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HomeMy WebLinkAbout041907 JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday, April 19, 2007 Board Membm: Phil Johnson- County Commissioner District #1 David Sullivan - County Commissioner D,strict #2 John Austin, Vice Chairman - County Commissioner District #3 Jill Buhler- Hospital Commissioner District #2 Geoff Masci - Port Townsend City Council Sheila Westerman - Citizen at Large (City) Roberta Frissell, Chair- Citizen at Large (County) Staff Members: Thomas Locke, MD, Health Officer Jean Baldwin, Public Health Services Director Julia Danskin, Nursing Programs Director Mike McNi,kle, Environmental Health & Water Quality Director Meeting was called to order at 2:30 pm on April 19, 2007 by Chair Frissell in the conference room of Jefferson County Public Health. All Board members were present. A quorum was present. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Member Sullivan made a motion to approve the Agenda as amended. Member Buhler seconded the motion, which passed by unanimous vote. The agenda was amended to add a letter to Old Business from Jefferson Healthcare Board of Commissioners, addressing SHB 1825/SSB 5729. Public Health Heroes Awards was moved to 4:00 pm on the agenda. Correction to Activity Update - Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercise. Corrected date will read as April 27, 2007. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Board Member Masci moved to approve the minutes of February 12, 2007, as written. The motion was seconded and carried by a unanimous vote. PUBLIC COMMENTS None OLD BUSINESS Board Correspondence The Board received a letter from the State Board of Health. The letter was a request for the opportunity for members of the State Board of Health to meet with local Boards of Health. Dr. Locke will contact and invite them to attend a Jefferson County Board of Health meeting in the future. Discussion focused on a letter from the Substance Abuse Advisory Board (SAAB) requesting the Chair ofSAAB have a seat on the Board of Health. RCW 70.05.030 outlines the ground rules for local board of health expansion and requires that a majority ofBOH members need to be county or city elected officials. To add another non-elected official to the Board would require that the Jefferson County Board of Health be expanded to 9 members. Under the Boards bylaws, it can add non-voting ex officio members. Jean Baldwin asked the members if they would like to hold sub-committee meetings with some of the other boards and work in the capacity of liaison getting other community board items on the BOH agenda for discussion. Dr. Locke suggested having a SAAB report as a recurring agenda item. This report and any testimony or discussion that accompanied it would be part of the official record. Member Buhler felt it would be unwise to have too many ex-officio's members making it almost impossible to deny any other boards that wanted ex-officio positions with the Board. Mr. Barth, Chair for the Substance Abuse Advisory Board addressed the Board with concerns that the Board was not taking advantage of the expertise of the members of SAAB. The letter was sent as opportunity to communicate the SAAB's belief that the leading public health issue in Jefferson County is alcohol and substance abuse and the SAAB and would like to bring information to the Board each month about this problem. Member Westerman moved to appoint the Chair ofthe SAAB as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Board of Health. The motion was seconded by Vice-Chair Austin. Member Johnson commented that the BOCC found Substance Abuse and Mental Health so important that they passed a 1/10 of 1 % tax and felt it was appropriate that the Chair of SAAB to sit at the table. Member Sullivan said that it was a very important issue that doesn't get enough press and was an issue that needs attention. The motion carried, effective April 19, 2007. On-site Sewal!e Operation and Maintenance Update Mike talked about the letter he received from the Public Utility District (PUD) formally requesting that Jefferson County take over the Operation & Maintenance (0 & M) Program. He recommends that PUD continue to maintain the community systems that they own. Communication continues and Mike will ask for clarification on specific proposals contained in the letter. The agreement deadline to work out details is January 1, 2008. An 0 & M draft ordinance is being written as part of the revision of the Jefferson County Septic Code and will be presented to the Board in late summer. Member Westerman remarked that she feels that the County needs to take the responsibility to educate the community on the ]3rs]ler operatioa and maiHteaanee sf eaeh individllals 58j3tie system. changes that will occur in the 0&1\1 program whcn the PUD agreement ends. Mike McNickle talked about the new program and using a rebate system as incentive. He also spoke briefly about Resolution 34-07; Hood Canal Regional Septic Loan Program, and handed out a brochure on the Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia Septic Loan Program. The Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners adopted the resolution appointing Shorebank as the resource for low interest loans for people with failing septic systems. Their loan program started on April 1 and will follow the process from design through installation. Rel!ion 2 Public Health Newsletter There was brief discussion around the Communicable Disease Surveillance Data from 2006 presented in the Region II newsletter. Jefferson County Medical Reserve Corps Jean Baldwin spoke to the Board about the Medical Reserve Corps. JCPH would like to recruit and train retired health care professionals to provide services in a health emergency. Setting up and maintaining a program