Minutes Public Health Committee 11-15-18 — File 207084

Public Health and Public Safety Committee Page 1 of 4 Printed 11/21/2018 November 15, 2018 REPORT OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Jesse Clingan Chair Present Stephanie Hirsch Vice Chair Present Matthew McLaughlin Ward One Alderman Present Others present: Alderman Lance Davis, Chief Charles Breen - SFD, Christopher Major - SFD, Candace Cooper - Personnel, Annie Connor - Legislative Liaison, Peter Forcellese - Legislative Clerk. The meeting took place in the Committee Room and was called to order at 5:34 PM by Chairman Clingan and adjourned at 6:21 PM. Approval of the October 24, 2018 Minutes RESULT: ACCEPTED 203594: That the City Solicitor draft an Ordinance prohibiting the public consumption of marijuana. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 204128: That the Administration convene a meeting to discuss airplane noise, similar to a meeting being held in Cambridge, and include congressional representatives, the state delegation, elected city officials and city staff. Ms. Connor informed the committee that there is an outside group that meets on regular basis airplane noise. The groups website is www.bostonwestfairskies.org and Somerville's representative to the group is Tara Ten Eyck. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 204724: That the Director of Health and Human Services present the Assessment and Plan in follow-up to the recently released City Wellness Report. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE

Public Health and Public Safety Committee Page 2 of 4 Printed 11/21/2018 204861: That the Commissioner of Public Works contact the appropriate utility to raise the low hanging wires at the corner of Shore Drive and Putnam Road. Ms. Commor reported that the lines have been raised. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 205366: That the Administration refrain from appointing any further candidates to the position of Reserve Firefighter and seek to discontinue use of the Fire Reserve List at the earliest possible opportunity. Ms. Cooper explained that the city instituted the reserve list to be able to fill the operational needs of the Fire Department in a more expeditious manner. Currently, there are 12 individuals on the reserve list and it’s anticipated that the list will be exhausted by May of 2019. At the present time, the department is understaffed by 6 fire fighters. Additionally, there are 11 fire fighters who are eligible for retirement next year and at 6 of those have decided to retire. If the city did not have the reserve list, it would have to provide a candidate’s name and medical records to the fire academy in order to reserve a spot for that candidate. That process, said Ms. Cooper, takes several months. The next open date for academy training is in May of 2019. Having the paperwork on-hand (by using the reserve list) expedites the process. Chief Breen told the members that the days of simply calling the academy and holding spots for people are gone and that appointees can't be brought onto the force until they complete the academy training. There is also a 6-8 week time frame for getting the equipment for each appointee, thus having the reserve list expedites this process as well. Members were informed that once a person is on the reserve list for more than 18 months, he begins to accrue creditable service in the Fire Department, retroactive to the date that he was placed on the reserve list. (Ms. Cooper will verify this.) Some individuals have been on the reserve list for nearly 3 years and will essentially begin their first day on the job having almost 3 years of creditable service. The last fire fighter exam was this past April. The ideal number of people on the list is between 5 and 10, according to Ms. Cooper. She also stated that after a certain number of months on the reserve list, an individual can't be taken off it. Ms. Cooper noted that there are 20 other communities in Massachusetts that are authorized to have a reserve list, but it’s unknown how many are utilizing one. She stated that the Administration isn’t interested in abolishing the practice of using the reserve list at this time. Alderman McLaughlin stated that the list is unnecessary and expensive. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 205684: That the Director of Health and Human Services appear before this Board to discuss efforts to support individuals on the autism spectrum and educate first responders about autism. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 205785: That the City Solicitor update this Board on the current status of the draft ordinance regulating Airbnb.

Public Health and Public Safety Committee Page 3 of 4 Printed 11/21/2018 RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 205825: That the Administration provide an update on the range of projected revenue from recreational marijuana facilities how these funds may be used. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 205826: That the Administration consider, as part of its facilities planning process and its ongoing development of programs like 311, libraries, recreation and neighborhood policing, ways to establish multi-purpose neighborhood-based service centers. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 205829: That the Superintendent of Inspectional Services and other enforcing departments report to this Board on enforcing business signage laws, especially for alcohol, tobacco or marijuana advertisements. Ms. Cooper provided a written response to this item. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 205934: That the City Solicitor inform this Board of any applicable regulations related to the use of drones. Ms. Cooper provided a written response to this item. Alderman Hirsch requested that this item be kept in committee. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 206291: That this Board commends the MA Senate on passing Senate Bill 2562 "An Act Relative to Gender Identity on MA Identification" which allows a person to designate "X" for gender on an application for a driver's license and other official identification and further, that this Board encourages the MA House of Representatives to advance similar legislation. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 206421: That the Director of Health and Human Services develop a FAQ about the local implementation of medical and recreational marijuana sales. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 206835: That the Director of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of Public Works install NO SMOKING signs in the public parks in and around Ward 7 and Davis Square.

Public Health and Public Safety Committee Page 4 of 4 Printed 11/21/2018 RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 206854: That the Director of Health and Human Services work with the Public Schools to allow whole fruits to be saved for use as snacks, given that many children often go without snacks. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 206856: That the Administration consider a public information effort to inform the community about code violations that impact public safety, such as improper lead paint removal. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 206857: That the Director of Health and Human Services discuss conducting a workshop for parents and adult caregivers to help them better understand risks, indicators of use, and strategies of intervention for tween/teen substance use. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 206859: That the Chief of Police share his view of how and when residents should call the Police or 311 for emergency and non-emergency matters, including which number to call, and consider holding a discussion on the topic that includes different stakeholders. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 206949: That the Chief of Police report on the effectiveness of recent block closures for Halloween and discuss whether or not the program may be expanded. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE Handouts: Flyer (with 204128) Response (with 205829) Solicitor's Response re Drones (with 205934)