The Union County Health Department (UCHD) is preparing to take action on an overgrown property in Milford Center.
At a board of health meeting Wednesday, members discussed how the Village of Milford Center contacted the UCHD in October to help deal with a house with grass that’s too high, making it a nuisance property.
Marcia Dreiseidel, UCHD director of environmental health, said during the four times she’s visited the house, it looked like it was in good shape but had a vehicle with expired tags in the driveway. Also, there has been no one there to answer her when she arrives, and the department’s letters are not being answered.
“This isn’t a squatter situation, and it looks like a nicer, new home,” Dreiseidel said. “The taxes are current too.”
Dreiseidel said the grass goes “up to my knees,” being at least one foot tall.
UCHD Jason Orcena explained that tall grass is a concern the health department would cover because it can harbor vermin and ticks, and could collect water to harbor mosquitos. He said if “you can lose a racoon in the grass,” it becomes a public health hazard.
“We’re looking at things that pose a potential problem to public health, and not just being an eyesore,” Orcena said.
Since Dreiseidel has received no communication from the homeowner, the board issued an order to remove any debris on the property and for the property owner to mow their grass.
Also at the meeting, the board discussed possibly adopting better human waste disposal guidelines.
Orcena said the board was inspired to look into its policies “with better guidance” because of a sewage pumper who mistakenly dumped too much of a concentration of waste in one spot on a land designated for spraying. The pumper had a land application permit to spray human waste onto a designated open field, but he accidentally let it pool in one spot.
Orcena said the pumper has voluntarily suspended his land application permit for 30 days so the “pool of sewage” has time to settle.
In the meantime, Orcena said the board was interested in beefing up its language on policies pertaining to sewage dumping and nuisances created by land application. He said the board wants to look at land application program and manure policies from the Ohio EPA and the Ohio Department of Agriculture for guidance.
“If you’re a pumper and you’re going to do land application, can we give better guidance to say ‘you shouldn’t be spreading during these weather conditions,’ and that kind of guidance?” Orcena said. “Ultimately, the goal is to reduce the likelihood of someone knowingly or unknowingly violate the spirit or intent of those rules.”
Also at the meeting:
-UCHD Director of Nursing Joyce Richmond said in the immunization program’s third year, it’s trying to clean up data pertaining to youth age immunizations.
-Richmond said the program is getting to “a good point” in increasing immunization rates, as there is a 61-percent vaccination rate among children. She said it’s a good sign when the UCHD is giving vaccinations to children who received them from the health department.
-Richmond said HPV vaccination rates are improving among adolescents. She said there has been a good level of acceptance among parents, but fears anti-vaccination sentiments online will dissuade parents from vaccinating their children.
-Shawn Sech, UCHD director of health promotion and planning, said she will be working with DARE officers in the county to come up with educational content to inform parents, educators and healthcare workers about the trend of vaping among minors.
-Sech said the department has gone through a mass casualty tabletop exercise, where officials were trained in issuing large amounts of death certificates if an event of calamity were to hit Union County.
-The board approved a contract between Delaware General Health District for no more than $15,000 that would allow the UCHD to borrow a plumbing inspector in the event that the department’s only inspector is unavailable to perform inspections. Orcena said this comes in handy, as one UCHD plumbing inspector has retired and it’s difficult to find another who will work for part-time hours.