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January 20, 2000      MHOA Executive Board Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 9:38 am by President Ruth Clay in Room 222, Newton City Hall.  Present were Vice President, Robin Chapell, Secretary, Donna Moultrup, Treasurer, Phyllis Boucher, Executive Director, Dawn Sibor, Peter Mirandi, John Higgins, Jennifer Sullivan, Joe Godzik, Holly Detroy, Joel Hollis, Priscilla Neves, Kathleen MacVarish, Johanna Prindiville, Richard Day, Paul McNulty, Linda Shea, Greg Erickson, Karen Springer, Fredric Cantor, Steven Calichman, Jana Ferguson, David Naparstek and Jeanmarie Kent Joyce.

Ruth Clay opened the meeting by congratulating and thanking Robin Chapell for her outstanding work on the minutes over the previous two years.

Minutes:  Motion was made by Peter Mirandi and seconded by Jennifer Sullivan to approve the minutes of the December 16, 1999, meeting. Vote was unanimous.

Treasurer's Report:  A preliminary annual report was distributed.  MHOA has two CDs, a money market, checking, scholarship, and conference accounts at this time.  1999 ending balance was $141,585.91.  Of that, $1,801.70 is for the newsletter.  Motion was made by Jennifer Sullivan and seconded by Robin Chapell that $25,000 be transferred from the conference to the money market
account.  Vote was unanimous.  The Finance Committee did create a draft budget, copies of which will be available at the next meeting.  Phyllis stated that it was a "working budget," and that she anticipated the Finance Committee meeting every three months or so.  She stated that she felt that the budget was workable and that MHOA would be able to cover its expenses.  Vote was unanimous to accept the Treasurer's reports for the last quarter of 1999.  Balances were as follows:  October  $7,405.04, November  $6,091.18 and December $1,963.56.

Executive Director's Report:  David Skelley, Sanitary Inspector, and John Catania, Food Inspector, both from the Methuen Health Department were unanimously voted regular members.   A Certified Pool Operator's course is being offered at low cost for MHOA and MEHA members this spring.  The Massachusetts Institute for Local Public Health is paying $90 per person of the total cost.  There is a minimum and maximum participation for the course.  Phyllis Boucher suggested that the course be opened up to Health Board members if the classes do not fill up.  There are contractual limitations but Dawn Sibor will look into that possibility.  An evaluation summary from the December 16th quarterly meeting was distributed.  The March 16th quarterly meeting speakers will be the LSPA Board and members of DEP's Bureau of Wastesite Clean-up.  It was generally agreed that the buffet at Vinny Testas was good and that the March meeting should be held there.  Rep. Tuttle's amendment to the tattoo bill was distributed.  A meeting is planned for 1/26 at the State House, Room 549, at 12 Noon to discuss the bill with Rep. Tuttle.  Ruth Clay and several other MHOA members plan to attend.  A meeting at 2pm that day will be held with Nancy Ridley and Paul Jacobson on the same subject.  Although there was not total concensus, Ruth planned to present the following points to Rep. Tuttle:  Health Departments have no time to add another responsibility,  this is another local mandate being imposed by the State, that additional funding had to be made available, and that the statute as written contained too much detail which should be in regulations.  Members disagreed on whether MHOA should work towards keeping this on the local level with additional supports or use this opportunity to strengthen the idea of regional inspectors, either cooperative by area like the tobacco model, or out of the proposed regional health offices.  It was suggested that an educational brochure could be produced by the State for distribution by local health departments.  The salary survey was discussed at length.  There was a huge amount of data, and it has been very difficult to decide how to format the data in a useful way and then release it.  It was decided that Dawn would have the information and release it upon request.  An article to that effect will be put in the next newsletter.  Dawn also announced that she had information concerning Earth Day activities if anyone is interested.  Dave Kaplan had also sent information on legislation concerning mandatory escrow accounts for rent being withheld by tenants.  The Board agreed that it had decided previously not to take an official position on that.  Minutes of DPH's Flu Pandemic Committee are available through Dawn.  MHOA had also received a request for a representative on a DPH communicable disease committee.  Several names of nurses who are also MHOA members were suggested and Ruth Clay will follow up.  Dawn has also sent out a statewide mailing to real estate boards regarding the DEP training on Title V.  There is a calendar of events at townboard.org which has a link to the MHOA website and can be printed out.

President's Report:  Complete report is attached.  Specific discussion items only will be reported in the minutes.  The mission statement for the Coalition of Public Health, which is comprised of MEHA, MHOA, MAHB, MPHA and the Nurses' Association, was presented by Ruth Clay.  After much discussion and a revision, Peter Mirandi moved that the original mission statement be accepted.  Jennifer Sullivan moved and Richard Day seconded that the statement be accepted, but that the suggested revision be strongly encouraged, and it was so voted.  David Naparstek reported on the results of a joint meeting with MEHA concerning the possible merging of the two organizations.  It will not be an easy task and the result of that meeting was the formation of a committee with four members from each organization.  Ruth requested volunteers and Fredric Cantor, Kathleen MacVarish, Robin Chapell and Joe Godzik will represent MHOA.  MEHA had accepted Mike Moore's suggestion that an individual from the Office of Conflict Resolution facilitate the meetings of this committee.  House Bill 2171 concerning the ability of Health Departments to use non-criminal ticketing without going before Town Meeting has been reported out of committee.  It is not clear how much support there is, and it was decided that Ruth Clay will contact the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Parenti to determine how we should proceed.  Ruth stated that she will not be assuming that each committee will give a report at each meeting.  Standing Committee Chairs, who wish to make a report, should call Ruth to be put on the agenda.  An updated list of committees and chairs will be available at the next meeting.

Education Committee:  Fredric Cantor reported that the sign-up for the water quality workshop is going a little slowly, but that a good number of State and federal officials were interested.  An emergency preparedness workshop is being considered for the fall, for which some of the expenses will be covered by a grant.

Food Code:  Priscilla Neves reported that the public comment period for the new food code should be in mid-February.  They have delayed the implementation, as requested, in order to plan the training sessions.  The new report form is being piloted in several communities currently.  It was suggested that both the forms and a computer version be made available to health departments.  There will be two types of training needed for inspectors.  One will be for food manager certification, which will not be required for those with a RS or CHO, but is highly recommended.  The other training will be specific to the new code and will require a two day training.  Ruth Clay then presented a tentative schedule for the trainings including Cape Cod, Worcester, western Mass., Braintree and the north shore.  The Board agreed that MHOA should proceed to set up the trainings.  David Naparstek suggested videotaping the training so it could be available at other times.  Since the plan was to have the training be very interactive, a videotape would be very challenging, but Priscilla agreed to pursue the idea.

