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Home My WebLink About2024_12_19_BOH_Minutes_Executedis Hea REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Jefferson County Board of Health Thursday, December 19, 2024 @ 2:30 p.m. Jefferson County Courthouse — Commissioners' Chambers 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA Hybrid Meeting Board Members Greg Brotherton, County Commissioner, District #3 Kate Dean, Chair, County Commissioner District #1 Heidi Eisenhour, County Commissioner, District #2 Amanda Grace, Vice -Chair, Community Stakeholder Dr. Kees Kolff, Public Hospital District #2 Commissioner Monica MickHager, Port Townsend City Council [Vacant], Consumer of Public Health [Vacant], Tribal Representative Staff Members Denise Banker, Community Health Director Dr. Allison Berry, Health Officer Michael Dawson, Water Quality Manager Alisa Hasbrouck, Environmental Health Manager Apple Martine, Public Health Director Pinky Mingo, Environmental Public Health Director Veronica Shaw, Public Health Deputy Director Chair Dean called the December 19, 2024 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:30 p.m. Members Present: Chair Kate Dean, Vice -Chair Amanda Grace, Members Greg Brotherton, Heidi Eisenhour, Dr. Kees Kolff and Monica MickHager. Staff Present: Staff Members Denise Banker, Dr. Allison Berry, Michael Dawson, Alisa Hasbrouck, Pinky Mingo and Veronica Shaw. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Dean called for public comment. There being none, the option was left open for public comment to be made in the ensuing 15 minutes. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Dean called for a motion to accept the agenda for December 19, 2024. Due to the absence of Public Health Director Apple Martine, the Public Health Report will be delivered by Deputy Director Veronica Shaw, and agenda item V.6 Foundational Public Health Services Update will be postponed till a later meeting. MOTION: Member Brotherton moved to approve the agenda as amended. Member Eisenhour seconded the motion, which carried by a unanimous vote. Respectfully submitted Page 1 of 4 G. Gilbert APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Dean requested a motion to approve the minutes of the November 21, 2024 meeting. MOTION: Member Eisenhour moved to approve the minutes. Member MickHager seconded the motion, which carried by a unanimous vote. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) Report Staff Member Shaw provided a brief description of current JCPH programs and activities, including recent community events in Port Townsend & Quilcene held by EPH staff to share new Septic Code changes, and the rollout of the new Environmental Data Dashboard, created by the CHA/CHIP & Assessment Team. Significantly, JCPH's WIC (Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) team received a prestigious 2024 USDA WIC Breastfeeding Award of Excellence -Gold Award. 2. Jefferson Healthcare Report Member Kolff reported that the hospital replacement and expansion project is on schedule. Jefferson Healthcare is seeking community input on the hospital's strategic plan. - PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Dean interrupted Old Business in order to allow comment from a member of the public. Commenter queried the reasoning behind alarmist reports concerning avian flu, and the justification behind the State of California's declaration of a state of emergency. Dr. Berry agreed that the California state of emergency seemed premature, though California could experience an economic emergency due to the significance of the state's dairy cattle industry. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS (continued) 3. Infectious Diseases Update Dr. Berry announced a current rise in standard seasonal influenza, and recommended flu vaccine and masking. COVID infections are currently minimal, but there is an untick in RSV, regionally but not in the county: RSV vaccine is recommended for those aged 70+ (65+ with complicating factors), infants and pregnant women. Concerning avian flu, a first serious human case has been identified (still not a problem locally). Persons in regular contact with poultry and dairy cows should consider wearing masks and gloves and, in the case of poultry, keep them out of the house. In response to a question concerning possible drying up of public health funding in response to a potential federal government shutdown, Dr. Berry replied there was currently no news on the subject. NEW BUSINESS 1. [POTENTIAL ACTION] Election of Board of Health Chair and Vice -Chair for 2025 After a brief discussion: MOTION: Member Brotherton moved to elect Member Grace as Chair and Member MickHager as Vice -Chair. Member Eisenhour seconded the motion, which carried by a unanimous vote. Respectfully submitted Page 2 of 4 G. Gilbert 2. [POTENTIAL ACTION] Appointment of New Representative and Alternate to the Behavioral Health Advisory Committee (BHAC) Member Eisenhour described the work of the Committee, significantly distributing proceeds from the 1/10 of 1% Tax and Opioid Settlement Funds. Member Kolff volunteered to serve as Representative; selection of the Alternate Representative was postponed until a later meeting. MOTION: Member Eisenhour moved to elect Member Kolff as Representative to the BHAC. Member MickHager seconded the motion, which carried by a unanimous vote. 3. Discussion of Board of Health Membership The clerk of the Board provided an update on the status of selection of a new Consumer of Public Health BoH member. Member Kolff described progress in recruiting a Tribal Representative to the Board. 4. [POTENTIAL ACTION] BoH Adoption of the Code Compliance Rules of Procedure Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ariel Speser, with input by Staff Member Pinky Mingo, provided a brief slideshow describing new Code Compliance Rules (approved by the Board of County Commissioners; also requiring BoH approval). MOTION: Member Brotherton moved to adopt the Code Compliance Rules of Procedure. Member Eisenhour seconded the motion, which carried by a unanimous vote. 5. Briefing on the BoH Subcommittee to examine development solutions on small lots. The BOH subcommittee began in March of 2024 to discuss development of small lots and to clarify when an RV tank can be pumped. Language in the code was clarified to make it clear that septic pumpers can pump RVs. The On -site Team is making it easier for small lot development by relaxing current minimum lot sizes, but is still more stringent than the current state rules. EH is taking a precautionary approach as research demonstrates that small lot sizes and density can contaminate drinking and surface water. In addition, the state rule only considered nitrogen, not contaminants of emerging concern such as Pfafs. 6. Foundational Public Health Services Update Postponed. FUTURE POTENTIAL AGENDA TOPICS ANNOUNCEMENTS This being Chair Dean's last meeting as a member of the Board of Health, thanks were offered for all she has done for the county, the community and for public health. New County Commissioner and member of the Board of Health Heather Dudley-Nollette was present and was introduced to the Board and staff. AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR The Agenda Planning Meeting for the next regular meeting of the Board will be held on January 9, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. The next regular Board of Health meeting will be held as a hybrid meeting on Thursday, January 16, 2024 from 2:30 p.m. — 4:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted Page 3 of 4 G. Gilbert ADJOURNMENT Chair Dean adjourned the December 19, 2024 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting at 4:10 p.m. until the next Regular Meeting or Special Meeting as properly noticed. JEFFERSON NTY BOARD OF HEALTH Kate Dean, Chair Glenn Gilbert, I blic ealt Assistant 1 Respectfully submitted Page 4 of 4 G. Gilbert