Adams Board Of Health Ready For Inspections
ADAMS, Mass. — With a full board and a new code enforcement officer, the Board of Health is back on track.
After reorganizing the board and electing Bruce Shepley as chairman Wednesday, the board welcomed new code enforcement officer Thomas Romaniak and new member Peter Hoyt and mobilized on inspections that were tabled while the town searched for a new code enforcement officer.
Romaniak, a former Adams dispatcher, started earlier this week and has already toured lingering cases.
Shepley said first on the list will be pre-rental inspections that the board was not qualified to conduct and restaurant re-inspections.
"When we lost the code enforcement officer we did not have the qualifications to go through and do inspections," Shepley said. "They took out the application and now we are playing catch up."
Shepley added that the board can now more aggressively peruse increasing the age of legal tobacco purchase to 21 as well.
He said public hearing has to be scheduled and but did not anticipate much opposition.
"I think we can make this a rather quick process from this point," he said. "I think it is going to be less controversial because we don't have a lot of tobacco vendors in town and because other communities are doing it."
North Adams recently raised its age for tobacco purchases to 21; Williamstown and Pittsfield did so in 2014.
Vice Chairman Allen Mendel said he received word from the police that a Miller Street apartment was housing fowl, and the occupants weren't paying their rent.
"An apartment above a party the police were investigating ended up having chickens and ducks in the it," Mendel said. "They talked to the owner and over the weekend all of the fowl was removed from the property."
He said the livestock were the only tenants in the apartment and once cleaned, the Board of Health will inspect it.
Mendel said there had been dust complaints from residents surrounding Dukes Sand & Gravel. He said this will be an ongoing investigation.
Shepley said food establishments will soon be able to apply for permits online.
"We are waiting for more information on the process now," he said. "This will allow vendors of food and restaurants to be able to do online applications for their renewals and it should help us out."
He said it should be up and running by early July.
The board agreed to accept a nursing contract from the Berkshire Visiting Nurses Association for $2,100.
Tags: board of health, health inspection,