Community Sanitation:  Jana Ferguson reminded the Board that there will be dual training sessions on lead and camp regulations coming up.  Forms and technical assistance will be available at the training.  There will also be camp training for camp directors in February.

Bathing Beaches:  Jennifer Sullivan reported that there will probably be no changes in the bathing beach regulations this year, although they are still considering changing the indicator organism, which could possibly go into effect this summer.

DEP:   John Higgins reported that he and Jennifer Sullivan are representatives to the Local Capacity Building Project and that Commissioner Durand has been disscussing money for community preservation.  There is also a meeting next week to start the planning for Title V construction and inspection workshops.  Johanna Prindiville reported that the February DEP workshop dates are on the website.  Greg Erickson, Paul McNulty, Jeanmarie Kent Joyce and Joan Barry will be in charge of CEUs at the four locations.

Newsletter Deadline:  January 31 to Richard Marino or Joe Godzik.
Next Executive Board Meeting:  February 17, 9:30 am in Newton. Mtg. adjourned at 12:10 pm.

The meeting was called to order at 9:40 am by President Ruth Clay in Room 222, Newton City Hall.  Present were Vice President, Robin Chapell, Secretary, Donna Moultrup, Treasurer, Phyllis Boucher, Executive Director, Dawn Sibor, John Canning, Joel Hollis, Paul McNulty, Jim Nugent, Jennifer Sullivan, John Higgins, Nancy Allen, Richard Day, Kathleen MacVarish, Linda Shea, Steven Calichman, Fredric Cantor and Joseph Godzik.

Minutes:  Motion was made by John Canning and seconded by Jennifer Sullivan to approve the minutes of the January 20, 2000, meeting. Vote was unanimous.

Treasurer's Report:  Balance through January 31, 2000, was $4,491.88.  There were 150 participants at the Water Quality MEHA/MHOA all day seminar.  All of the bills have not been received, but the estimated profit is approximately $2,000.  There should be adequate funds to cover the newsletter expenses.

Executive Director's Report:  CPO trainings have 45 signed up in Wayland and 13 in Springfield.  On March 7th, John Higgins will present a Title 5 training for realtors in the Fitchburg area.  The event is being co-sponsored with the Northern Worcester County Board of Realtors.  BOH agents in the area will receive a copy of the flyer and an invitation.   Dan Ottenheimer in Gloucester has proposed that MHOA participate in a project to develop an evaluation tool for communities to determine how well they are performing their mandated responsibilities.  There was discussion about the possible overlap with some of the other local public health initiatives.  Dawn Sibor will discuss the project in more detail with Dan.  Dawn is still working on MHOA's 501C3 tax status.  She asked for and received several suggestions of lawyers who may be able to help.  There was discussion about grant possibilities, specifically Hepatitis C.  There was some feeling expressed that we could be getting overextended.  It was decided to apply for a small amount of money to prepare information that could go in local libraries and also be put on the Internet.  She will need letters of support from communities for that grant application.  The possible dental grant was tabled.   There have been several requests for a RS review course.  After much discussion, it was decided that the study guides were the most valuable and that perhaps MHOA could help make the guides more available.  There was also discussion about encouraging more minorities to choose public health and to take advantage of trainings offered.  Action steps towards this goal were tabled for now.  Joanne Martel will be MHOA's representative on the State's new communicable disease committee.  It was decided to continue the current practice of not issuing membership cards for MHOA.
 

The following new members were unanimously voted:

Regular Members:
Robin Williams, Newton Health Inspector
Lisa Hebert, Greenfield Dir. of Health
Kendell Longo, Boxford Dir. of  Public Health
Timothy Marble, Quincy Environmental Sanitarian
Meggan Eldredge, Brewster Asst. Health Dir.
Bernard Clancy, Lowell Senior Health Inspector
Mary McGrath, Braintree Acting Exec. Health Officer

Associate Members:
Russell Bailey, Mattapoisett BOH
Daniel Lee, Jr., Mattapoisett BOH
John Bowman, Mattapoisett BOH Clerk
Leonard Potter, Pres. Environ. Design, Inc.
Laura Weaver, Merrimac BOH
Stephanie Davis, USAF, Nat'l Guard, Public Health Officer
Anne Marie Fleming, No. Attleboro PHN

President's Report:  (Complete Report Attached) There will be a retirement party for Joe Tabbi on Wednesday night, May 10th, in Winchester.  Members wishing to attend should contact the Winchester Health Department.  Steve Calichman attended the Water Systems Council as the MHOA representative.  They are looking for input from local health departments on issues with private wells.  It was suggested that Nashoba would have a lot of experience in this issue and Steve volunteered to call.  Nancy Allen will remain MHOA's representative to DEP's Hazardous Waste Advisory Committee.  DPH would like a representative from MHOA to be on a committee looking at pharmacists administering vaccines.  Ruth Clay will contact MHOA members who are also pharmacists.  Fredric Cantor volunteered to represent MHOA on a West Nile Planning Committee.  Steve Calichman suggested that charcoal filters be required on septic vents to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the vent pipes.  Paul McNulty will be MHOA's representative to the Bureau of Health Assessment.  Julie Ross is the new intern for the Coalition of Public Health.  Ruth Clay discussed contributing $150 per organization on the coalition to pay a stipend for the intern and some printing costs.  Motion was made by Jim Nugent and seconded by Steve Calichman to contribute the $150.  Vote was unanimous.

DEP Report:  John Higgins's new phone number is 508-368-5605 or the switchboard is 5600.  Local Health Coordinating Council meeting is in March.  The Local Capacity Building Project report is complete and waiting to be printed.

Education Committee:  Fredric Cantor reported that the Water Quality seminar went well, although evaluation's were mixed.  He is working with the New England Consortium on an emergency preparedness workshop for spring, 2001.  He will need letters of support for the grant application necessary for this workshop.  Ruth Clay reported that the Food Manager Certification courses that will be beginning soon will offer two different exams and the Serv Safe exam will have a fee.  There was no way to know about the fee prior to the brochure going out.

Additional Committee Reports:  Fredric Cantor reminded everyone about the State's plan to encourage as many towns as possible to hold rabies clinics on Saturday, April 8th.  The State will be doing statewide advertising this year.  The Amy Naparstek scholarship applications will be due May 1.  There is a revised application this year and it will be announced in the next newsletter.  Applications can be obtained through Dawn Sibor.  Paul McNulty reported on work being done by the State Cancer Control Committee.  There is a study being conducted of people who lived near Ashland's Nianza hazardous waste site.  Boston is also doing a large project on cancer control including tree planting for shade and promotion of the use of sunscreen.  Dawn Sibor will be MHOA's representative to the Governor's Committee for oversight of the tobacco settlement.

