HomeMy WebLinkAboutHealth Board - Minutes - 8/20/2012
BAYFIELD COUNTY
BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING
Monday, August 20, 2012 – 4:00 PM
Present: John Bennett, Beth Meyers, Winefred Punjak, Wayne Williams, Harold Maki
Absent: Ken Jardine, Grace Heitsch, Elaine Kopp
Staff: Terri Kramolis, Cathy Moore, Anne-Marie Coy
1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:01 p.m. by Chairperson Meyers.
2. Approval of June 18, 2012 Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes of the June 18, 2012
meeting was made by Williams; motion seconded by Punjak. Motion carried.
3. Adoption of Agenda: A motion to adopt the agenda was made by Bennett; motion seconded Maki.
Motion carried.
4. Review of Budget through June 30, 2012: We are right on track with expenditures. We receive two
types of grants. State and federal grants that come in 1/12th payments. Others grants are ones we
write for and are generally one time grants. They are generally to purchase program items that we use
in the community. They do not allow us to offset staff time. Our Radon Grant was used to buy radon
test kits. The EPA lost this funding so we will not be getting that grant next year. Our car seat grant
was to by car seats. A motion to approve the report was made by Bennett; motion seconded by
Williams. Motion carried.
5. Review of 2013 Budget: Our revenues and expenditures will be down for 2013. This is based on the
loss of grants. We will not know the exact amount of our grants until sometime in September. We
will not be doing the oral health program this year so our revenue is down but so are our
expenditures. The levy is staying exactly the same as 2011 and 2012. We are not cutting anyone’s
time or position. In fact we are actually increasing some staff time. None of the figures are an over
projection. These are the amounts we expect to get. A motion to approve the budget with a requested
levy amount of $280,810 was made by Maki; motion seconded by Bennett. Motion carried.
6. The Lakes Community Health Center Seal-A-Smile Award: We used to have this grant and had a
hygienist employed to go into the schools and apply sealants on children’s teeth. We gave our oral
health program to the Lakes Community Health Center (TLC). We would get around $15,000 to run
this program; TLC received $2,000. TLC was pleased to get anything. They feel they can generate
about $100,000 in revenue from this program. Since they are a federally qualified health center, they
can bill at 100 percent where we cannot. They have been doing fluoride varnishes in day cares and at
WIC. A letter will go out to all dental providers this week explaining this transition process and
looking for referrals. When we did the program and kids needed further dental care we made a
referral. The children didn’t always make it to see a dentist. Now with TLC doing the program, they
can refer children right to their own clinic if the children do not already have a dental home. And
when the children are seen in the school, since they are bring seen by a dentist, some corrective work
can be done right on site. We did the program because by applying varnishes and sealants there was
some level of protection.
7. 317 VFC Funding Changes: Both the health departments and clinics receive vaccine through the
Vaccine for Children (VFC) program free. Public health departments also receive vaccine through
317 funds. 317 funds are discretionary funds. Vaccine given to clinics does not come out of this
fund. The federal government has told us there will be stricter guidelines as to who we can give this
vaccine to. Starting October 1, 2012, health departments will no longer be able to give
immunizations to anyone who has insurance that will cover vaccines using 317 Vaccine or VFC
vaccines. As a public health department we were always able to vaccinate anyone. Now we will
have to screen people and if they have insurance that will pay for vaccines we will have to refer them
to a clinic. As a health department, we targeted schools and gave catch-up immunizations in the
schools to children who needed them. We will no longer be going into the schools. We cannot afford
to screen every child in every school. This is the last year we will be able to give flu vaccines in the
schools. We expect to see our immunization rates drop. A letter is being sent to all clinics, at the
request of the state and CDC, informing them that they can no longer refer people with insurance
covering vaccines to the health department. Kramolis sent a letter to the state describing the
uniqueness of a rural area and how hard it is to get kids in for immunizations. Maki is against what
they are doing. Maki suggested a letter be sent from the county board stating they find this
unacceptable. Kramolis will craft a letter and try to get it on the agenda for this month’s county board
meeting.
8. Letter of Commitment to Northwoods Preparedness Collaborative for Grant Application:
Kramolis is seeking a letter of commitment from our board, specifically from Meyers, for a grant the
Northwoods Preparedness Collaborative is writing. It is a $200,000 grant looking at shared services.
