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Home My WebLink About061520M BOH 9ehTenson Public He caA REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Jefferson County Board of Health Thursday, June 15, 2023 @ 2:30 p.m. Jefferson County Courthouse — Commissioners' Chambers 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA Hybrid Meeting Board Members Staff Members Greg Brotherton,County Commissioner,District#3 Denise Banker,Community Health Director Kate Dean,Vice-Chair,County Commissioner District#1 Dr.Allison Berry,Health Officer Heidi Eisenhour,County Commissioner,District#2 Michael Dawson,Water Quality Manager Amanda Grace,Community Stakeholder Alisa Hasbrouck,Environmental Health Manager [Vacant],Consumer of Public Health Barb Jones,CHIP Program Manager Dr.Kees Kolff,Chair,Public Hospital District#2 Apple Martine,Public Health Director Commissioner Pinky Mingo,Environmental Public Health Director Libby Wennstrom,Port Townsend City Council Veronica Shaw,Public Health Deputy Director Vice-Chair Dean called the June 15,2023 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:32 p.m. A quorum was present. Members Present:Vice-Chair Kate Dean,Members Greg Brotherton,Heidi Eisenhour,Amanda Grace and Libby Wennstrom. Staff Present: Staff Members Denise Banker, Dr. Allison Berry, Michael Dawson,Alisa Hasbrouck,Barb Jones, Apple Martine and Veronica Shaw. PUBLIC COMMENT Vice-Chair Dean called for public comment. The following is a summary of comments made by individuals in attendance(virtually and in person)at the meeting and reflect their personal opinions: • Commenter, a member of the committee campaigning to bring a sewer system to downtown Brinnon, spoke of community support for the Geoduck Restaurant and its septic issues and requested Board of Health support. • Commenter(a)encouraged attendance at MRSC public meetings training in July,and(b)asked for advice concerning telling family members about severe diagnoses. • Commenter provided statistics indicating that COVID infections world-wide were lower than infections in the U.S. and stated that,for most of the population, infection rates for COVID were comparable to that of the flu. They also stated that a majority of COVID deaths in the U.S.were generally patients with multiple comorbidities,and that early treatment of COVID in the U.S.was misguided. Respectfully submitted Page 1 of 4 G.Gilbert Board members and staff addressed comments and concerns raised during the Public Comment Period. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Vice-Chair Dean called for discussion of the agenda for June 15,2023. MOTION: Member Eisenhour moved to approve the agenda for the Board of Health for June 15,2023. Chair-Dean proposed the agenda be amended to include an Informational Report subsection 3: State Board of Health Update. Discussion of the proposed amendment ensued. Vice-Chair Dean called for a vote to approve the agenda as amended"with the addition of#3 Informational Report: State Board of Health Update,"which carried by a unanimous vote. PUBLIC COMMENT Vice-Chair Dean reopened public comment. • Commenter objected to preferential treatment being given to the Geoduck Restaurant and other small businesses, in regards to septic issues,while commenter's business has been financially hit hard without assistance. • Commenter spoke in commiseration for previous commenter, having had similar experience as a Brinnon business operator. Board members and staff addressed the additional comments,concerning the complications of the septic issue,due to involvement of the county, and state and federal agencies,and the different levels of assistance available to residential versus business customers. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Vice-Chair Dean requested a motion to approve the minutes for the May 18, 2023 meeting. MOTION: Member Brotherton moved to approve the minutes.Member Eisenhour seconded the motion,which carried by a unanimous vote. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Jefferson County Public Health(JCPH)Report Staff Member Martine spoke about JCPH's current activities,emphasizing engagement with the public by staff going into the community doing lots of field work. She also highlighted the work of Public Health's administrative team, the Environmental Division,website and social media activity, and the school-based health clinics. Public Health has received a number of positive reviews for its services,and there has been an uptick in interest in job postings. 2. Infectious Diseases Update Dr.Berry announced good news on the COVID front,both nationally and locally;wastewater testing indicates a downtrend of transmission in the Jefferson County. Mpox has not yet been found in the county;vaccination has been effective and is available locally. It has continued to be found in the state and is potentially fatal. 3. State Board of Health Update Vice-Chair Dean spoke about upcoming rule writing: (i)new on-site septic rules,with new rules for smaller parcels of land; (ii)new rules for shellfish sanitation; (iii)following a federal lead—the Department of Health is downgrading thresholds for the safe amounts of"PFAS"—forever chemicals found in drinking water statewide; and(iv)a water recreation/algal bloom rule. Respectfully submitted Page 2 of 4 G.Gilbert NEW BUSINESS 1. Progress Report on Recruiting Nonelected Member of Board of Health as "Consumer of Public Health" Staff Martine reviewed the measures taken to recruit a new Board of Health member. Interviews with prospective members will be conducted during the July15, 2023 Board of Health meeting. In reference to the board seat for a Tribal Representative,Vice-Chair Dean consulted with the chair of the American Indian Health Commission(responsible to recruiting the tribal member). Discussion ensued concerning direct outreach to individual tribes. 2. CHIP Update: Brief Orientation to CHA and CHIP; Re-launching CHIP childhood immunization improvement efforts; Reporting in on the progress toward community trainings on suicidality; Readiness assessment for the CHA Staff Member Jones addressed the iterative process of CHA(Community Health Assessment)providing a data story about the community and its well-being,which enables the identification of gaps in services. CHIP(Community Health Improvement Plan)efforts currently include addressing the low rate of childhood immunizations, and providing training/education on signs and symptoms of youth mental health crisis/suicidality and how to respond. Targets for improvement include data gaps which resulted from/occurred during the pandemic. 3. Review: an Ordinance Amending Title 3 JCC,Title 12 JCC,and Appendix Fee Schedules; repealing and replacing Ordinance No.05-0707-14 and Ordinance 12-1209-96 Barbara Ehrlichman led a discussion concerning methodology for revising fee structures(for every department that charges fees) in order to make them more transparent to the public. To be revisited at the next meeting. 4. State of the Public Health Workforce [Tabled for lack of time.] 5. Climate Change: Update on Activities Lara Gaasland-Tatro presented on air quality monitoring and newly acquired tools(mobile air quality sensors), and planning for heat event response. Discussion ensued. FUTURE POTENTIAL AGENDA TOPICS [Not discussed.] ANNOUNCEMENTS Member Brotherton spoke about new Board of Health materials added to the County website and emphasized the need for materials to be easily accessible to the public. Staff member Martine briefly described activities of the Climate and Health Subcommittee. AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR The Agenda Planning Meeting for the next Board meeting will be held on July 11, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. Staff member Martine mentioned the Agenda Setting Committee's willingness to entertain recommendations for agenda topics. The next Board of Health meeting will be held as a hybrid meeting on Thursday,July 20, 2023 from 2:30 p.m. —4:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted Page 3 of 4 G. Gilbert ADJOURNMENT Vice-Chair Dean adjourned the June 15,2023 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting at 4:31 p.m. until the next Regular Meeting or Special Meeting as properly noticed. JEFFERS N COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH Dr. Kee Kolff, Chair Glenn Gilbert,Public Health Assistant Respectfully submitted Page 4 of 4 G. Gilbert