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Board hears disease update, discusses PFAS outreach grant and health-fair plans
Summary
New Castle health officials reported rising measles counts and discussed an application for a PFAS community-awareness grant (about $750,000 sought). The board also debated dates, venues and vendor coordination for the community health and wellness fair and a proposed dog-park etiquette program.
At its regular meeting the New Castle Board of Health received a multi-part public-health briefing that covered seasonal respiratory illnesses, a surge of measles cases nationwide, the city’s PFAS outreach grant application and detailed planning for the community health and wellness fair.
A presenter gave the board a disease update noting that influenza activity had been a ‘rough’ season with cases ebbing and rising and that RSV remained steady; COVID activity was described as relatively quiet. The presenter said that, according to newly received data, there were 662 confirmed U.S. cases of measles reported since the start of 2026 and 2,255 cases reported in the U.S. during 2025. The presenter warned the board that the U.S. risked losing measles elimination status at an upcoming Pan‑American Health Organization meeting in April. The board did not provide independent verification of those figures during the meeting.
Board members also discussed the presence of avian influenza in regional bird populations and a speaker characterized the United States’ recent withdrawal from the World Health Organization as likely to weaken international disease surveillance and delay information-sharing.
On environmental health, council members recounted local PFAS-related impacts, including an earlier municipal well closure tied to PFAS contamination, and described a recently submitted community awareness and outreach grant administered by the Department of Health Services in Denver. The application — prepared with support letters from the Municipal Services Commission and others — requested roughly $750,000 to fund outreach, distribution of filtered water bottles and sink filtration systems, discounted permit incentives for choosing PFAS‑free materials, and other local assistance measures. The board was told the application had been received and that staff expected notification of award status soon.
Members spent substantial time on planning the city’s community health and wellness fair. They discussed possible dates (late April or September), combining a resource fair to involve nonprofits and partner organizations, venue options (firehouse, senior center, school gyms) and parking constraints. The board agreed to a shared outreach spreadsheet approach and asked staff to contact the fire company, senior center and local schools about availability. Staff also proposed using QR codes and a badge on the city web page to make the event survey and sign-up materials easier to access.
Separately, the board favored a short dog-park etiquette presentation or staffed table at the health fair to educate residents about dog body language and safe dog-park practices, with suggested partners including a local veterinarian and a dog trainer.
The board closed by instructing staff to circulate training links and to continue coordinating logistics for the health fair and any PFAS-related outreach projects. The next regular meeting was scheduled for April 28 at 6:00 p.m.
Quote highlights from the meeting included members emphasizing outreach and partnership: "we can put that on our city page and we can put some of those quick hit things that they can see" (staff member coordinating the survey) and a council member noting the PFAS grant application and prior well closure as the rationale for seeking outreach funding.
