HomeMy WebLinkAboutM091516JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
MINUTES
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend WA 98368
Board Members
Phil Johnson, County Commissioner District #1
David Sullivan, Chair, County Commissioner, District #2
Kathleen Kler, County Commissioner, District #3
Catharine Robinson, Vice -Chair, Port Townsend City Council
Sheila Westerman, Citizen at large
Jill Buhler, Hospital Commissioner, District #2
John Austin, Citizen at large
Staff Members
Thomas Locke, Health Officer
Vicki Kirkpatrick, Public Health Dir
Jared Keefer, Env. Health Dir
Veronica Shaw, Public Health Deputy Dir
Michael Dawson, WQ Manager
Tammey Newton, Community Health Dir
Jenny Matter, Clerk of the Board
Chair David Sullivan called the September 15, 2016 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of
Health to order at 2:30 p.m. A quorum was present.
Members Present: David Sullivan, Kathleen Kler, Catharine Robinson, Sheila Westerman, Jill
Buhler, John Austin
Members Excused: Phil Johnson
Staff Present: Tom Locke, Vicki Kirkpatrick, Jared Keefer, Michael Dawson, Tammey Newton,
Jenny Matter
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Chair Sullivan asked for approval of the Agenda of the September 15, 2016.
Vice -chair Catharine Robinson motioned to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded
by Member John Austin. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Sullivan asked for approval of the minutes of the August 18, 2016 meeting of the Jefferson
County Board of Health.
Member Jill Buhler motioned to approve the minutes; the motion was seconded by
Member Sheila Westerman. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
1. Surgeon General's Turn the Tide Initiative
Tom Locke, Health Officer, Jefferson County Public Health shared with Board members
information on the national campaign to address the opiate epidemic, past and current research
lead by Washington State on opiate use, and the current trend of opiate use and overdose in
Washington State. Locke noted the need for increased access to syringes and Naloxone for
communicable disease control reasons.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Food Establishment Inspection Policy
Jared Keefer, Environmental Health Director, Jefferson County Public Health summarized the
revisions made to the Policy as a result of changing from a categorical -based permit system to a
risk-based permit system. Mr. Keefer briefly explained the frequency schedule and exceptions,
along with categorical updates. Member John Austen had a question regarding inspections due
to citizen complaints. Mr. Keefer explained that complaint inspections are conducted and
sometimes they are specific to the complaints themselves instead of a full inspection (for
example: complaints of illness or vermin).
Chair Sullivan asked for a motion for the Food Establishment Inspection Policy. Member
Sheila Westerman motioned to approve the Food Establishment Inspection Policy. The
motion was seconded by Member Jill Buhler. There was no further discussion. The motion
passed unanimously.
2. On-site Sewage System Management Plan Fees: Revisions and Proposed Call for Public
Hearing on October 20, 2016
Jared Keefer informed the Board that he had incorporated the feedback received from the last
BOH meeting into evaluating the proposed fees. He spent the last month reviewing additional
data, such as homeowner inspection data, and determined the manual entry fee of $43 was
appropriate to cover the costs incurred. For the $33 dollar fee, Mr. Keefer's team went through
the budgeting process and decided they would not need to raise it later. However, Mr. Keefer
noted that, as pointed out by the Board earlier, technology was not taken into account. Mr.
Keefer concluded that the one dollar increase would generate about $11,000 and cover
technology costs (i.e., consultants for scripting, site maintenance, staff time, and replacement).
Mr. Keefer proposed the Ordinance and stated that he had not received any feedback yet.
Vice -chair Catharine Robinson asked if there is a special fund for the monies that will come in
for the OSS. Mr. Keefer explained that it is a requirement for all income from the program to be
spent only on that program, which has its own program code, and can't be diverted anywhere
else.
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In the fifth paragraph of the Ordinance, Robinson suggested replacing the words "create
burdens" with "impacts". All agreed.
Chair Sullivan requested a motion to schedule a public hearing for the adoption of
ordinance and adoption of the change to the fee schedule for the next BOH
meeting. Member John Austin motioned to approve. The motion was seconded by
Member Kathleen Kler. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Communicable Disease Activity Update: Increased Pertussis in Jefferson County, Zika
Virus Spreads in the United States, and West Nile Virus in Eastern Washington
Tom Locke informed the Board about the increase in Pertussis in Jefferson County and how
outbreaks tend to occur every three to four years as naturally occurring immunity wanes. He
explained how the vaccine was developed and changed over the years to make it safer. It has
now been found that this has had the unintended consequence of decreasing the effectiveness of
the vaccine. Board members had questions about the effects of Pertussis and the vaccine.
Dr. Locke also informed the board about the current status of the Zika virus in the United States,
which is primarily in South Florida, and it is less severe and wide spread than predicted. He
explained the variation in time between men and women to transmit the disease sexually,
symptoms, effects on newborns, and how it is transmitted by mosquitos. The Board had
questions about the transmission of the virus based on type of mosquito, cases reported and
symptoms.
Dr. Locke noted that the West Nile virus is very similar to Zika and there has been one death in
Eastern Washington. He also said the West Nile virus has been in the United States since the
late 1990s and it is very unlikely to have a significant impact in Western Washington.
4. Jefferson County Community Health Improvement Plan: Preview Prior to Joint Board
Meeting
Vicki Kirkpatrick announced the completion of the final draft of the Community Health
Improvement Plan. She acknowledged Karen Obermeyer for her commitment and contribution
to the Plan and Dunia Faulx for her technical support.
Ms. Kirkpatrick shared the history of how the plan was put together, the process for addressing
the four priorities and who was involved. Board members made comments about the success of
how the Plan was developed with the involvement of the community. They also commented on
the importance of having the ability to measure success by investing in shared data collection.
Chair Sullivan asked how the plan will be implemented. Ms. Kirkpatrick responded by saying
the development of an implementation plan is still a need and she foresees strong policy support
at the State level and, as the Plan is aligned with State and Federal initiatives for health and
wellbeing, future resources should be available to leverage as support increases.
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ACTIVITY UPDATE
Jared Keefer told Board members this would be his last meeting since he will be moving to the
private sector. His last day will be October 3, 2016.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR
There was no agenda planning.
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Thursday, October 20, 2016 from 2:30 — 4:30
p.m. at Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Sullivan adjourned the August 18th, 2016 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting
at 4:05 p.m.
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
Excused
Phil Jo so , M b
Da d�ul Ivan, Chair
Catharine `�OhiLllson, Vice -Chair
Jo Austi , Member
Jill Buhler, Member
eat
Sheila Westerman, Member
Kathleen Kler, Member
Respectfully submitted
Jenny Matter
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