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Mansfield health director highlights grants, permits and shared regional services; Board of Health chair to step down
Summary
Health Director Amy Donovan Palmer reviewed the department's permits, grants and shared regional services; Board of Health Chair Antonia Blinn recapped enforcement actions and regulations and said she will step down at the end of her term in December.
Health Director Amy Donovan Palmer and Board of Health Chair Antonia Blinn delivered a year-in-review to the Select Board on Nov. 20, describing staffing, revenue from permits, grant awards and recent enforcement actions.
"Right now our staff, it's myself and Lisa Faria who's a part time admin," Palmer said, summarizing the department's small local staff augmented by regional shared services through the Bristol Norfolk Public Health Partners. Palmer said the health department issues about 450 permits annually and reported approximately $72,000 in permit revenues for fiscal year 2024 and about $32,000 brought in via grants; some of those grant awards included $18,000 from the state for ADA work and $14,000 in FDA grants to support food-protection upgrades.
Blinn described enforcement steps taken over the past year, including a tobacco permit suspension for repeated sales to minors and suspensions related to a body-art establishment and practitioner. She highlighted a partnership with Barnstable County for managing innovative septic systems and praised the regionally shared epidemiologist and public-health nurse that bolster local capacity. Blinn also said she will step down at the end of her term in December.
The health department flagged recent community outreach such as household hazardous waste collection, vaccination clinics, and an opioid settlement funding open forum. Staff asked residents to fill an online survey to guide opioid-abatement spending priorities.
