Approved
6/19/06
HUMAN SERVICES
June 5, 2006
Minutes
Members Present: Mark
Grebner, Rebecca Bahar-Cook, Curtis Hertel, Lisa Dedden, Mike Severino and
Board Chairperson Victor Celentino
Members Absent: Andy
Schor
Others Present: John
Neilsen, Bruce Bragg, Dr. Sienko, Jim Wilson, Diane Gorsch and others
The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Grebner at 7:05 p.m. in the Personnel Conference Room of the Human Services Building, 5303 S. Cedar, Lansing.
Approval of the May 15,
2006 Minutes
The Minutes were approved as
submitted. Absent: Comm. Schor
Additions to the Agenda
Mr. Neilsen informed the
Committee that Mr. Dore, Controller, could not be present at this meeting due
to a previous appointment.
Limited Public Comment: None
MOVED BY COMM. SEVERINO,
SUPPORTED BY COMM. BAHAR-COOK, TO APPROVE A CONSENT AGENDA FOR THE FOLLOWING
ITEMS:
2. Health Department
d. Resolution
to Amend Resolution #05-307 (Resolution to Authorize an Agreement with the
National Association of Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies)
e. Resolution
to Authorize a Child Care Training Agreement with the
f. Resolution
Appointing Suganda Lowhim. M.D. as Deputy Medical Examiner
g. Resolution
to Authorize Subcontracts to the Infant Health Disparities Initiative Grant
h. Resolution
to Establish Positions to Implement the Point of Sale Regulation
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Absent:
Comm. Schor
MOVED BY COMM. SCHOR,
SUPPORTED BY COMM. BAHAR-COOK, TO APPROVE THE ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Absent:
Comm. Schor
1. Interviews – Capital Area District Library
The Committee interviewed the
following applicants for a position on the Capital Area District Library Board:
Lynne Lindsay Catherine
Easley
Kathleen Atkins Sally
Trout
The Committee did not
recommend an appointment at this time.
2. Health Department
a. Report
from Gary Packingham, Vice President – Community Health Ventures
Mr. Bragg stated this
Committee asked Mr. Packingham to place his observations and recommendations in
writing after his May 1 presentation to this Committee. The report contained in the agenda packet
will be forwarded to the Ingham Health Plan Board for consideration.
Mr. Packingham does not make
specific recommendations. He identifies
a set of challenges he has found as he attempts to market Ingham County
Advantage and similar third-share products around
Comm. Bahar-Cook asked if her
concerns regarding Mr. Packingham’s numbers were addressed. Mr. Bragg stated he has only received the
information which is contained in the agenda material. Comm. Hertel stated that information should
be provided to this Committee.
Chairperson Grebner suggested the information be emailed to the
Commissioners. It does not need to be
placed on a future agenda.
b. Community
Meeting on Health and Social Justice
Mr. Bragg distributed
invitations to the Community Meeting to the Commissioners. The Meeting will be held on June 14, 2006
from 5:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the
c. Presentation
and Dialogue Regarding Food Safety Program – Dr. Dean Sienko and Jim Wilson
Dr. Sienko stated there has
been a lot of interest in food safety within this community. The Health Department presented a power-point
presentation to the Committee at this time regarding the Department’s Food
Safety Program.
Mr. Wilson stated Ms. Diane
Gorsch has 28 years experience in food safety and other related issues. Ms. Gorsch stated she is proud of the
County’s Program. The Health
Department’s website is Ing.org/HD/ENVHLTH/eh.htm. Follow up inspections will
be added to the site.
Approximately 90% of the
Bureau of Environmental Health’s time is spent on conducting food inspections. The goal is to prevent food-borne
illness. The Food Safety Program
generates approximately $700,000 per year.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture also provides funding to the
Program.
The Program includes 7.5 food
inspectors, one clerical position and one supervisory position. Mr. Wilson stated additional people are
trained to fill in during an outbreak, if necessary.
