Candid discussion about ongoing tensions among members opened the Marblehead Board of Health’s meeting on Tuesday.
Board member Joanne Miller said, “What we’re kind of missing is: Working as a board is hard when you can’t talk outside of meetings.”
Under the Open Meeting Law, a majority of officials serving on the same governing board cannot meet privately outside of an official public meeting and discuss board of health business. For a three-member board, a majority would consist of two members. Therefore, if two of the three board members were to meet in private and discuss business, this would constitute an unlawful meeting lacking proper public notice and access.
“When you work with people, you often get a chance to know them by having conversations with them, and learning about them and learning their stories and what’s important to them and how they see things and what their perspectives are,” Miller said.
She added they haven’t had the chance to carry that out.
“And I just think it’s a really, really important part of working together, building trust through conversation,” Miller said.
She went on to praise recent collaborative efforts by the board, including unanimous votes to expand to five members and approve making fentanyl test strips and narcan available in town. She also praised the idea for a public health advisory committee.
“I think now with the news The Boston Globe was talking about what happened in Lynn this past week with millions of fentanyl pills that were confiscated … now we’ve got these strips, and I’m really grateful that you lead with that,” Miller said, thanking fellow member Tom McMahon for originally proposing that measure.
McMahon voiced frustrations over his difficulty getting items added to agendas.
“I go into every meeting and my mentality is I have to insert this in somewhere. Helaine is going to object [and] obstruct, and I have to convince Joanne — and that’s my mentality every meeting and that’s never the way it should be,” he said, referring to Chair Helaine Hazlett.
Hazlett said she looked forward “to healthy discussions, collegiality and addressing issues to improve the health of our residents.”
She added, “It takes a lot of teamwork to do that.”
Meanwhile, the future of public health was a main focus during Tuesday’s meeting.
Transfer Station
Public Health Director Andrew Petty said the trailer at the Transfer Station will be replaced starting Nov. 30. He estimated it will take 2 1/2 days to remove the old trailer, install the new one and get it operational.
The work will cost a total of $6,000; $2,200 for the trailer and the rest for labor by local contractors. Petty said he hopes to keep the Transfer Station open for residents during the work but that it may need to close at times.
The long-delayed renovation project at the Transfer Station has hit yet another snag. Petty told the Board of Health that while the town has submitted all necessary construction documents, it is still awaiting final permit approval from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to move forward with the project.
Petty said the town’s hands are tied until MassDEP gives the green light. The town’s project engineer planned to get clarity on the timeline for permit approval.
Once permitting is secured, Marblehead can initiate the bidding process, which Petty hopes to start early next year.
Residents have grown increasingly frustrated over the years over delays to modernize the Transfer Station.
“I would have loved to have been starting construction today,” Petty said.
Public health advisory committee
Dr. Thomas Massaro, a retired physician and former public health official who lives in Marblehead, spoke in favor of an advisory committee focused on improving the town’s public health capacity.
“I propose a subcommittee on the future of public health, or whether you call it a planning group or whatever, that would be advisory to you all who have the elected authority,” Massaro told the board. “It would develop background information to present issues to the board and the town for conversation.”
Massaro argued the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant gaps in the country’s decentralized public health system. He said Marblehead should assess its needs and plan for the future.
“The federal government really was unprepared to deal with a crisis like it had, whether it was the White House or the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Massaro said. “By and large, all things considered, I think the local jurisdictions, the local communities did a fantastic job.”
He recommended the advisory committee conduct community health assessments, examine local data and engage residents. Members would focus on issues like health disparities, mental health, climate change and better coordination with the medical community. Members have embraced the idea, but they haven’t taken a formal vote establishing a committee.
Residents interested in serving should reach Petty at pettya@marblehead.org.
In other business
The board unanimously approved Marblehead’s continued participation in the North Shore Public Health Collaborative, an inter-municipal partnership funded by the state.
Petty said the collaborative has allowed Marblehead to share resources like disease surveillance, inspections and health education staffing across seven North Shore communities.
He added plans to hire more shared staff, including a regional social worker and community health worker, are underway.
In 2022, Marblehead had eight drug-related overdoses and a fatality. This year has seen eight overdoses, and two were fatalities. The board also discussed the distribution of free fentanyl test strips, with McMahon advocating for expanded accessibility.
“The more you have, the better,” he said. “I think the fire station is by far the best … because people that are doing drugs — the last place they’re gonna go is the police station.”
The test strips are available at the fire and police stations and Mary Alley Municipal Building — with other locations being discussed.
The Board of Health’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12.