New Business:  There was discussion about the amount of work being done by Ruth Ellen Sandler and the amount of money that MHOA  agreed to pay.  It was decided that Ruth Ellen would document time spent on projects for MHOA and that she would be given extra compensation for work beyond two workshops, four quarterly meetings and the work involved in keeping track of the general membership.

Next Executive Board Meeting:  March 16, 9:30 am at Vinny Testa's in Dedham, prior to the Quarterly Meeting.  Meeting adjourned at 12 Noon.

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 am by President Ruth Clay in a meeting room at Vinny Testa's in Dedham.  Present were Vice President, Robin Chapell, Secretary, Donna Moultrup, Thomas Carbone, Peter Mirandi, Karen Springer, Greg Erikson, Charles Kaniecki, Joel Hollis, Holly Detroy, Paul McNulty, Johanna Prindiville, Jennifer Sullivan, Joe Godzik, Kathleen MacVarish, Jean Marie Kent-Joyce, Linda Shea, Paul Hunter, Brad Prenney, Howard Wensley, Joe Tabbi, and Steve Calichman.

Minutes:  Motion was made by Paul McNulty and seconded by Jennifer Sullivan to approve the minutes of the February 17, 2000, meeting. Vote was unanimous.

Treasurer's Report:  Ruth Clay gave the treasurer's report in Phyllis Boucher's absence.  Reports from the DEP seminars and the water quality seminar will be presented at the next meeting.    The Finance Committee will be meeting in April to prepare an amended budget.

Executive Director's Report:  In Dawn Sibor's absence, the Executive Director's report was unanimously accepted.  The Hepatitis C MIni-grant was submitted and Dawn expects to hear by the end of March.  The CPO trainings went very well, as did the Title 5 training presented by John Higgins.  The food manager certification trainings are underway and also going well.  Eight scholarship applications have been requested so far.  The following new members were unanimously voted:

 
 Regular Members:
Harold T. O'Dette, Ass't Health Agent, Norton
Lillian Cormier, Health Inspector, Lowell
Linda M. Fantasia, Health Agent, Carlisle
John J. Powers, Health Agent, West Tisbury
Holly Sutherby, Code Compliance Officer, Braintree
J. Mary Sorrell, Health Agent, Granby
Laura McCarthy, Sanitary Inspector, Gloucester
Martin Rappleyea, Health Agent, Westminster
M. Alyssa Rusiecki, Health Agent, Rowley
Leonard A. Izzo, Health Agent, Hopedale

 Associate Members:
David M. Hall, Supervisor, Levangie Electric
Colleen M. Berg, Public Health Nurse, Norton
K. Christian Boysen, Principal, Land Solutions
Rochelle Bartlett, Public Health Nurse, Marblehead
Janet Rose, Registered Dietitian, Bristol County Sheriff's Office
Joseph Machado, Jr., Environmental Coordinator, Bristol County Sheriff's Office
William Creighton, Supervisor, Boston Edison
 

President's Report:  (Complete Report Attached) A report on bottled water is going to be released today.  A copy will be brought to the next meeting and a summary will be put on the MHOA website.  Interested individuals can request a copy from Ruth Clay.  The new food code will be given to the Public Health council on March 28th, with an effective date of July 1.  It will not be available in the Statehouse Bookstore until after July 1st.  A copy of the Massachusetts' amendments will be distributed at the two-day trainings, but a copy of the federal food code will need to be purchased prior to the trainings.  Ruth Clay proposed that Joe Tabbi be made a member emeritus and it was voted unanimously.  A letter from the Town of Southwick was passed around concerning the use of the "bucket test" to evaluate the quality of double-washed stone.  Tom Carbone was then asked to discuss the DEP's "Alternative Perc Test Policy."  Tom had attended the meeting to solicit support for   his objections to the policy.  It was reported that DEP is going to evaluate the policy again, so Tom volunteered to represent MHOA at that time.  It was clear from the discussion that the primary objection of the group was that MHOA was not included in the process from the beginning, and not necessarily the policy itself.  Brad Prenney and Paul Hunter presented information on the "Healthy Homes Program."  One of the goals of the program is to be able to conduct sanitary code inspections during the same visit as a lead inspection.  It was felt that it didn't make sense to only address a small piece of the overall problem.  They are in the process of working out training and collaboration with local health officials.  Members of the Board expressed the opinion that the program would be received differently depending on the jurisdiction and that it would have to be handled on a town by town basis.  Tentatively they will be starting the program in the central and western regions.

DPH Report:  Howard Wensley reported that both health agents and camps have had training and that they seemed to go well.  Steve Calichman applauded DPH's efforts regarding the camp trainings.  It was reported that the camp regulations that were mailed had one missing page and one extra page.  That will be corrected.  There will be a list forthcoming of legitimate indicator organisms for bathing beaches this summer.  USEPA is offering a workshop the week of May 14th on the sanitary survey of bathing beaches.  Ruth Clay reported that Food and Drug has been updating the list of food manager training courses and it is being published under MHOA's name.   It was decided that Ruth would contact the four organizations that offer the exams to see if they are willing to have their organizations on a list, and then health departments can refer their food service personnel to those four organizations.  There seemed to be concensus that it was important to maintain some kind of referral list for food service personnel.  If the four organizations agree, the information will be in the next newsletter and a broadcast e-mail will be sent out.

DEP Report:  Johanna Prindiville reported that the DEP seminars had been successful and that a summary of the evaluations would be ready for the next meeting.

Conference Committee:  The next meeting will be in Room 222, Newton City Hall, March 22nd, at 12 Noon.  Robin Chapell will pass around a form at the quarterly meeting today to solicit additional exhibitors and possible sponsors.  MHOA members who contribute names of companies that ultimately attend the conference will be included in a special raffle.

Education Committee:  A preliminary financial report for the CPO trainings was distributed.  MHOA will net approximately $600.  Ruth Clay reported that the registration for the two-day food service seminars has not been as expected.  A fax and letter will go out today from Food and Drug concerning the implementation of the food code and that these trainings are needed by every food inspector.  Holly Detroy stated that she was not at all comfortable working with the new code and inspection form after having the training.  She thinks that it is particularly difficult to deal with the food code and then a separate document with the Massachusetts amendments.  Ruth Clay suggested that she ask Nancy Ridley, Richard Waskiewicz, Priscilla Neves and Paul Jacobsen to attend the next meeting to discuss the implementation timetable.

