Board of Health requiring faster action from property owners
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STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County Board of Health gave two owners an additional 30 days to clean their property, but made it clear they are running out of second chances.
The properties in question are located in Salem Township. Nuisance complaints filed with the health department state there is an infestation of rats, and a health department inspector told the board he personally had seen a rat when trying to make contact with one of the property owners.
Included in the orders are scrap vehicles.
The original orders issued by the board had expired without the problems being addressed. Environmental Director Marc Maragos said that one of the property owners did make contact with the department and asked for an extension, though the other did not.
Both landowners were present, along with some of their neighbors, one addressing the board seemingly seeking clarification and stating he has a plan to remove some items - vehicles he is using for parts - from the property.
He said the recent winter weather has made it difficult to do anything. Board President Terry Bell made it clear the weather only explains the last couple of weeks, while the orders go back to December. Bell added that based on a county survey, some of the vehicles in question are not even on his property.
That particular land owner said the rats are not coming from his property.
He was advised to get a certified extermination company to review the property and give an assessment.
He also went back and forth with Bell over the definition of a "junk" car, stating that a couple of the vehicles in question "run and drive" but simply do not have plates.
The man did admit that he's taken on too many projects for the amount of time he has to work on them and property he has to house them.
Bell, prior to voting in favor, made it clear the extension was a hard line in the sand and that legal action with the prosecutor's office will follow if the issues are not addressed.
"If you don't complete to the finest letter the direction that was given to you it goes directly to the county prosecutor," Bell said to one of the landowners.
Maragos told the board that progress has been made on another property in Springfield Township that had been discussed at the board's January meeting, and the party involved has been in communication with him weekly, providing updates and photographs of the work.
Following the discussion of nuisance complaints, Health Commissioner Andrew Henry presented the board with an opinion from attorney Shawn Blake about changes to the policy for handling complaints.
According to the opinion, read to the board by Henry, the board has the ability under the Ohio Revised Code to send complaints to common pleas court following the expiration of an order without the issues being addressed, eliminating the part of the current process where the board asks the property owners to appear at the next meeting.
Dr. Patrick Macedonia, board member, voiced concerns that sending every case to the courts without hearing from the landowners would not be best in some cases, pointing out there are legitimate reasons people need extensions and without addressing the board, they will not get them.
Henry explained that the board would still have the power to grant extensions to those who are cooperating and simply had setbacks under the new policy.
The motion to accept the new policy passed unanimously.
During his report, Maragos told the board there was only one odor complaint related to the APEX Landfill in January and thus far in February there have been none.
All of the reports, with the exception of Henry's, were submitted by letter due to the change in the meeting date, and all dealt with the falling number of COVID-19 cases in the county, state and country as a whole, and the continued effort to vaccinate.
According to Henry, Jefferson County has vaccinated approximately 9.8 percent of its population, slightly below the state average of 12.4 percent. He said that school staff vaccinations began Tuesday and would likely get the county's number in line with the state average. That effort will be aided by CHANGE Inc. of Weirton, who's memorandum of understanding to participate was approved during the meeting.
"The health department has been administering the vaccine non-stop COVID-19 since late December," Henry said. "While vaccine administration is not moving as fast as our county residents expect, it has has consumed our department for the past two months and will consume us for the foreseeable future. The staff here have been knocking it out of the park. When we get vaccine, we move it quickly."
Henry also addressed recent letters to the editor from members of the public that were critical of the health department.
"While I take these letters with a grain of salt, it is upsetting to see such anger at a time that we need to come together more than ever," he said. "We have a health department full of selfless human beings who wake up every day and get ready for a job in which their performance has become highly misconstrued. As a new leader, I am trying to promote a positive work environment. A little community support goes a long way.
"My intent is not to impose on anyone's freedom of speech, as our freedoms are what make this country a great place. If you choose to exercise your freedom of speech, good for you, but maybe keep in mind who's image you could indirectly be affecting by your rhetoric."
Henry read the report from Dr. Mark Kissinger, the medical director, and Kelly Wilson, public information officer, read the report from Hannah Piko, nursing director.
A report from Rick Stead, the public health emergency preparedness coordinator, was read by Henry. The board approved the elevation of Stead's position to full-time status on a temporary basis due to the workload of vaccine clinic coordination.
In his report, Kissinger noted that while the number of cases is going down in the county, the fight against COVID-19 is far from over.
"Unfortunately, it is too soon to celebrate," the report said. "It seems like we finally have gained some control and won some small victories, but the virus still persists and is still taking lives. We need to continue social distancing and continue to remind local businesses and institutions to follow the mandates and recommendations."
Macedonia agreed with that sentiment, offering that the county continues to trend downward on the state's dashboard, calling it "good news."
"We still need to be vigilant with wearing masks, washing hands and gatherings," he said, noting the vaccines are not 100 percent effective. "My message to the community is we need to stay focused."
Piko's report detailed the public's positive impression and feedback of the vaccine clinics. The report said the county has issued 1,628 first doses and 416 second doses to date.
"Each clinic has been very well received by the community," the report noted, going on to thank those involved.
Henry and Bell said they had witnessed the positive feedback, while Macedonia said his office received a letter complimenting the clinics.
Henry also filled in the board on the process of obtaining additional space on the sixth floor of the Jefferson County Towers. He had recently appeared before the county commissioners to discuss the matter and notified the board that the regional planning office is moving, opening up the additional space "in the next month or so."
The lone public participant was Royal Mayo, local activist and candidate for Steubenville City Council. He expressed concerns about the vaccine priority list and plans to address the discrepancy in health care in the minority communities.
Bell and Henry noted that the health department has to closely follow the state's guidelines in terms of vaccine priority and said the health department has held clinics in four city high-rises and is launching ad and social media diversity campaign to get information about vaccines to the African American community in the county.
Henry also said he is attending an NAACP town hall next week.
The board is scheduled to meet again on March 16.