In attendance: R. Wilson; D. Cofrancesco; A. Levison; V. Gallo; A. Hanke; M. Rochow.  Ex officio: L. Balch; D. Culligan and L. Fox, staff. 

Not in attendance: J. Donaldson; R. Ivins; P.Marone; A.Sofair (was available by telephone for discussion on tattoo regulations); B. Scott-Moore; R. Wilson; M. Rochow; L. DeNegre; C. Goldberg.

 The meeting was called to order by L. Balch, Secretary/Treasurer at 4:30 p.m. A quorum was declared present with two towns represented. All action items were approved by consensus, and will be presented to the Executive Committee. The new alternate Board member for Hamden, A. Hanke, was introduced.

 APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The minutes were approved by consensus with no corrections noted. 

 FINANCIAL REPORT

L. Balch presented the financial report for the period ending September 30, 2014

• Target: 25%; Revenue: 33%; Expense: 22%   
• No major financial issues at this time, but there is concern about continuing to operate with a deficit budget.

The financial report was accepted to be placed on file.

Budget for FY2016

In preparation for submission of the FY16 budget request to the towns, L. Balch asked the Board to consider an increased per capita request.  In 1991, the per capita funding from towns was $5.11 per capita and currently is $5.25. Operating deficits for the past 3 years were presented. The reserve is approximately $80,000 below the recommended 25% of operating budget.  Discussion followed. Board consensus was that a $0.25 increase was a reasonable request.   

 COMMITTEE REPORTS

Personnel Committee

No Report.

 Finance Committee

No report.

 Special Projects Committee-Tattoo Regulations

M. Rochow presented the final draft of the QVHD tattoo regulations for discussion and comments. Minor changes have been made. Some of the highlighted or bolded points that M. Rochow had suggested appear in the body of the regulation will be summarized in a separate fact sheet, A. Sofair had question about sterile ink and procedures. L. Fox and L. Balch will observe this process before finalizing the regulations to incorporate all comments and changes. The regulations were approved by consensus to be distributed and considered for public hearing in the final draft form.

 Food Service Ratings

The proposed food service ratings system, an addition to the Food Service Licensing Regulations, was distributed to Board members for review prior to the meeting. L. Balch noted:

• These ratings will be implemented in two stages: Stage 1: The ratings will be posted on the website. Stage 2: The ratings will be posted at the establishment in full view for patrons’ information (approximately 6 months later.)
• Postings will clearly state the rating are for sanitary conditions and are not a rating of the food.
• Only Class 3 and Class 4 will be rated, as those are the facilities who cook, serve and/or reheat food.
• No schools, elderly facilities, governmental facilities or daycares will be publically rated, although inspection information is available upon request.
• Notice to the affected establishments will be the first step in the process, followed by a public hearing. After the hearing and final adoption by QVHD, information about the rating system will be publicized to the public.

The addition of food service ratings system was approved by consensus and will be passed to the Executive committee for a public hearing schedule.

 ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Health Education Reportpresented by D. Culligan:

• Family University: D. Culligan was to present a workshop, “Health Begins at Home,” at the Hamden Family University in October but it was cancelled due to low enrollment. It is rescheduled for March, 2015.  
• MRC Conference:  D. Culligan attended a Medical Reserve Conference at Water’s Edge as the new MRC coordinator for QVHD. 
• Website: D. Culligan has been working on creating a restricted page on the website for the QVHD MRC and other volunteers.

 Report of the Director of Health by L. Balch:

•  QVHD’s existing health insurance policy is renewable in December. It is estimated to increase by $20,000, bringing the QVHD expense to just under $200,000 and greater costs to the employee.  Dental coverage provided for the employee by QVHD has increased nearly 100%. The representative for the Union suggested that QVHD look into the State health insurance plan. QVHD is awaiting an estimate and plan details for consideration by the staff. The QVHD Union contract was negotiated with a reopen clause for health insurance negotiations.
• L. Balch presented an update on Ebola as it relates to the state of CT and QVHD. She noted that QVHD has the responsibility for quarantine active monitoring of individuals returning from an affected country or for those who cared for an Ebola patient. In CT, all such persons will be quarantined. QVHD has been communicating with town departments and school districts to inform them about QVHD’s role and to establish communication lines.
• QVHD will post information Ebola information on the QVHD website.

 OTHER:

R. Wilson asked about the action of people putting dog feces down catch basins. She wondered if QVHD was involved in monitoring or assessing this. L. Balch noted that it is not our jurisdiction except as a general public health nuisance, but  in the past QVHD has distributed information about protecting the waterways, and will do this again. R. Wilson also asked about a petition she received regarding a pesticide campaign and again queried what role QVHD would have in this. L. Balch noted that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) had strict rules over pesticides and this too can be responded to as a general nuisance and referred to DEEP.

 At 6:20 p.m. the meeting was adjourned.  

 Minutes prepared by D. Culligan

 The next regular meeting of the Board of Health will be held December 11, 2014 at 4:30 P.M. at the QVHD office, 1151 Hartford Turnpike, North Haven CT 06473.