Additional Committee Reports:  MA Institute for Local Public Health has received a $10,000 grant to hold two leadership seminars, the first planned for the end of May.  There may be additional grant money for workforce development.  Joe Tabbi is working with a DEP committee investigating the law governing asbestos contamination of soil.  Fredric Cantor reported on a committee concerned with the West Nile Virus.  The mosquitoes that carry the virus live in catchbasins and July is the expected time of peak activity.  A letter will be going out to Health Departments on this.  Jennifer Sullivan circulated a copy of the report from the Local Capacity Building Project.

New Business:  MHOA's election of officers was mentioned in the NEHA newsletter.  There was discussion of Joan Barry becoming the Director in Winchester and who would complete her term as the Western Mass. representative.  There is a volunteer at this point, but it was decided that Joan should be consulted before the Board made any decision.  It was reported that the tattooing legislation was moving forward.  Peter Mirandi raised the issue of pesticide applications in day care centers and schools.  Roster is still not ready.

Next Executive Board Meeting:  Thursday, April 20th, in Newton City Hall.  Meeting adjourned at 11:45 am.

The meeting opened at Newton City Hall at 9:40 A.M.  The following people were in attendance: President Ruth Clay, Vice President Robin Chapell, Executive Director Dawn Sibor, Jennifer Sullivan, Richard Day, Holly Detroy, Joel Hollis, Peter Mirandi, Greg Erickson, Joe Godzik, Karen Springer, Linda Shea, John Canning, Jay Walsh, Priscilla Neves, Richard Waskiewicz, Jana Ferguson, Nancy Allen, Paul McNulty, Jim Nugent, Kathleen MacVarish, and David Naparstek.

General Business:  Julie Ross, the Boston University intern helping the Coalition for Public Health was introduced.

Approval of minutes: A motion was made by Jennifer Sullivan to approve the MHOA minutes for the meeting of March 16, 2000.  It was seconded by Joe Godzik.  Vote-Unanimous.

Treasurer’s Report:  A motion was made by Jennifer Sullivan to approve the treasurer’s report.  It was seconded by Richard Day.  Vote-Unanimous.

Executive Director’s Report:  There will be an EPA conference in May on Water Quality Issues.  MHOA did not get the NACCHO grant on HepB because DEP is putting together a website so MHOA does not have to.  Dawn Sibor looked into our tax status. We have been incorporated since 1971 and the State has it all in their files.  Dawn knows an attorney that will do the paperwork free to become a 501C.  Dawn did find out that when you are incorporated you must file a yearly report to the State which we haven’t done since 1984.  Phyllis Boucher will file all the back reports for us since 1984.  A motion was made by Greg Erickson to accept Mike Graf, Cathleen Drinan, and Pauline Clifford as regular members and Matthew Herman, Sheila Miller and Charles Rudnick as associate members to MHOA.  It was seconded by Richard Day.  Vote-unanimous.  A motion was made by Jennifer Sullivan to accept the executive director’s report.  It was seconded by Greg Erickson.  Vote-Unanimous.

President’s Report:  The Food Manager Safety Seminars are all done.  The evaluations for the course was very positive.  Ruth Clay has been sending the results to the exam takers if they do not owe MHOA any money.  The instructor would like to offer the course again during the conference.  The Seminars were a huge amount of work.

Food Code Training:  The first round of courses are completely full (around 200 people).  The second round of people signing for courses is almost full and there is a third round of courses.  Ruth Clay gave a big thank you to Dawn Sibor and Ruth Ellen Sandler for helping administer this.  Priscilla Neves added her thanks to MHOA for their help which allowed DPH to spend their time putting materials together for the course.  Dawn Sibor downloaded the food code to sell at cost to course attendees because the book is backlogged.

Body Art Legislation:  The bill to legalize body art is still in the House.  The North West Region of The Boston Globe did a nice article on Body Art and it mentioned MHOA.  Ruth Clay was interviewed for the piece.

June Quarterly Meeting:  A motion was made by Jim Nugent to invite MHOA members to a special executive board meeting instead of a quarterly for CEUs because we are inundated with trainings.  It was seconded by Jennifer Sullivan.  The motion was defeated.  It was decided to have the June Quarterly meeting focus on community sanitation questions including tattooing.

A motion was made by Linda Shea to accept the President’s report.  The motion was seconded by Jennifer Sullivan.  The vote was unanimous.

Coalition for Local Public Health:  Julie Ross gave an update of the Coalition.  She will be visiting various local boards of health to find out their needs.  She has designed a questionnaire.  The Coalition brainstormed on an outline for her final report which will be on what local public health looks like in Massachusetts.  Robin Chapell noted that Julie Ross is doing a great job and that we are very lucky to have her.

Pesticide Bill:  Senate Bill 2134 on pesticide applications in schools is in its third reading in the House.  Parents and staff would need to be notified in advance of any pesticide application in the schools if this passes.

Relationship with MEHA:  MEHA decided not to explore a merger with MHOA at this time.  They cited that we still have philosophical differences.  Ruth Clay would like both of the group’s officers to meet to talk about our present relationship.

DPH:  Priscilla is expecting another baby June 10th!  Richard Waskiewicz attended the Food Conference in early April.  None of the votes were in conflict with our 590 Food Code.  DPH is putting together a 2-hour presentation for Boards to show their restaurants on the new food code.  MHOA will have their September quarterly meeting devoted to the food code.  Jennifer Sullivan thanked DPH for moving the implementation date of the new food code.  Kathleen MacVarish suggested that the Commissioner of Public Health write a letter to Towns and Cities letting the administration and Boards of Health know that there will be a new food code and that we need training.  Priscilla wants to update our MHOA manual on the new food code.  Holly and Kathleen will work with her on its implementation.  Jana Ferguson reported that the Public Health Council approved the emergency regulations for beaches dealing with indicator organisms.  The bathing beach survey went out again.  Money is available from the State to help Boards set up their testing if they return their surveys.   New camp inspection forms will be mailed out.  A subcommittee of FEAC called Massachusetts Partnership is willing to update and keep current a list of instructors for food manager certifications.  Ruth Clay will contact George Smith.

DEP:  The western part of the State has a new septic inspector, Larry Lopes.

Newsletter:  The deadline for articles for the June newsletter is May 15, 2000.  There will be a new column in the paper on graduate opportunities for people in the field.

Conference Committee:  The committee has been meeting regularly and has been making excellent progress.  New members to the committee are always welcome.  The next meeting starts when this meeting ends.

