The Revere Board of Health held its regular monthly meeting last Thursday, April 27, in the City Council Chambers. Chairperson Dr. Drew Bunker and fellow member Dr. Craig Costanza were on hand for the meeting, as well as Lauren Buck, the city’s Director of Public Health; Michael Wells, the Revere Health Agent/Director of the Inspectional Services Dept. (ISD); and Paula Sepulveda, the Board of Health Clerk.
The highlights of the short, eight-minute session were as follows:
Buck presented the monthly Public Health Communicable Disease report in which she noted that influenza cases in the city have decreased significantly since the winter peak.
As for COVID-19, the total number of confirmed cases in the city since the start of the pandemic stands at 26,680 with 205 deaths.
She also noted that the CDC has relaxed its guidelines regarding the latest COVID-19 bivalent vaccine to allow persons at higher risk to obtain another dose of the vaccine.
Wells presented the Inspectional Services monthly report. He noted that the ISD issued 70 certificates of fitness for apartments and performed four reinspections, 17 interior complaint inspections, and four pool inspections.
As for the food safety department, Wells reported that there were 28 routine inspections, 11 reinspections, three complaint inspections, four pre-opening inspections, and one rodent control inspection.
The exterior sanitation department issued 41 violations for accumulation of litter, garbage, and debris; 32 violations for improper disposal of bulky items; 245 violations for improper placement of garbage and trash; one violation for improper signage on property; three violations for improper storage of garbage; six violations for storage of automobiles on private property; five violations for having multiple unregistered vehicles; and five violations for unclean and unsanitary land, also known as overgrowth.
The board then approved Heating Variance requests from six residential properties, whose heating and air conditioning (AC) systems are combined within a single system, to allow them to turn over from heat to AC as of May 15 through October 15.
The six buildings are: Friendly Garden Co-op, Ocean GateTower Condominium, St. George Condominium, SeawatchTower Condominium, Breakers Condominium, and Sea View Towers.
The board also approved the renewal of a Beekeeping license in accordance with the Urban Farming Alliance program. Buck reported that her department conducted an inspection of the licensee and that the applicant met all of the requirements of the ordinance.
