After inspections sparked by complaints of rodents in the area, Rochester’s Board of Health is giving the owners of 373 and 375 County Street 30 days to clean up their litter-filled properties or face court-mandated penalties.
Rochester Health Director Karen Walega reported to the board at its July 5 meeting that 373 County had a junk-filled yard that included 13 or emptier propane tanks. The owner of 375 County Street suffered from a similar problem but also included two pet rabbits that had to be taken away by the animal control officer.
Walega said her department sent out 30-day notices on June 30. The Board of Health will determine the next step after 30 days have passed, at its August 2 meeting. If the cleaning does not happen by then, Walega said, we’ll have to go to Housing Court.”
Health board member Sarah Tisdale Eby noted there is so much junk that it is blocking the entrance to the house.
Referring to the owner of 373 County, board member Dale Barrows added, “He’s a junk man. But it’s a public-safety issue.”
Next, the board discussed communication issues with town counsel during these kinds of cases. Walega said it has been difficult communicating with representatives of Mead, Talerman & Costa, LLC, which replaced Blair Bailey as the town’s legal counsel this year. She said that when she sends emails to the firm with documentation important to a case, she cannot be certain it has been received as it takes days to get a response. When she went to court on a case, the firm’s representative could not attend.
“I’m not happy with the representation of this firm,” Walega said.
Town Administrator Glenn Cannon agreed, saying he, too, has seen less response from Mead, Talerman & Costa, LLC, than the town’s prior legal counsel, who often worked within Town Hall. Cannon said he will speak to the law firm’s representatives about that. Our response times from them are unacceptable. We need our response times to be better,” he said.
In other business, the board tabled action on a request to install a proposed compost toilet at Tree Talk Natives, a native tree and perennial nursery at 157 Vaughn Hill Road. Health board members said they need more information and that a better plan for the new business would be a porta-potty trailer costing $1,500 and up to rent.
In other meetings with town boards, Tree Talk Natives owners Jennifer and Charles Anderson have expressed wanting to simplify their business plan as much as possible and not spend too much money. Health board members said they might be out of luck if they’re hoping to skimp on this detail of their plan. “For the public, for children visiting there, they will need working toilets,” board member Glenn Lawrence said.
The board then discussed adding new provisions to the town’s tobacco regulations. Barrows said the board needs a conversation with Megan DeCosta, its consultant on tobacco regulations. The board agreed to invite DeCosta to its next meeting on August 2.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Health is scheduled for Wednesday, August 2, at 4:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Board of Health
By Michael J. DeCicco