Public Leadership Institute:  The Institute asked for $50,000 but received $10,000 from CDC for the leadership seminar that will meet in May.  Attendees are by invitation only and they must pledge to go to a September meeting and work on the web. MHOA can have 4 representatives to this seminar.  Kathleen MacVarish, Robin Chapell, David Naparstek, and either Phyllis Boucher or Donna Moultrup will attend.   The seminar will concentrate on 4 topics, volunteer accreditation, workforce development, communication and public advocacy and outreach.   The Institute is waiting to hear about a $200,000 grant it applied for.  We will know in May if we received it.

Appointments:  MHOA needs a representative on the Hep C Coalition.  A motion was made by Greg Erickson to ask Sheila Miller (a nurse from Sharon) to be our representative.   It was seconded by Paul McNulty.  Vote-unanimous.  Richard Day will be on the scholarship committee because John Canning has to step down because his granddaughter has applied.

Roster:  Dawn Sibor and Kathleen MacVarish will get the roster ready for a printer.

New Business:  The finance committee will come up with guidelines for the use of a debit card for the organization.  CDC will be sponsoring a teleconference on Bioterroism.

Old Business:  Steve Calichman (who could not be present) asked Robin Chapell to bring up his concerns that the March minutes did not reflect the concerns about the alternative perc test procedures.  MHOA did not reconsider the minutes.  The members felt that the minutes reflected the March discussions.

The next MHOA executive board meeting will be at Vinnie Testa’s in Dedham on May 17, 2000 at 9:30 A.M.  The meeting adjoined at 11:58 A.M.

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 AM by Presidednt Ruth Clay in Room 222, Newton City Hall.  Present were Vice President, Robin Chapell, Secretary, Donna Moultrup, Treasurer, Phyllis Boucher, Executive Director, Dawn Sibor, Holly Detroy, Linda Shea, Jeanmarie Kent-Joyce, Johanna Prindiville, Greg Erickson, John Higgins, Karen Springer, David Naparstek, Peter Mirandi, John Canning, Jennifer Sullivan, Joe Godzik, Joan Barry and Kathleen MacVarish.

Minutes:  Motion was made by Jennifer Sullivan and seconded by Linda Shea to approve the minutes of the April 27, 2000, meeting after some corrections were made.  Vote was unanimous.  Appreciation was expressed to Robin Chapell who did the minutes in the Secretary's absence.

Treasurer's Report:  The Water Quality seminar had a total income of $1,119.00 bringing the newsletter account to $1,593.52.  Balance through April 30, 2000, is $6,020.03.  Report was unanimously approved.  A complete accounting of the food manager's certification and the CPO trainings has not been completed yet.

Executive Director's Report:  It has been determined that MHOA is incorporated and the reports that had not been filed with the State in recent years have been completed and submitted.  There are still questions concerning the advisability of creating a 501c3 arm of MHOA.  Dawn has asked Attorney Michele Harrison to attend the June meeting to answer questions regarding the tax-exempt status process.   The 2000 Roster will be ready for the June meeting.  Motion was made by Robin Chapell and seconded by Jennifer Sullivan that Dawn purchase a new copier for MHOA.  The cost will be approximately $400.  Vote was unanimous.  Members wishing additional copies of the "Understanding the Risk of Pathogens in Recreational Waters" conference brochure, sponsored by EPA on May 23, 2000, can be obtained from Dawn.

The following new members were unanimously voted: Regular Members: Shirley Fauteux, Oak Bluffs Health Agent Charles Flanagan, Attleboro Deputy Health Agent Beth Grossman, Ashland BOH Food Inspector. Associate Member: Stephen Turner, Consultant American Food Safety Specialists.

President's Report:  Motion was made by Robin Chapell and seconded by Jennifer Sullivan to have MHOA pay for caller identification for Ruth Ellen Sandler's business line.  In that way she would be able to identify MHOA calls without having a separate phone line.  The vote was unanimous.  Ann Marie Fleming from the North Attleboro Health Department has offered to represent MHOA at a newly formed Hepatitis C Coalition.  179 have passed and 9 failed (a 4.7% failure rate) the exams given at the Food Manager Safety Seminars.  Enrollment in the 2-day food code training has picked up considerably with between 20 and 35 scheduled for each class.

Conference Committee:  Robin Chapell reported that the planning is going very well.  There is some discussion of a charity golf tournament and the committee is looking at a comedy night for entertainment.

Mass. Institute for Local Public Health:  May 25th will be the first of two meetings with the second following in September.  Participants will volunteer to work on specific topics and work will be done over the summer.  Suggested topics are community advocacy, workforce development and a voluntary accreditation program.

Scholarship Committee:  There are six applicants.  The decision will be made by the June quarterly meeting.

Newsletter Committee:  Articles are being accepted now with a due date of May 20th.  Newsletter will be out as soon as possible in June.

Miscellaneous Reports:  Robin Chapell reported on a Department of Justice bioterrorism teleconference held last week.  There is an extensive survey that communities will be asked to complete and individuals have been hired to help with the process.  There has been some talk about including the flu pandemic survey that is being developed.  It is not clear that despite the obvious overlap in some information that the two surveys could be done simultaneously.

Greg Erickson and Jennifer Sullivan will represent MHOA on a Title 5 "roundtable."

Jana Ferguson is the new Director of Health in Hopkinton.

DEP:  Andrea Schrader is the new Public Affairs Director in Boston.

Old Business:  A long, possibly one year, process to revise the food manual is beginning.  Policy changes will be on the web; printed copies will be sold at cost.  The Q & A portions will take the longest.

The June quarterly meeting will be a week later than usual, on June 22, 2000, at Vinny Testa's in Dedham.  There was discussion of moving some of the meetings to a more westerly location.  The Ramada Inn in Auburn was suggested for the September 21st meeting.  John Higgins suggested that the Executive Board could meet in the DEP office near there.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:35 PM.

The meeting was called to order at 9:32 AM by President Ruth Clay in a meeting room at Vinny Testas' in Dedham.  Present were Vice President, Robin Chapell, Secretary, Donna Moultrup, Executive Director, Dawn Sibor, Jennifer Sullivan, Holly Detroy, Kathleen MacVarish, Paul Mcnulty, Joel Hollis, Richard Day, Jeanmarie Kent-Joyce, Johanna Prindiville, Karen Springer, John Higgins, Nancy Allen, Joan Barry, Jim Nugent, Greg Erickson, and Linda Shea.

Minutes:  After some corrections, a motion was made by Jennifer Sullivan and seconded by Holly Detroy to approve the minutes of the May 18, 2000, meeting.  Vote was unanimous.