of this nature is time intensive. The Kitsap Department of Emergency Management has agreed to assume the management of Medical Reserve Corps program for Kitsap, Clallam and Jefferson County. Julia Danskin serves as a representative. A brochure was distributed describing the program. Public Health Fundinl! - HB 1825/SB 5729 Member Buhler presented the Board with a letter written by Jefferson Healthcare Board of Commissioners which was addressed and mailed to every member of the state legislature. She also presented the Board with the Jefferson County Public Health Care Service District No.2 Resolution 2007 -06 asking for support to increase state funding for core public health services. NEW BUSINESS Jefferson County Septic Code Revision - Pre-adoption Briefinl! Linda Atkins, Registered Sanitarian, walked the Board through the changes made to the Draft Jefferson County Septic Code. The State Board of Health passed a revision ofW AC 246-272A On-site Sewage Systems Rules and Regulations in July of2005. Local health departments have the option of adopting local codes to supplement state rules. The state code was compared with Jefferson County's current code and changes were made to assure consistency. Linda answered questions from the board. Environmental Health staff has formed an advisory group and sent the revisions to them and will be meeting with them for the first time on May 10. JCPH has been meeting with a county on-site designer round-table group for several years and they have been very helpful in formulating and making revisions where needed. JCPH has also been working with Clallam, Kitsap, and Mason Counties to assure that regulations use consistent definitions and are compatible with one another. Linda pointed out the new language that was added to the On-site Sewage Systems Rules and Regulations and sections of the current code that were deleted or modified. There was long discussion regarding specific language. Member Masci moved to schedule a hearing for the OSS revision to the County Code 8.15 for June 21, 2007. Member Westerman seconded the motion. Member Sullivan asked if the draft would be ready for public discussion and if there was a distribution list of interested parties to contact. Mike and Linda will put together a list. The motion carried. 2006 Performance Measures Jean presented the Board with an update to the 2006 Performance Measures for the Communicable Disease Program. She said that Performance Measures were a valuable tool for the staff to look at trends and make sure that we are addressing priority issues. Performance measures are also used in constructing a budget for the next year. Jean pointed out that we are down 3 nurse positions over the past 5 years and is noticeable in the comp time hours being reported. Jean suggested that it might be a good time for a retreat in order to get more in-depth information about staffing levels and program deliverables. It was decided that a half-day retreat would be enough time to discuss current issues. Member Masci suggested that the retreat be held before the end of June and before the budget is submitted. Lel!islative Update - Public Health Fundinl! HB 1825 was introduced by the Joint Select Committee on public health funding. Its intent was to establish a dedicated funding source for stable public health funding. It was passed unanimously by the House but died in a Senate committee. The language was appended to a bill implementing the recommendations of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission. A $20 million appropriation was attached to this bill for the biennium. The legislation establishes a number of conditions on use of the funds. An increased investment in communicable disease control was the highest priority in the Joint Select Committee's report. Public Health Heroes Awards Glenn Gately from Jefferson County Conservation District was given the award for his work on water quality protection. Glenn has worked for the Jefferson Conservation District's water quality program since 1994. The data he has collected, compiled and analyzed, documents surface water quality trends throughout Jefferson County and is used to implement water quality improvement programs in partnership with private landowners. His work builds trust so citizens are willing to work with Glenn to make water quality improvements. Many of the improvements in surface water quality through Jefferson County can be attributed to Glenn's efforts." Dana Fickeisen, Environmental Health Specialist, thanked him for his many years of excellent service. The second nomination was given to Friends of Family Planning. The award was presented to long time members, Roberta Frissell, Ruth Merryman, Beth Wilmart, and Dee Stewart. Hilary Metzger presented the award and pointed out that Friends of Family Planning is a community advocate group for women's health and JCPH Family Planning programs. Friends of Family Planning are advocates for increased access to family planning services and public policies in Jefferson County. She also said that Beth Wilmart is leaving the program and moving to Oregon. Her contributions played an important role in shaping the future of Friends of Family Planning. ACTIVITY UP A TE Jefferson County Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercise. April 27. 