Middletown Board of Health

Meeting Oct 13, 2009

The Board of Health closed their monthly meeting without a vote on the Health Departments recommendation that the common council change the language of city ordinance 166-5, governing food distribution. The current ordinance reads as follows; The following activities are excluded from the licensing and fee requirements of the chapter: non-permanent fruit and vegetable stands which do not required preparation, refrigeration, cooking and/or heating of any kind, including but not limited to farmers markets and roadside stands. The proposed change to the ordinance would add the following language; Where the provisions of this ordinance conflict with any public or private act of the CT General Assembly or any duly promulgated regulation of the CT Department of Public Health, such public or private act or regulation shall supersede this ordinance. What is in italics is an exact copy of the draft as worded by the Department of Health.













The postponement of the vote arose from two main points; the state has not conveyed an Official Policy Transmittal of the law to the CT Department of Public Health for dissemination to cities and towns, and Councilman Bauer’s argument that all ordinances under 166, should undergo review as they might ultimately be held to the same legal interpretation of state statutes. Bauer stated that ordinance change should not happen incrementally, and that it was prudent to consider, then make all warranted changes at one time. Until such time that the city changes ordinance 166-5 the health department will use the broadest interpretation of the new state law, which allows for distribution of food prepared by non-licensed kitchens.

The Board of Health also discussed potential changes to the bulky waste ordinance and agreed to support any recommendation the Public Works Commission and the Board of finance make as long as expediency of removal is the top priority. The number of legal orders/citations stood at 85 but has been reduced down to somewhere between 20-25, and much of the bulky waste that laid throughout the city in July and August has been picked up. There are about $1000.00 in fines that have been leveled, with none collected as of yet. In old business it was recommended that the proposed Animal Ordinance that has been under review for 3 years, is ready to come before the common council. The Board moved that discussion of bylaw changes be put off until next month so that adequate time could be spent on this review in light of a 6:30 special meeting of the common council. The meeting was adjourned at 6:28.