Treasurer's Report:  There were some questions concerning the Certified Pool Operator's training report that need to be clarified by Treasurer, Phyllis Boucher, who was not  present.  A motion to approve the monthly Treasurer's report was made by Jennifer Sullivan and seconded by Richard Day.  The vote was unanimous.  An interim report on the food manager certification training was also distributed.

Executive Director's Report:  There were a few unforeseen difficulties with the roster so it will not be available today.  It will be sent with the newsletter later in the month.  They can be mailed together, bulk mail, for no additional postage.  The food code trainings continue to receive positive feedback and there are requests for fall trainings.  The copies of the Food
Code have also been appreciated.  Additional copies had to be prepared and the price has risen to $15 a copy.  The September 21st quarterly meeting will be at the Ramada Inn in Worcester and the executive board will also be meeting at the hotel.  The two Amy Naparstek Scholarship recipients, Stephanie Flynn, daughter of MHOA member, Brian Flynn, and Hien Nguyen, a health inspector for the Town of Watertown, will be attending the luncheon today.   Dawn will be expending some of her accrued compensatory hours this summer, so her response time may be a little longer than usual.  Mary Foley from a district health office has contacted Dawn about giving a presentation on fluoridation at one of the meetings.  It was suggested that it be a topic for the newsletter instead.  There was discussion about some equipment belonging to MHOA which is missing.  Ruth Clay will write to Susan Major, former Executive Director, to inquire about the equipment.

The following new members were unanimously voted:

Regular Members:
Tracey Geran, Waltham Tobacco Control Enforcement Specialist

Associate Members:
Robert Rochefort, Shaw's Food Safety Technologist
Judi Delaney-Shirley, Shaw's Food Safety Technologist

President's Report:  There is one food code training left in July.  They are overbooking since there are always a couple that don't show.  It was decided that if there is a good excuse, then they can attend the next scheduled training without additional payment.  A September training session is anticipated.  Attendees at today's meeting will be asked to sign up if they are interested in a fall food code training.  Priscilla Neves had her baby on June 20th.

DEP Report:  The revision of the system inspection forms is almost complete and should be out this summer.

Bioterrorism Preparedness Survey:  Communities with 15,000 and greater in population will be targeted.  A four page written survey will be received in the mail first and then the community can expect a call to schedule an interview with interns hired to assist with the completion of the survey.

Flu Pandemic Committee:  The original intent was to model the pandemic plan after the State's emergency planning guide.  There have been some problems with that approach, but the committee is still working with the State emergency planning agency.

DPH:  The State is about to finalize the first draft of body piercing regulations.  Jane Gallahue and Jeanmarie Kent-Joyce will represent MHOA.  No word yet on the status of the legislation on tattooing.

Conference Committee:  Kathleen MacVarish is arranging the food presentations.  The plan is to have three presentations in the afternoon, each repeated three times.  The topics will include training the trainer, how to use the food code and the use of food service equipment such as thermometers, etc.  They are hoping that some of the companies will bring
equipment to sell and offer special conference pricing.  Fredric Cantor is working on having a humorous video on food service inspections.  A golf tournament is planned for Tuesday and a comedy night is planned.  The one day food service manager certification course is also planned.  There will be an additonal cost for that.  Items for the Silent Auction were solicited.

Mass. Institute for Local Public Health:  The first seminar did take place on May 25th, but there has been no follow-up.  September 20th is the tentative date for the second seminar.  It's not clear whether that will be a general meeting or if they will break out into the four workgroups.

Beaches Bill:  Nancy Allen represents MHOA's interests in this legislation, House Bill 3134.  Howard Wensley stated that DPH is in the process of adopting everything in the beaches bill anyway, and supports the current legislation because it is planned to have funding attached.  The bill requires testing and posting of results and will provide signage and a statewide database.  Private beaches will be eliminated from the bill.

Presentation by Attorney Michele Harrison:  She outlined MHOA's current tax status as a 501c6 professional, non-profit, but not charitable organization.  A 501c3 tax status would be considered a charitable organization.  Two things will be important to prove in order to obtain this tax status:  1)  that MHOA is lessening the burden on government, which is being done through training, and she recommends expanding the website; and 2) educational benefits to the community.  Small changes may be needed in the by-laws in order to improve our chances of approval.  Another way to do this is to create a 501c3 arm of MHOA.  She suggested that perhaps MHOA could file, and if rejected, then we could consider creating a new corporation.  Ruth Clay expressed MHOA's gratitude for Michele's help with this project.

New Business:  Yankee Conference will be in Portsmouth, NH, on Sept. 27,28 and 29th.  There was considerable discussion about whether the Board should combine a tentatively scheduled meeting concerning the food code, to be held on George's Island on July 20th, with further discussion about the tax status.  The final decision was to have only interested parties attend the planned July 20th meeting and not meet at all concerning the tax status.

Meeting was adjourned at 12 Noon.  The next quarterly meeting will be held on September 21st at the Ramada Inn in Worcester.

Respectfully submitted, Donna L. Moultrup, Secretary

The meeting was called to order at 9:38 AM by President Ruth Clay in a meeting room at the Ramada Inn in Auburn.  Present were Vice President, Robin
Chapell, Secretary, Donna Moultrup, Executive Director, Dawn Sibor, Jennifer Sullivan, Holly Detroy, Kathleen MacVarish, Paul Mcnulty,  Richard Day,
Jeanmarie Kent-Joyce,  Karen Springer, John Higgins, Nancy Allen, Phyllis Boucher, Linda Shea, Howard Wensley, Joe Godzik, Steve Calichman, and Richard Waskiewicz.

Minutes:  A motion was made by Holly Detroy and seconded by Richard Day to approve the minutes of the June 22, 2000, meeting.  Vote was unanimous.

Executive Director's Report:  Appreciation was expressed to Kathleen MacVarish, Greg Erickson, Jennifer Lamb Sullivan and Ruth Ellen Sandler for all of their work on the roster, which is in the mail.  Corrections to the roster will hopefully appear in the next newsletter.  Attorney's report on 501C3 tax status arrived late last night, so there was no time to make copies prior to this meeting.  Copies will be mailed to the Executive Board and action taken at the October meeting.  The latest information on the availability of flu vaccine is that there will be a 10% cutback from this year's original allocation.  40% of the total allocated will be distributed
starting no later than October 20th.  The remainder will be distributed no later than November 10th.

There was discussion about MHOA continuing to provide copies of the food code at cost, or slightly higher, for food service establishments when towns did local trainings.  It would be a great deal of work to get them copied and then distributed to the communities needing them.  There was no absolute decision made at this time, but both the pros and cons were discussed.  Dawn is currently working on a new MHOA informational brochure.  She would welcome any suggestions.

