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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 27, 2002 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 3 June 27, 2002 weekly pump and haul and the existing septic systems in use are tested on a regular schedule. • 2002-2003 State and Local Budget Decisions The Board of Commissioners made the final decisions on the budget and basically they have cut just about all of the capital projects that were scheduled to take place this year. The Whitted building HVAC replacement and the clinic renovation is going forward. The Commissioners have created a Human Service Contingency Fund of $300,000. This money will be held in reserve pending what action the state takes on budget cuts to human services. • Rabies Investigation John Sauls reported on an incident with a raccoon being kept as a pet and its known exposure to neighborhood children. The raccoon was kept in an outside cage at times and the possibility of contact with a rabid wild animal existed. It is illegal to own a wild animal in Orange County without a special permit from the State Wildlife Commission, which the resident did not have. Due to the high number of rabies cases to date, the Health Director determined the raccoon should be tested. The raccoon was detained in the animal sanctuary. The resident keeping the raccoon filed a restraining order to prevent the Health Department from testing for rabies. This order was overturned, but before action could be taken the animal sanctuary was broken into and the raccoon was stolen. Without test results available the five children’s parents chose to proceed with post - exposure treatment, at the cost of about $1,500 per person, pending testing of the animal. • Whitted Renovation The proposal for the HVAC system was passed by the Commissioners as part of the 2002-2003 budget. That work is tentatively scheduled to begin in October. • Arsenic in well water advisories to citizens The report on arsenic levels in well water was prepared by Ron Holdway. These reports have gone out to Orange County citizens with affected wells and several have contacted the department. Martha Stucker requested clarification of comparing well reports to the arsenic levels in the report issued by Environmental Health and how to convert the statistics to know if your well is within safe limits. There has also been an advisory put out about arsenic in treated water, particularly in decks and treated structures. That information will be distributed to all the contractors in the county.