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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Franklin Township Board of Health Annual Meeting - June 25, 2024

Township Council — Tuesday, June 25, 2024

BodyFranklin Township, New Jersey

SessionTownship Council

DateTuesday, June 25, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:01:00

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Is called to order, Madam Clerk.

0:02

In accordance with the open public meeting act of the state of New Jersey, adequate notice of this annual meeting of the Franklin Township Board of Health was made as required, indicating that this annual meeting would take place at the municipal building at 6 p.m.

0:16

on Tuesday, June 25th, 2024.

0:21

If we could all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:40

Okay, so yours.

0:51

You're right there.

0:52

You don't have clerk.

0:59

Councilman in Barrison.

1:02

Councilwoman Francois.

1:05

Councilman Carrazi.

1:07

Here.

1:08

Mayor Kramer.

1:08

Here.

1:09

Councilman Oni Jaka.

1:11

Deputy Mayor Patasnik.

1:13

Councilwoman Udeen.

1:15

Here.

1:15

Councilman Vasanella.

1:17

Here.

1:17

Councilman Wright.

1:19

Thank you.

1:21

Okay.

1:21

Good evening, everyone.

1:22

Uh Mayor and Council.

1:24

Thank you for uh allowing us to be here.

1:26

Gotta get right into that.

1:27

Gotta get right into it.

1:28

Okay.

1:28

All right.

1:28

I'll try to be loud in case this doesn't pick me up.

1:31

So uh again, thank you for being here.

1:32

My name is Mike McCarty.

1:33

I'm the deputy director for the Somerset County Department of Health.

1:37

Uh I'm just going to give uh and some of you may remember me from last year.

1:40

Uh I'm gonna give a brief overview of the department, uh, what Somerset County Department of Health was up to over the last uh year in 2023, and specifically what we were doing for Franklin Township.

1:51

So these are our eight main program areas, and and by the way, I don't like narrating off of PowerPoint slides.

1:58

So if you have any questions at any point, please feel free to raise your hand, stop me if you have any questions or want clarification.

2:03

Uh these are our eight main program areas, really, it should be nine, but uh consumer health, that's your uh your health educ, you know, your uh health inspectors doing your pools, restaurants, retail foods, all that good stuff.

2:15

Uh health education and promotion, uh chronic disease and cancer prevention, those are linked together.

2:20

Uh we have the county environmental health act under our uh department, that's the DEP representatives there doing your air noise, water pollution, things like that.

2:29

We have our uh epidemiology in our nursing division.

2:32

We have our uh FEP team that is uh deals with emergency preparedness, our medical reserve corps, and our childhood led poisoning and prevention team.

2:40

There really should be a ninth for administration, but I digress.

2:43

Uh this is our our team.

2:45

This is basically the same list of people that was uh at the department last year.

2:49

Uh we do have a couple changes, a couple promotions.

2:53

Uh unfortunately, Patty Elliott, who's many of you probably know she did about uh 40 years in public health, uh retired in December.

3:01

Uh fortunately for us, I do have Rashida Boina behind me.

3:04

She took over for uh Patty.

3:05

Uh Rashida's been with us since uh January now.

3:09

Uh and Rashid and I started together uh about 10 years ago, so we were very happy that we were able to convince her to come back.

3:15

Um other than that, uh Dr.

3:17

Terry Clancy is the health officer for the department.

3:19

I'm the deputy director for the department, and this is kind of the structure uh for the rest of the department.

3:25

Whoops.

3:26

So again, I don't want to bore anyone with raw data and details, but the this is basically what Rashida's group has been doing since 2023.

3:34

Uh these are the numbers.

3:35

You can feel free to read these, and if you have any questions, uh otherwise I'll just narrate basically what we're uh doing.

3:42

Retail foods, uh retail food pre-operational inspections before an establishment is approved to open that comes through our office uh after it goes through your zoning office and your processes.

3:51

Uh temporary retail foods, so we're doing your events, going out to the um you know Franklin days and things like that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Health█████████████████████████████████████████████59%

Cannabis Regulation██████████13%

Procedural████████10%

Environmental Protection███████9%

Community Engagement█████6%

Public Engagement██2%

Technology and Innovation█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Franklin Township Board of Health Annual Meeting - June 25, 2024

The Franklin Township Board of Health held its annual meeting on June 25, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the municipal building. The meeting featured presentations from the Somerset County Department of Health on its 2023 activities and from the Advisory Board of Health on its recent initiatives. The council approved the previous year's minutes, heard public comments (none offered), and adjourned.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the Board of Health Annual Meeting held on June 13, 2023, were approved. Councilwoman Francois abstained due to absence. The motion carried with all other members voting in favor.

