Lincoln Board of Health
Meeting Minutes
October 20, 2004
PRESENT: Frederick Mansfield, M.D., Chairman
Arnold Weinberg, M.D.
Michael Moore, Agent
Elaine Carroll, Secretary
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The minutes from the Sept. 15 meeting were approved as written. The next meeting will be November 3, 2004.
School Nurse The members met with Maureen Richichi, the new school nurse, who told the members that her background was in public health, visiting nursing and drug prevention coordinator. The members wanted to know what was going on at the schools and Maureen said that things are quiet now but that they are trying to get the children to wash their hands more and will try to keep the sick children home during the flu season. There was also a discussion about the flu vaccine shortage and Mike Moore said that we were still waiting to see what the State would allot to the local towns. He said that even privately purchased supplies must be report to the State. Dr. Weinberg will do a press release for the Lincoln Journal and e-mail it to Mike. Dr. Weinberg said that there are medicines,
which are helpful to prevent or treat the flu. The flu clinic is still scheduled for Nov. 13 with the hope that we will get some vaccine by then but it may be done by appointment only. The school nurse is also responsible for following up on communicable disease reports from the State. The members would like to see these reports at future meetings.
Food Establishments:
WhistleStop Brian Mehigan could not come in tonight but he told Mike that there are no changes since the last meeting. He is still working on the plan for the additional space. He told Mike that he had to raise his prices 25 cents across the board. Mike did inspect the premises and found it to be clean. Mike will write a letter to the Rural Land Foundation, owners of the Lincoln Mall, saying that the Board recommends that the WhistleStop needs to provide bathroom facilities for its customers. Mr. Mehigan would like to sell breakfast sandwiches and Mike told him that he will need to come before the Board again to request any change in the menu. The Board renewed the license for the WhistleStop for another 30 days with no changes.
Septic System Reviews:
Lincoln Ridge This hearing is continued from last month, and may have to be continued until next month. Hearing notices that were sent out by the petitioner by certified mail told abutters that the hearing would be held on Thursday, October 21. This would probably cause DEP to reject any variance request approved by the Board of Health. The petitioner came in with revised plans for the approval of the Board. The systems for Units 52 and 54 have been rotated and do not require variances. The 3 proposed systems that serve 12-18 Birchwood Lane, 26 and 28 Windingwood Lane and 30-36 Windingwood Lane still require a variance for the depth of cover over the leaching facility. They are asking for a conditional pass for these systems until they can perform the proper excavations to
demonstrate compliance with groundwater and pervious soil requirements contained within Title 5. The systems are deep to use gravity and because of natural grade and to preserve the natural landscape. There will be a minimum of 6 to 8 feet of cover over the leaching facilities, which is 3 to 5 feet more than Title 5 allows. Buzz Constable of the Lincoln Ridge Conservation Trust said that they approved the proposed systems on its land as consistent with the very limited rights to do so, conveyed by the developers to the Condominium Association. Reasons for variance requests:
(1) System components located on land owned by Lincoln Ridge Conservation Trust would violate local amendment to 310 CMR 15.100(5).
(2) Leaching facilities constructed with no separation between the bottom of stone and the Board of Health approved high ground-water elevation would violate 310 CMR 15.212.
(3) System components constructed with more than 36 inches of cover material would violate 310 CMR 15.221(7).
(4) Leaching facilities constructed with less than four feet of separation between the bottom of stone and the bottom of the nearest deep observation hole would violate 310 CMR 15.240(1).
After a brief discussion with the engineers and various members of the Lincoln Ridge Homeowners Association, a motion was made to grant the variances as requested. The motion passed 2-0. The members considered the construction of the pump system more disruptive to the environment than using a deep cover gravity system. They also felt that having the systems deep makes crossing the water lines easier and is less expensive than a pump system. The petitioner will be sending 4 plans to DEP and do additional perc tests.
177 Concord Road At the last meeting, the Board heard a request for and granted 4 local variances for a proposed septic system (see Sept. 15, 2004 minutes). The petitioner is now asking the Board to grant one additional variance from its local regulations:
1) To construct a leaching facility which is not increased by 50% to provide for potential garbage grinder installation whether or not a garbage grinder is initially installed as required by local amendment to 310 CMR 15.203(2).
If the exact same system is constructed, and it is not sized for a grinder, then the leaching capacity will be 33% larger. Increasing the approved carrying capacity by 33% to 370 gallons per day will make this a 3-bedroom system, instead of a 2-bedroom system. After a brief discussion with Bill Murphy and Pat Gray of The Food Project, at which time Pat Gray said that the footprint of the house would stay the same. The farmer that they found has 4 children. This property is needed for their farmer and not for resale. They said that there is no issue with the Conservation Commission. A motion was made to grant the variance as requested provided that a deed restriction is filed, which prohibits the installation of a garbage grinder and, as before, that the lot line is professionally staked
before construction. The motion passed 2-0.
Other Business:
Bill Paid One bill was paid: Town of Lexington for Hazardous Waste Collection in August for $845.46.
Mosquito Control and Conservation Commission The members of the Conservation Commission were unable to meet with the BoH members tonight. There was a discussion about what projects the members would want to get done by the Mosquito Control, which could include dredging irrigation ditches. A possible project could be the Lincoln Woods swamp and Elaine Carroll will mention this to Tom Gumbart.
145 Tower Road Subdivision Dr. Mansfield received an e-mail from an abutter to 145 Tower Road who was concerned about any pesticides, which were used on that parcel because of apple trees. Mike said that they could be requested to give us a report of any contamination and asked Elaine to get a plan from the Planning Board for the proposed subdivision.
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There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine M. Carroll
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