The following new members were unanimously voted:

Regular Members:
Tara Hood, Environmental Health Agent, Needham
Terri Lynne Susi, Health Compliance Officer, Arlington

Associate Members:
Claire Sullivan, Solid Waste Planner, Dover
Stephen Lind, Engineer, Scituate

Treasurer's Report:  A new format is being used listing income and expenses. The balance as of August 31st was $3,305.56.  Phyllis suggested that $10,000
should be transferred from the money market account to checking to cover expenses.  The motion was made by Jennifer Lamb Sullivan and seconded by Joe
Godzik.  It was voted unanimously.  The roster was discussed briefly.  MHOA needes to consider the purpose of the roster, the cost of the current
format and whether it should be changed.

The Finance Committee met during the summer and MHOA is meeting its budget goals.  The goal was to break even
within five years and the projected loss for this year is $2500.  The budget report was unanimously accepted.

President's Report:  There are two more training sessions on the food code planned for October and one in January in the western part of the State.

Appreciation has been expressed concerning the efforts to hold trainings in western Mass.  Dawn Sibor is looking into the availability of grant money to pay for inspector training.  Ruth suggested that a committee be re-convened to look at massage/muscular therapy regulations.  Jean Marie Kent and Linda Shea volunteered to facilitate since they were involved in the first committee.

Several members have called for a discussion of how MHOA uses the internet.  There are questions about identification of users, advertising, broadcast e-mail of personal information, links to conference exhibitors, etc.  It was suggested that Greg Erikson, Fredric Cantor, and Rich Marino would be good candidates for the committee.  Peter Mirandi volunteered to help and it was suggested that it would be desirable to have some draft policies for the annual meeting in November, if at all possible.

There was discussion of the $100 dues now due for the Mass. Health Council.  It is believed that we need to choose a new representative if we are going to continue membership.  The issue was referred to Dave Naparstek who has represented MHOA in the past.  Ruth had sent a copy of the "Report on Local Municipal Public Health" via e-mail with the expectation that the Executive Board would vote on acceptance at this meeting.  She reported on a meeting that she had with Marc Boutin during which he expressed MAHB's reservations about the report.  MAHB believes that the current format of the report will defeat the purpose of educating the legislators concerning local public health issues.  Steve Calichman suggested that the report be sent to local legislators by the local health agent with a cover letter.  John Higgins stated that the report should be accepted, but that the executive summary should be re-done taking into account the reservations expressed by MAHB.  The latter two suggestions were the concensus of the group and this will be expressed by Ruth Clay during a Coalition meeting to be held next week.

Report from DPH:  Howard Wensley reported that a letter was going out soon regarding beavers.  Health Departments are responsible for beavers by State statute.  Richard Day will be the MHOA representative to DPH regarding beavers.  The legislative bill on body art did not get through the legislature this year.  The court case is still pending.  Howard expressed the opinion that DPH could possibly put together statewide regulations on body art.  There were a couple of serious injuries in camps this past summer.   CORIs and adult immunizations are still problems.  There are some problems that they are trying to address in sports camps which travel from town to town throughout the summer.  The legislature did pass a beaches bill, but did not provide funding.  The regulations are going to be redrafted and
there will be a hearing in early November.  Testing will be required on a weekly basis.  There will be grants of up to 50% of the cost given to the towns.  Semi-public beaches will need to test at the owner's expense.  DPH will be sending a list of approved laboratories soon.  They are encouraging a regional approach.  He also reminded everyone that motel licensing is a responsibility of Health Departments.  New housing regulations are coming which will include the submetering of heat.  Infectious waste regulations are also going to be updated.

Report from the DIVISION OF FOOD AND DRUGS:  Priscilla Neves will be returning to work today and will be answering questions during the quarterly
meeting program.  There will also be information on tuberculosis testing and flu vaccine as part of that program.  Wholesaling from residential kitchens will be allowed under the new regulations.  A notice will go out probably in early October.  It will require approval from the local zoning body.

Report from DEP:   John Higgins reported that there is a revised alternative perc test on the website.  Telephone number for John is incorrect in the roster.  The correct number is 508-368-5605.  There will be a training session on Nov. 16, 17 and 18 for people who train adults or who choose people who train adults.  It will be a small group training.  Possibly the training could be repeated in the spring.

Conference Committee:  Exhibitors are coming in slowly but surely.  Program brochures are available today and are in the mail.  Food Manager training will be available on the Friday of the conference but will be separate.  A separate mailing is going out about that.  The golf tournament will not be able to be held this year, but perhaps next year.  Mass. Institute for Local Public Health:  There will be a full day seminar at Mass. Medical on October 23rd.  A $300,000 grant has been received.  There was discussion of the MHOA representatives to the four working committees.  It was decided that Ruth Clay and Robin Chapell will move to Workforce Development and Donna Moultrup will join the Advocacy group.

Partnership for Food Safety Education:  George Smith has represented MHOA and he requested a newsletter article describing the various committees to which MHOA has appointments.  Joe Godzik stated that late November will be the next issue.

Hazardous Waste Advisory Committee:  Nancy Allen reported that the new solid waste master plan has been released.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:45 AM.  The next Executive Board meeting will be October 19th.

Respectfully submitted,

Donna L. Moultrup
Secretary

The meeting was called to order at 9:40 AM by President Ruth Clay in a meeting room at the Newton City Hall.  Present were Secretary, Donna Moultrup, Treasurer, Phyllis Boucher, Executive Director, Dawn Sibor, Jennifer Sullivan, Holly Detroy, John Canning, John Higgins, Karen Springer, Greg Erickson, Linda Shea, David Naparstek, Joel Hollis, Fredric Cantor, Johanna Prindiville, Steven Calichman, Joseph Godzik, Jim Nugent, Elissa Laitin, James Ida and Priscilla Neves.

A "Get Well" card was passed around for signatures, to be sent to past MHOA President, John Malone, due to his recent surgery.

Minutes:  A motion was made by Linda Shea and seconded by Jennifer Sullivan to approve the minutes of the September 21, 2000, meeting.  Vote was unanimous.

Treasurer's Report: The September balance was $3,098.10.  Phyllis stated that the finances may be in the black this year.  Jennifer Sullivan made the motion to accept the Treasurer's report and Linda Shea seconded it.  The vote was unanimous.

Executive Director's Report:  270 have registered for the annual conference so far.  Volunteers are needed to help with CEUs at the various sessions.  The topic for the December quarterly is to be food.  It will be held at Vinny Testa's in Dedham.  Federal food safety grants may be available in the next couple of months.  MHOA will apply when available.  Dawn Sibor and Kathleen MacVarish discussed a price list for the various items that MHOA has for sale; it was suggested that it be put on the website.  MAHB received additional tobacco program money; Ruth Clay plans to contact DPH to find out the reason.

