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Home My WebLink AboutM031518 BOHJEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday, March 15, 2018 Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend WA 98368 Board Members Kate Dean, County Commissioner District 41 David Sullivan, County Commissioner, District #2 Kathleen Kier, County Commissioner, District #3 Ariel Speser, Vice -Chair, Port Townsend City Council Sheila Westerman, Citizen at large Jill Buhler, Hospital Commissioner, District #2 John Austin, Chair, Citizen at large Staff Members Thomas Locke, Health Officer Vicki Kirkpatrick, Public Health Dir Stuart Whitford, Env. Health Dir Veronica Shaw, Public Health Deputy Dir Michael Dawson, WQ Manager Jenny Matter, Clerk of the Board Vice -Chair Ariel Speser called the March 15, 2018 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:32 p.m. A quorum was present. Members Present: David Sullivan, Jill Buhler, Kathleen Kler, Ariel Speser, Kate Dean Members Excused: Sheila Westerman, John Austin Staff Present: Vicki Kirkpatrick, Veronica Shaw, Thomas Locke, Stuart Whitford, Michael Dawson, Jenny Matter APPROVAL OF AGENDA Vice -Chair Speser asked for approval of the Agenda of the March 15, 2018. Member Jill Buhler motioned to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Member Kathleen Kler. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Vice -Chair Speser asked for approval of the minutes of the February 15, 2018 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health. Member David Sullivan motioned to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Member Kate Dean. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS There was no public comment. Page 1 of 5 OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Jefferson Healthcare (JHC) Update Jill Buhler reported that JHC has been awarded a grant for the dental office and they are interviewing dentists and architects. She also reported that (1) they are partnering with Discovery Behavioral Health to recruit an executive director, (2) there will be an outreach meeting for the Port Ludlow clinic at the Beach Club from 4:30 — 6:30pm on March 29th, (3) the express clinic has been successful so they may increase the hours, (4) they've hired a temporary primary care provider, and (5) Merrily Mount will be retiring. A ceremony for Merrily Mount will be on May 4th in Quilcene. Vice -Chair Speser added that JHC will be hosting a series of three different forums for charity care and debt forgiveness to educate service providers. 2. Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue Dr. Tom Locke, Health Officer, provided a brief history of federal legislation around gun violence research and current legislation (i.e. red flag laws) in Washington State. He noted the Dickey Amendment, that banned the Center for Disease Control from conducting research on gun related deaths in 1996, is now being reconsidered due to the increasing number of mass shootings. Dr. Locke provided gun related statistics and information on the current call for action to prevent gun violence. The Board had comments and questions about restraining orders and gun control, authority of the Board of Health, causes of children's anxiety and mental health funding, lack of scientific research due to the Dickey Amendment, and participating in the March For Our Lives event in Washington, DC on March 24tH Member Jill Buhler motioned to draft a letter in support of preventing gun violence. The motion was seconded by Vice -Chair Speser. The motion passed unanimously. Board Member Dean offered to personally deliver the letter to Jefferson County's congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. NEW BUSINESS 1. Water Conserving Onsite Sewage Systems — Policy Alternatives Stuart Whitford, Environmental Health (EH) Director, reviewed current rules for waterless toilets, grey water systems and rain water catchment systems, including Jefferson County Code 8.15.060, Jefferson County Policy Statement 97-01, the state Greywater Rule, and the state Water Conserving Waste Water Treatment guidance document. He also reviewed the Birch house case study, which was built in Bellingham and designed to reuse all water (i.e. net zero). Mr. Whitford reviewed policy alternatives outlined in the guidance document he presented and explained why incorporating the current state Water Conserving OSS Guidance into code and using existing waiver authority to evaluate non-proprietary systems are the recommended options. Mr. Whitford and the Board discussed costs of policy alternatives, human waste composting, engineering requirements, system maintenance, lack of options for those with pre-existing Page 2 of 5 unpermitted systems, the cost burden to