2007 Dr. Locke pointed out that this was another contract deliverable for JCPH. These exercises have already been conducted in Kitsap and Clallam Counties. This is a full-scale multimedia tabletop exercise that will encompass a severe influenza pandemic. Pandemics are graded from 1-5 and this will simulate a grade 4 pandemic. Julia Danskin invited the Board to attend. There will be several from the hospital attending and she is working to involve law enforcement. Engaging the courts and law enforcement in public health emergency preparedness is a major challenge statewide. A "bench book" of laws, relevant documents, court orders, due process rulings, and other legal resources for judges and prosecutor has been created to assist criminal justice officials in preparing for public health emergencies. AGENDA PLANNING Retreat Invite State Board of Health to the local Board of Health meeting Invite Don Sloma of the Washington Health Foundation to talk to the Board Topics to bring to the City for discussion at the City/County meeting, May 17 Meeting adjourned at 4:35 pm. Next Board of Health meeting is May 17, 2007. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH I~~,d~<,(/ Roberta Frissell, Chair ~'~rr V~ / i ~''.A v,-lIJ (t ,,~, t' "t,"",>,:~..- Sheila Westerman, Member 9d16~ Jill Buhler, Member Olympia Office, PO Box 40424 Olympia, WA 98504-0424 Washington State Senate Senator Jim Hargrove 24th Legislative District Telephone, (360) 786-7646 Toll-Free, 1-800-562-6000 March 14,2007 Jefferson County Board of Health John Austin, Vice-Chair 615 Sheridan St Port Townsend, W A 98368 Dear Mr. Austin, Thank you for your correspondence regarding HB 2012 and HB 1821. These bills both address sewage disposal. Neither HB 2012 nor HB 1821 passed out of the House Environmental Health Committee. In order for further action to be taken on either of these bills, they must be re-introduced next session. Should these bills come before me in the future, I will keep your thoughts in mind. Again, thank you for taking .the time to convey your concerns. JH:hh ~ Committees: Chair, Human Services & Corrections . Judiciary . Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation !Ii- TANC6 A'B.V\S6 ADVISORY 'B.oAR.t> Jefferson County Board of Health 123 Sheridan Avenue Port Townsend, W A 98368 Dear Board of Health: As you know, the Jefferson County Substance Abuse Advisory Board (SAAB), created by the WAC to advise the County Commissioners, was placed under the Jefferson County Board of Health and should report to the Board of Health. Since we have a primary leadership role in addressing substance abuse and its prevention, we need to have close ties and a means by which to keep the Board of Health apprised of our activities. At the risk of preaching to the choir, substance abuse in our County continues to be on the rise. Records from the County Drug and Alcohol Coordinator indicate that clients requiring an evaluation have increased by 43% in the last two years (from 212 to 304) and treatment admissions have increased by 40% (from 148 to 214) during that same time period. Included in this rise is the problem of more intense services for methamphetamine addicts. The problem of alcohol and drug abuse is so compelling, we respectfully recommend that the Chair of the Substance Abuse Advisory Board have a seat on the Board of Health to report and recommend action to the Board of Health. We know that alcohol and drugs are our number one health problem as well as our biggest problem in reducing future prison construction, criminal justice costs and crime rates. Thank you for your earliest attention to this matter. Respectfully, MAR 14 2007 /. <,'j -': J 0 Barth, Chair Jefferson Substance Abuse Advisory Board o. V RECEIVED Jefferson Coum\. Public Health . Ford Kessler, County Coordinator clo 686 Lake Street, Suite 400 Port Townsend, WA 98368 (360) 36&-3866 OC', ~(L ~ STATE OF WASHINGTON Jefferson County In the Matter of: Hood Canal Regional Septic Loan Program } } RESOLUTION NO. 34-07 WHEREAS, Jefferson County recognizes the need to address aging or failing individual onsite sewage treatment systems in the Hood Canal watershed; in other areas ofJefferson, Kitsap and Mason Counties; and on the Port Gamble S'Klallam and Skokomish Tribal Reservations; and WHEREAS, eliminating failing individual onsite sewage treatment systems in these areas has been identified as necessary to protect and improve water quality; and WHEREAS, the high cost of repair or replacement of these systems, when they fail, is a significant burden on individual homeowners, especially homeowners with low or fixed incomes, and often prevents them from addressing the problem; and WHEREAS, the Hood Canal Coordinating Council and ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia have developed a program to provide low interest loans for onsite sewage treatment system repair or replacement; and WHEREAS, ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia has a demonstrated record of success in administering financial assistance programs in rural areas of the Pacific Northwest that achieve environmental benefits; and WHEREAS, ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia has secured a significant aIIlount of private foundation funding for this new program, to be matched with an equivalent amount of public funding from the Washington State Legislature, through the Washington Department of Ecology; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Jefferson County approves this program as one of the five (5) chartering government members of the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, and agrees to use the program, and participate in it as described in the Interlocal Agreement between Jefferson, Kitsap and Mason Counties and Port Gamble S 'Klallam and Skokomish Tribes and in its associated Program Guidelines. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Jefferson County authorizes its Chair to sign that Interiocal Agreement on its behalf. ----- ,';tfvc ~ ;'0. (WED AND ADOPTED this 2nd day of April, 2007. ',J ..\l" "I. \ ~. ~ c. . " ... .'. \ ~... ...- .,\t. . " . '6 ~.,~", -.-~11" ,-e; .... ,i.: ~-/-" ~ I ~ .. ........-- '_f '. 1/.-'. .,,<$<. . _: t . ..:. / , Jr,.~.\.......;- _J.... ' AT~1.;'~ .' . (lJ..1M- -rrz.~1 C /Y) C <%lie Matthes, CMC Deputy Clerk of the Board