The following new members were unanimously voted:

Regular Members:
Russell Henderson, Retired Sanitarian, Chicopee
Dawn Peter, Chair, Heath Board of Health
Chris Knuth, Health Director, Leominster

Associate Members:
Gary Swanson, Engineer, Southampton
Sam Wong, MD Consulting, Stoughton
Jennifer Murphy, Assistant Director, DPH Community Sanitation

Presentation on Chickenpox:  Ruth Clay introduced James Ida and Elissa Laitin from the Department of Public Health.  They stated that infant immunization for chickenpox began in 1996 and the 1997 total of 2,500 cases dropped to 26 cases in 2000.  The vaccine has made a huge impact, but that case reporting needs to be expanded.  They presented a program by which physicians would give chickenpox case report forms to the local Board of Health when picking up other vaccines.  The Executive Board was lukewarm to the idea, feeling that the physicians would not cooperate, because they had so much to do already.  The group also felt that school nurses and public health nurses would have a much better idea of the number of actual cases.  Greg Erickson suggested that MHOA meet with Dr. Bela Matyas concerning all disease reporting.  An advisory on flu vaccine was distributed.  The CDC has diverted flu vaccine to States that have not received any, which will cause further delay in Massachusetts.

President's Report:  Richard Day is MHOA's representative on the Beaver Task Force.  A meeting is being planned in the near future.  There has been discussion of updating the model masssage regulations.  Jim Nugent, Jean Marie Kent-Joyce, David Naparstek and Linda Shea were on the original committee and are interested in being a part of the review committee.  Tattooing must be allowed according to the judge.  The senate has not voted on legislation yet.  DPH will create regulations as soon as the enabling legislation has been passed.  NACCHO has invited Massachusetts to be a local affiliate.  It will be discussed at a meeting on Sunday, November 12th, in Boston.  Ruth Clay will be at the meeting.  Donna Moultrup, Fredric Cantor and Joe Godzik also volunteered to attend.  The nominating committee for the executive board elections is appointed by the President and consists of three regular members.  Greg Erikson, David Naparstek and Jennifer Sullivan will be on this year's committee.  The names of ten regular members must be nominated for the regional and at-large representatives.
Tax Status:  The paperwork is essentially ready to file.  MHOA needs to increase its educational offerings to the public.  It was suggested that towns could have a link to the MHOA website.  Lobbying needs to be kept to a small percentage of time and resources.

Report from DPH:  Priscilla Neves gave an update on the new food code.  Developing a website and producing a Q & A are the next tasks.  After the first of the year, they would like to put together a training for inspectors.  They are doing four trainings for MAHB.

Report from DEP:   Survey was distributed concerning possible topics for the February forum.  There have been a number of personnel changes within DEP.
John Higgins will forward the changes to Joe Godzik for the next newsletter.

Newsletter:  Next issue due out at the end of November.  Ruth suggested an article on publishing the results of food service inspections.  Pat Maloney could possibly write an article on the pros and cons.  Bruce Potter from the Mass. Restaurant Assoc. would like to reprint a speech that he gave in the newsletter.

Conference Committee:  Robin Chapell could not be present today, but the conference planning is proceeding very well.

Mass. Institute for Local Public Health:  The meeting on the 23rd was well received.  A half-day meeting is planned for December.

Education Committee:  West Nile virus and other emergent diseases has been suggested as a topic.  Fredric Cantor is still working on the emergency management idea.

New Business:  Joe Godzik discussed new infrared technology to locate pollution through the measure of heat conduction.  The idea of having DEP purchase several of these cameras, which could then be used by local health departments, has been presented to EOEA.  There has been reluctance on the part of the company to work with DEP.  Joe Godzik volunteered to work with the company and MHOA will write a letter of support.

Joe Godzik also proposed that MHOA support a ban on lindane, which has been banned by California.  He was referred to the Academy of Pediatrics to find out if there was a unified movement concerning the banning of lindane.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:50 AM.  The next meeting will be the annual meeting at the conference, November 1st.

Respectfully submitted,
Donna L. Moultrup
Secretary

The annual meeting of the Massachusetts Health Officers' Association came to order at 5:15 PM on November 1, 2000, in the ballroom at the Sheraton Hyannis
Resort as part of the 33rd MHOA Annual Conference.

Present were President, Ruth Clay, Vice-President, Robin Chapell, Secretary, Donna Moultrup, Treasurer, Phyllis Boucher, Fredric Cantor, John Coulon, Joe
Godzik, Kevin O'Brien, Mary Thomas, Kathleen MacVarish, Richard Marino, Joan Barry, Jane Gallahue, Paul McNulty, Joe Tabbi, Kent Murphy, Bill Iannucci,
Howard Wensley, Beverly Hirschhorn, Gary Swanson, Philip Leger, Dawn Peter, Maxine Schmidt, Russell Henderson, John Canning, Jennifer Sullivan, David
Naparstek, Geraldine Swanson, Bob Jacques, Karen Springer, Lou-Ann Clement, Joel Hollis, Linda Shea, Jean-Marie Kent Joyce, Richard Ray, James Conlon,
Gail Nixon, Jim Nugent, Nancy Allen and Greg Erickson.  Two additional names on the list could not be read.

President Ruth Clay opened the meeting with an update on the tattooing regulations in the Commonwealth.  There are apparently two options that the Department of Public Health is considering:  one is to distribute the Department of Public Health's draft regulations to local boards of health, and the other is to have the Public Health Council promulgate emergency regulations and then have a public hearing.  Boards will have to promulgate the regulations on the local level.  The statute itself is being considered in the Ways and Means Committee and is not expected out of committee in the near future.

Elections were then held.  The slate of nominations for officers was voted unanimously:  Ruth Clay for President, Robin Chapell for Vice-President, Donna Moultrup for Secretary and Phyllis Boucher for Treasurer.

Regional caucuses were then held and the following regional representatives were elected:  Peter Mirandi for the Northeast, Linda Shea for Metro, Jean-Marie Kent Joyce for Southeast, Nancy Allen for Central and Russel Henderson for the Western region.

Nominations were then accepted for at-large representatives and the following elected:  John Canning, Steve Calichman, Fredric Cantor, Richard Day, Joel Hollis, Paul McNulty, Jim Nugent, Joe Godzik, Holly Detroy and Joan Barry.

Members were reminded to visit the exhibit hall during the conference.
Meeting adjourned at 5:33 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Donna L. Moultrup
Secretary