Discussion Items

Somerset County Department of Health 2023 Annual Report: Mike McCarty, Deputy Director, presented an overview of the department's eight program areas and their activities in Franklin Township. Key statistics included: 41 retail food complaints, 67 garbage/debris complaints, and 158 total environmental health actions. The top five communicable diseases in Franklin were COVID-19, Lyme disease, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and babesiosis. There were 20 confirmed elevated blood lead level children in Franklin, which McCarty noted was low given the population. Upcoming projects include: a new vaccines-for-children clinic at Richard Hall (with Somerset County transportation), an electronic health record system, and pursuit of public health accreditation.
Q&A on County Health Report: Council members raised several concerns:
- Food handler training: Council member expressed preference for in-person training over virtual. McCarty stated they are considering reinstating in-person training twice a year for basic food handling, but national certifications will remain virtual.
- Public access to environmental complaints: Council member asked for publicly available inspection reports with violation details. McCarty noted GIS mapping will show basic information, but specific addresses and owner names require an OPRA request.
- Lead inspection follow-up: Council member asked about automatic notification to the health department when rental inspections under new state law find elevated lead levels. McCarty explained that reporting goes to the state DOH, not county, but some municipalities informally notify him. He agreed to look into establishing a formal communication mechanism.
Advisory Board of Health Report: Dr. Donalisi, Chair, presented the board's mission, goals, and accomplishments since she took over in January 2024. The board hosted monthly educational sessions with guest speakers on mental health services, the Arrive Together program, and cannabis impacts. Accomplishments include: adding naloxone to all AED boxes in the township, distributing naloxone kits at the Juneteenth celebration, placing an "alternatives to opioids" bench at the senior center, and conducting an opiate education workshop. Dr. Donalisi highlighted four community needs identified in the local needs assessment: mental health services prioritization, lack of knowledge about disability services, specialized senior services, and need for free/low-cost preventive screenings. She expressed concerns about the proliferation of cannabis establishments in Franklin, citing data from SAMHSA and the American Heart Association on increased pediatric toxicity from edibles, psychosis, and cardiovascular risks. She urged the council to consider forming a task force to monitor community impacts. She also noted that the Advisory Board operates without a budget and requested better coordination with county agencies.
Council Comments: Council members thanked Dr. Donalisi for her work. There was discussion about communication protocols: council members may contact the county health department directly but should copy the township manager for continuity.

Key Outcomes

Approval of the June 13, 2023 Board of Health minutes.
Public session opened and closed with no members of the public speaking.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Is called to order, Madam Clerk. In accordance with the open public meeting act of the state of New Jersey, adequate notice of this annual meeting of the Franklin Township Board of Health was made as required, indicating that this annual meeting would take place at the municipal building at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25th, 2024. If we could all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay, so yours. You're right there. You don't have clerk. Councilman in Barrison. Councilwoman Francois. Councilman Carrazi. Here. Mayor Kramer. Here. Councilman Oni Jaka. Deputy Mayor Patasnik. Councilwoman Udeen. Here. Councilman Vasanella. Here. Councilman Wright. Thank you. Okay. Good evening, everyone. Uh Mayor and Council. Thank you for uh allowing us to be here. Gotta get right into that. Gotta get right into it. Okay. All right. I'll try to be loud in case this doesn't pick me up. So uh again, thank you for being here. My name is Mike McCarty. I'm the deputy director for the Somerset County Department of Health. Uh I'm just going to give uh and some of you may remember me from last year. Uh I'm gonna give a brief overview of the department, uh, what Somerset County Department of Health was up to over the last uh year in 2023, and specifically what we were doing for Franklin Township. So these are our eight main program areas, and and by the way, I don't like narrating off of PowerPoint slides. So if you have any questions at any point, please feel free to raise your hand, stop me if you have any questions or want clarification. Uh these are our eight main program areas, really, it should be nine, but uh consumer health, that's your uh your health educ, you know, your uh health inspectors doing your pools, restaurants, retail foods, all that good stuff. Uh health education and promotion, uh chronic disease and cancer prevention, those are linked together. Uh we have the county environmental health act under our uh department, that's the DEP representatives there doing your air noise, water pollution, things like that. We have our uh epidemiology in our nursing division. We have our uh FEP team that is uh deals with emergency preparedness, our medical reserve corps, and our childhood led poisoning and prevention team. There really should be a ninth for administration, but I digress. Uh this is our our team. This is basically the same list of people that was uh at the department last year. Uh we do have a couple changes, a couple promotions. Uh unfortunately, Patty Elliott, who's many of you probably know she did about uh 40 years in public health, uh retired in December. Uh fortunately for us, I do have Rashida Boina behind me. She took over for uh Patty. Uh Rashida's been with us since uh January now.

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