applicants, and community outreach. There was acknowledgement that the proposed alternatives did not meet what citizens were asking for in terms of cost, but that it was a step in the right direction. Member Kate Dean motioned to proceed with proposed policy alternative 6, in which the Board of Health directs staff to (1) amend Chapter 8.15 Onsite Sewage Code by incorporating the current state Water Conserving OSS Guidance into the code, (2) further publicize and educate citizens on existing regulations and guidance that enable them to install water conserving OSS and grey water systems, and (3) use existing waiver authority to evaluate and potentially approve water conserving OSS technologies that are non -propriety. The motion was seconded by Kathleen Kler. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Resolution Regarding the Appointment of Deputy Health Officers Dr. Locke explained the resolution, including the changes in authority and liability of temporary health officers. Kitsap has already signed a similar resolution and Clallam is considering signing one next month. The Board had questions about logistics of reciprocation between Health Officers and procedures for replacing a Health Officer if they are incapacitated. Member Kathleen Kler motioned to approve the Resolution Regarding the Appointment of Deputy Health Officer. The motion was seconded by Jill Buhler. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Public Health Week Resolution Vicki Kirkpatrick, Public Health Director, reviewed the Resolution to proclaim the week of April 2 — 8, 2018 as Public Health Week. The Board had comments about the connection to the Community Health Improvement Plan and how the resolution would be proclaimed. Member Jill Buhler motioned to approve the Public Health Week Resolution. The motion was seconded by Ariel Speser. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Environmental Health Database Update Linda Atkins, Environmental Health (EH) Specialist, presented information about the current search for a new data base system. She reviewed features of the system offered by the preferred provider and her experience when visiting other jurisdictions who currently use the proposed system. Ms. Atkins provided a summary of the next steps required for implementation and reviewed the annual costs, replacement costs, and the suggested technology fee increase. The Board had questions about the costs and possibly lowering the fee for small permits (e.g., school bake sales). 5. BOH Recognition of Merrily Mount, ARNP Kathleen Kler said Merrily Mount is retiring after many years of service and would like to have a letter of appreciation to read at her ceremony to thank her for all that she has done for the county. Member David Sullivan motioned for Kathleen Kler to write a letter of appreciation for Merrily Mount. The motion was seconded by Jill Buhler. The motion passed unanimously. Page 3 of 5 6. 2018 Legislative Session Wrap Up Dr. Locke said that a budget increase for opioid services was passed along with legislation for safe medication disposal, so Jefferson County will not need to implement their own drug take back ordinance. Stuart Whitford said HB 1476, an unfunded mandate, did not pass but funding for Group B water regulations was approved. ACTIVITY UPDATE Vicki Kirkpatrick reported that the executive director for the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) resigned. The interim plan is to have the executive director role shared between JCPH and JHC. Ms. Kirkpatrick informed the Board that Jefferson County placed fifth for health outcomes and ninth for health factors in the 2018 Annual County Health Rankings Report (http://www.countyhealthrankings.or�—/). Kate Dean reminded the Board that nominations for Public Health Heroes are due March 261H PUBLIC COMMENT Dan Cooper of Port Ludlow questioned the process for passing motions because there was no vote. Member Kate Dean motioned to adopt all motions made and approved unanimously at the current BOH meeting. The motion was seconded by Jill Buhler. All members voted yea. The motion passed unanimously. AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR There were no agenda planning updates. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Thursday, April 19, 2018 from 2:30 — 4:30p.m. at the Pope Marine Building, 1000 Madison Street, Port Townsend, WA. ADJOURNMENT Vice -Chair Speser adjourned the March 15, 2018 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting at 4:34 p.m. Page 4 of 5 JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH Excused Jo us n, Chair ill Buhler, Member Kathleen Kler, Member Excused Sheila Westerman, Member Ariel Speser, Vice -hair Kate Respectfully submitted J. Matter em r Page 5 of 5