LEAD REPORT … During the lead report, it was shared that “there is no safe amount of lead when it comes to children. They are like sponges when it comes to the stuff, and it has extremely detrimental short and long term effects.”
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Board of Health met on March 26, 2024 at 7 p.m. They first agreed to approve a variance request from Garret Trausch, to allow for an extension of education hours.
The consent agenda was then approved, as were the minutes of their February 27, 2024 meeting and current financial reports.
The next electronics recycling event will be held at Wilton Keck on April 22, 2024, and the way that time is tracked for the pools and camps will change from being evaluated as a whole to individual programs, with the changes being actualized in 2026 once 2024 cycles through.
The 3rd grade MyPlate program has been started at Edgerton, North Central, and Bryan schools, with an environmental scan being planned.
Lead prevention was then discussed, with it being shared that there is “no safe amount of lead when it comes to children.”
Families from low-income households and those who live in structures built prior to 1978 are most at risk, with lead abatement being hard to come by and expensive.
The full lead report is available on the Williams County Health Department website. The hope is that reports like this will help residents be able to ascertain funding to help with lead remediation, with the hope being to prevent future lead exposure to the children of Williams County.
The health commissioner’s report included the recent efforts of the health department’s weekly newsletters, Mr. Hernandez’s recent efforts on networking with county officials, and the meetings he attended throughout the month.
OneOhio Recovery Foundation funds have been made available in response to settlements regarding company liability, and the U.S. Senate has just approved a $467.5 million package, with Congress still evaluating an even larger package that includes the Health and Human Services budget.
Mr. Hernandez also shared that there was a notice of award for the Ohio Recycling Grant, with the $30,000 grant going towards the recycling of tires, which has seen a recent uptick this past year.
Two contract renewals were approved, the bills were approved for payment, and two resolutions were passed.
Resolution 12.24 approved a memorandum of understanding for alternate vaccination storage and Resolution 13.24 approved the submission of estimated property tax revenue to the county auditor to start the levy renewal process.
The ODPS grant was decided to be transferred to different partnered entities, so that the health department can better allocate their staff as needed.
The annual report was completed and posted to the website for review, with the work, effort, and statistics of the Williams County Health Department for 2023 available.
They then entered into executive session at 7:28 p.m. to discuss the purchase of property.