The letter is saying Bayfield County Health Department will step forward with a commitment to
Marathon County Health Department, who is the fiscal agent, to seek this grant and if awarded will
participate in meetings as they build a shared services collaborative study. We are not committed to
anything beyond going to meetings. Bayfield County will not receive any funding if the grant is
awarded. The overall goal of the grant is to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, capacity, and
performance of the involved governmental public health agencies. This is not merging departments;
only collaborating on how to enhance services. The only cost will be some travel expenses. This
does not preclude us from applying for any grants. A motion to approve the letter of commitment and
enter into the collaborative was made by Bennett; motion seconded by Williams. Motion carried.
9. Environmental Health:
a. Inspections Report:
The Board reviewed the number of inspections, pre-inspections, re-inspections and other
activities done by the environmental health staff. A question regarding what it takes to have an
inspection done was asked. Coy explained that every facility is inspected one time per year
unless there is a complaint or they have something that needs to be fixed. There are only certain
things that a facility can be closed for. An issue with cleanliness is one of them. The primary
focus of inspections is things that will make people sick such as temperature requirements, food
handling, etc. After those have been addressed then things such as cleanliness, holes in the walls,
etc. will be addressed. When a facility changes hands is a good time to get some things fixed that
the former owner may have let go to get the facility up to code.
The Cities of Bayfield and Washburn are trying to put a chicken ordinance in there laws.
Concern has been expressed by Bayfield residents that they are going to be free range. They will
not be free range. The number will be limited and they will have to be in some type of coop.
They also will not be allowed to have roosters. We think they will need to get a yearly permit.
As long as there haven’t been any complaints or problems the license will be renewed. If the
person is renting, they will need to have written approval from the owner. This is not an
ordinance yet.
UW-Oshkosh received funding to do upgrades at Thompson’s West End Park. The money is to
actually do the work not for planning. The Board was given the background of the issues with
Thompson’s West End Park. The City of Washburn has its own plans for expanding sites. UW-
Oshkosh said those plans could be integrated in these plans. This was the only beach funded.
Apparently the Waste Water Treatment Plant in the City of Washburn was dumping raw sewage
into the lake near Thompson’s West End Park. This may have been what caused the beach to be
closed so many times. It is now listed as an EPA impaired beach. The Health Department was
unaware of this. The WI DNR knew about this but did not inform us. The WI DNR didn’t know
there had been any beach closures. Washburn City Hall was contacted with the news of the
funding. There is a City Council meeting tonight. It is too late to be put on the agenda but the
City Clerk will put a copy of the letter in each council member’s mailbox. UW-Oshkosh would
like to hold meetings to get resident input and ideas this fall so construction can start next spring.
If the City of Washburn doesn’t want the funding, UW-Oshkosh would like to know so can offer
the funding to another beach. Maki feels a letter of reprimand should be sent to the WI DNR.
Another problem at the beach is the outfall comes out right at the head of the beach. Every time
it rains all the impurities from driveways, parking lots, etc. is washing down to the beach.
The State is trying to send through State Senate Bill 482 as soon as possible. This bill affects
licensing tourist rooming houses. It states that no municipality can stop someone from renting
out their home by the week. They will not need any kind of permit from zoning, health
department, city, etc. They only need to be licensed if they do nightly rentals. We don’t know
how this will impact our revenue. Coy spoke with a few property management companies in
Bayfield and they felt they would still like to option of doing nightly rentals. Cable are will
probably lean more toward weekly rentals.
10. Status of Human Health Hazard Complaint on West Bressette Road: The Board was shown
pictures of a human health hazard situation in Bayfield. The property owner lives in Florida and rents
out the property. A certified letter was sent to the property owner and the renter. The letter sent to
the renter came back unopened. The letter consisted of an order to clean up the property in 30 days.
After 30 days the property was inspected again and more garbage had been added. The property
owner was called and told the renter had not cleaned up the garbage and now the responsibility falls
on her to clean it up. The property owner was told she another 30 days to do the clean-up. If it is not
cleaned up by that time, by State Statute, the health department can order it cleaned up and either
send her the bill or put on her taxes.
11. Next Meeting Date: October 15, 2012 – 4:00 pm
12. Other Issues: Kramolis and Meyers have talked about sending a letter to Grace Heitsch, MD asking
her to step down as the Health Department’s Medical Director. Deb Dryer, MD is willing to be our
Medical Director. Kramolis is to draft a letter asking Grace to step down and Meyers will sign it.
13. Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 5:11 pm.
Respectfully Submitted
Cathy Moore, Office Manager