infrastructure. 2. Olympic Community of Health Web Page Dr. Locke informed the Board that there is a Web page dedicated to helping the public and Board members stay current on developments in the Olympic Community of Health. Current priorities are focused on efforts to pull together stakeholders in the ongoing development of the Accountable Communities of Health (ACH) design and address governance issues. 3. Mill Update—Odor Complaints Dr. Locke explained to the Board a document presented to JCPH concerning PTPC mill odors. The citizen report chronicles mill odor by date, time, and degree of impact. Citizens post this to their website dedicated to the purpose of tracking mill odors and also submit this data to state regulatory agencies. Locke explained that air quality regulation authority falls within state and federal jurisdiction, rather than county, and stated that if the PTPC is adhering to those regulatory standards there are few remedies. County commissioners or local boards of health lacks specific legal authority to regulate air pollution. Member Johnson told the Board the Department of Ecology is the agency responsible for mill activities. A representative from the PTPC addressed the Board telling them the Mill has taken action to mitigate the odors. Chair Westerman called for staff to respond to the citizen concern in a logical, sympathetic way. No Board action was taken. 4. Strengthening Families and Youth Mental Health Training: Chimacum Prevention Coalition Jean Baldwin, Director, JCPH, informed the Board there will be second Youth Mental Health Training on October 19th. The initial training was so well attended there was a waiting list, so additional funding was sought and awarded to host a second training. Additional Strengthening Families events, October 8 and November 19th, are also planned in response to the overwhelming community response. 5. School Based Clinics Reopen Ms. Baldwin explained to the Board the importance of marketing flyers, included in the packet, to keep school populations abreast of who is in their building, when School Based Clinics (SBC) are open, who is associated with the SBC, and what service they provide. Baldwin touched on updates to the SBC Final Report, End of the School Year statistics and said she will have more information next month. NEW BUSINESS 1. Food Safety Program Fees — Possible Action Item: Call for Public Hearing Mr. Keefer reviewed documents included in the Board packet that compare actual costs of Food Safety activities with current and proposed fees. Chair Westerman, stated that she found the documents confusing and questioned their logic. Specific license fees and their associated costs were discussed at length. Additional Board members voiced their concern that the program fees proposed fell substantially short of the actual cost of the program activities. It was decided the proposal isn't ready to move to a Public Hearing and that next month Mr. Keefer will present additional fee proposals and their budget impacts. 2. Back to School Initiatives: Immunizations and Heads Up Concussion Awareness Program Ms. Baldwin shared with the Board JCPH's Back to School Immunization press release that lets the public know which vaccines are required, where they can be obtained, and the various payment options. New school administrators are much more amenable to immunization discussions. Dr. Locke let the Board know that immunizations are universally covered under new insurance regulations. Ms. Baldwin explained a new national focus on clarifying sports -related concussion information and training of medical staff to recognize concussion symptoms and treatment, and the standardization of systems to evaluate sports injuries. The effort is focused on prompt recognition of the signs and symptoms of concussion and appropriate exclusion from sports activity during the recovery period. Included in the Board packet were parent information handouts. ACTIVITY UPDATE Mr. Keefer mentioned a visit in late August to JCPH from a representative of Senator Patty Murray's office who was very impressed by the breadth of JCPH's reach. Chair Westerman shared her recommendations vis-a-vis a Seattle Times article in the September 17, 2015 paper heralding a state-wide increase in the number of residents insured. Vice -chair Kler enjoyed the excellent marine biotoxins discussion that was held at JCPH on September 91h, and informed the Board there is Regional Support Network meeting Friday, September 18th. Vice -chair Kler and Ms. Baldwin attended a meeting today with Clallam and Kitsap representatives to prepare for the September 1811 meeting. There was no public comment. PUBLIC COMMENT NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2015 from 2:30 — 4:30 p.m. at Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA. ADJOURNMENT Chair Sheila Westerman adjourned the September 17, 2015 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting at 4:30 p.m. )ARD OF HEALTH /VW4___ air Kathleen Kler, Mem�beeerr� ol,� /Q 4)