Ms. Gorsch reviewed the
Progressive Compliance Process. Four or
more critical violations will put a food establishment on the Department’s list
for routine inspections. The violation
fee appears to be an effective tool.
Ms. Gorsch explained that a
history of three or more non-compliance violations will result in an office
conference between the Health Department and the food establishment. Subsequent non-compliance violations will
result in an informal hearing. Chronic
non-compliance may lead to a formal hearing with the Health Officer and corporation
counsel to discuss license revocation.
The Committee held a general
discussion regarding this presentation.
Mr. Bragg stated no more than five food establishments have had to close
down during the past 30 years due to food safety violations.
The incident at Bravo
Restaurant illustrates what can happen when the system fails. The Health Department received 460 reports of
illness relating to the incident. An
investigation was conducted. The
investigation revealed the norovirus was found in workers and patrons of the
Restaurant. The norovirus is equal to
the common cold. There are 25 million
cases of the virus per year.
Forty-percent of those cases resulted from food-borne causes.
Ms. Gorsch reviewed the
Program Enhancement Options during this presentation.
Chairperson Grebner asked how
the Department checks on reports of employees who have called in to work to
indicate they were ill. Ms. Gorsch
stated that is a critical issue. Law
requires a policy be in place at each establishment and that employees be made
aware of the policy that if they are ill, they are not to show up for work.
Chairperson Grebner stated
large food establishments should periodically send employees home due to
illness. Ms. Gorsch stated the larger
establishments do have logs of that information. She then explained that people with health
benefits still report to work ill. It is
a truth that some food establishments do not let their employees go home when
they are ill because the establishments do not have adequate staffing to cover
for the absence.
Comm. Severino thanked Mr.
Bragg for emailing information to him regarding how to research restaurants on
line. Comm. Bahar-Cook asked if the
results of most recent inspections are included on the website. Ms. Gorsch stated that information is not
available online due to ongoing controversies regarding this matter.
i. Communication
– Possible Lease Agreement with
Mr. Bragg informed the
Committee that the Lansing Community College Board of Trustees will consider a
lease agreement with the County at its June 19, 2006 meeting. He further stated he reported this
possibility to the Committee at its May 1 meeting.
Issues still need to be
resolved before the Health Department will present a recommendation to enter
into a lease agreement. Mr. Bragg then
explained the fact that since the County is considering this action; it may be
reported to the media after the LCC Board’s consideration.
The Health Department is
seeking to consolidate two of its community health centers into a single site
in the area of central
Comm. Severino addressed Mr.
Bragg regarding agenda item 2h. He asked
how the Department determined the number of applications it would take to
fulfill the obligation. Mr. Wilson
explained the Department looked at other comparable counties that have this
type of program. Realtors were also asked about the turn-over rate in homes with
well and septic systems. The realtors
indicated these homes experience a 10% to 15 % turn over per year. The Department is being conservative with its
figures.
Comm. Severino, speaking as a
realtor, stated he conducted a search on sales of homes with septic
systems. He learned that 275 to 290
homes sell per year over the last five years.
A determination can be made using the MLS listing on the web. This issue was discussed further. Comm. Severino stated he would provide Mr.
Wilson with his information.
3. Controller’s
Office – Resolution Updating Various Fees for
MOVED BY COMM. HERTEL,
SUPPORTED BY COMM. DEDDEN, TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION UPDATING VARIOUS
Mr. Neilsen informed the
Committee that the agenda packet contains information from Mr. Bragg regarding
how the Department determines its rate of fees.
Additional information is included in the packet to address other
questions of the liaison committees.
If the fee adjustments are
passed as proposed, additional annual revenue would total approximately
$163,016. Any additional revenue will be
recognized in the 2007 Controller’s Recommended Budget.
The Committee held a brief
discussion regarding tobacco licensing and tobacco vending machines.
MOTION CARRIED with Comm.
Severino voting NO. Absent: Comm. Schor
4. Board
Referral – Resolution from
The Board Referral was
received and placed on file.
Announcements: None
Public Comment: None
The meeting adjourned at 8:34
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Neff