Board of Health - Regular Meeting

Let's just start then.

All right. We're calling the meeting of the Board of Health to order. Let's stand and do the Pledge of Allegiance, please.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

There's Jake.

Roll call of membership. Let the record show that Emma is excused today. Dr. Vogel may be delayed, so we will excuse her as well if she does not attend. 26-1135, I'm seeking a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Move to approve. Second. Are there any comments, questions, changes? Say aye. Aye. Opposed? Abstentions? Passes. Action items 261167, resolution number 12R26, rules governing the presence of dogs in taverns. Can I have a motion to approve to get it on the table?

Move to approve.

Alderperson Meltzer. Second.

Alderperson Jones.

All right, thank you. So I think we'll begin with Dr. Siepers.

Excuse me.

Alderperson Jones would like to introduce her resolution.

That sounds great.

Acknowledge her.

Thank you. So dog-friendly taverns have been a point of interest for some time now. There is a new tavern in my district that has opened up, Ope Brewing Company. It has shared great interest in bringing dog-friendly taverns to Appleton. They've had a very successful business and experience down in West Allis and want to bring it up to us here. With the discussion of the Health Department, I learned that the municipal ordinance allows for the Board of Health to establish rules for taverns and how they operate. The resolution asked the Board of Health to consider allowing dogs in taverns as a policy directive. In close partnership with the Health Department, they began considering rules that they would want to see if this new policy were established for taverns in Appleton.

Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you for bringing it. And welcome to Appleton. All right. Dr. Seepers.

Yeah, just quickly, not much more to add other than what Alder Jones has already stated, just that it was very important to us that we could create a set of rules that would ensure health and safety within our local taverns. I believe that the rules that we have IN THE PACKET SORT OF INDICATE WHAT THAT PATH IS. SO WE FEEL COMFORTABLE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS SET OF RULES. IF THE BOARD WERE TO ADOPT THIS SET OF RULES, WE BELIEVE THAT WE COULD MOVE FORWARD IN A SAFE AND HEALTHY WAY IN OUR TAVERNS.

OKAY. SO I'M OPENING IT UP TO THE FLOOR FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? Mayor Woodford.

So just to be clear, then, this would be a permitting process that establishments interested in allowing dogs would need to go through before they could have dogs in the tavern. Is that right?

Please go ahead.

So all taverns will have the health department permit. If they want to allow dogs, it's just an approval process. So they would basically let us know they want to have dogs. We would go and meet with them, let them know all these requirements, what they need to do as far as signage and everything else. And once they meet those requirements, we would give them that approval. Okay, yes, you can have dogs.

Right, right. So it is an opt-in process. I think that's just important to be clear for the record that businesses that would be interested in doing this do need to be in contact with the health department and go through a process. Correct.

Okay. Alderperson Meltzer. Thank you. Also, as long as we're clarifying things for the record, I think that the definition of tavern and that it is a location that is not serving food is important to note.

Anybody else for questions? before I start mine. That's my question, is the food. So they're not allowed to serve food at all. So there would be no pizzas being made on site, no packaged foods that sold across, no bring in food from another vendor for Packer games, things like that. Is that my understanding of this?

There's some nuance with that, and I'll have Steve talk about that. But in terms of preparation of food, No, that's not something... That's a given, but... Steve, you want to talk about that?

Yeah, so anybody that requires a retail food establishment license is under the requirements of the Wisconsin Food Code, which prohibits dogs on the premises except in outdoor dining areas. So taverns with our local license that serve no food, they're not regulated by that same Department of Agriculture process and code. So they can have the dogs on site if they're not a retail food establishment, if that makes sense.

Well, that's my question. So people that pop a pizza into the pizza oven and serve it to people will not be allowed to have dogs in the restaurant. I understand. Correct.

Okay. Correct. Anybody that serves food, has a pizza, whatever category license it is, we have multiple levels of complexity of licenses that we would issue. Even a prepackaged license would require that State Department of Agriculture license that we issue as an agent, and then the food court applies and they won't be able to have dogs on site.

Okay. Is this a leashed or an unleashed as well? I didn't really see that in the...

So the leash law would still apply. It's an ordinance within the city code, and so being a dog at large would still apply here, right? So this would not supersede that ordinance.

Okay. Just for everybody out there so we have an understanding... of what's going on, and then I saw that they will always be on the floor in the non-service area. Is that correct?

That is correct.

Okay. Just because there's people that listen to this, you know. Attorney Gladstone, I see your face. Did you want to say anything?

No, it was just not in agreement.

Okay, I just thought maybe you were trying to get my attention. I'm sorry, go ahead.

I was just going to say, for those that are familiar with the sort of patio rules, that's really what has happened here. We've moved those rules to the indoor tavern space. There's a few nuances that are a little bit different, but in terms of essentially what we had done, that was the process, and that's directed by DATCP, so served as a good framework for these rules.

And is there a maximum amount of dogs that are allowed in?

We have not specified that in the rules.

Okay, I'm just, you know, those are my questions, you know, because I'm sure there's people that are out there that will wonder about it.

So long as they're not riled up. What? As long as they're not riled up.

Okay, well, that's a concern. And I'm going to just say to everyone, I have an allergy to dogs. So for me, I'm going to be abstaining because I feel like this would not be something that I would want to encounter, you know, throughout Appleton. And I do frequent places. So I'm just going on the record of why.

Alderperson Meltzer. On that note, signage would make it quite clear to any patron before entering a business that there could be dogs present. Is that correct?

Yes. And that is one of the requirements, that we require signage.

Yes. OK. Just another little question about food. Would these taverns be allowed to serve bar snacks, nuts and pretzels and things like that? No.

No. And it would be possible to bring food in. Is that correct?

Yeah, because the, yeah, if they have a food truck that comes in where the food is being prepared elsewhere, you know, outside in the parking lot or in a designated food truck area, it's essentially a separate license and a separate facility at that point. And they can They can do that there and then wherever people, once that's delivered to them, if they want to go inside and choose to eat it inside or sit at an outside table, that's their choice. They can do that.

OK. Any other questions or comments?

Kathleen Foosh. So if a patron wanted to bring in more than one dog, that would be allowed too?

We do not have a limit on that, yes.

No need for that, you don't think?

Not at this point.

OK. OK. Alderperson Meltzer. Since the leash law is not superseded by this, I think no matter how many dogs the patron brings in, they still have to remain in complete control of all of those animals.

OK. Are we ready to vote?

I was glad to see that it was noted that the dogs can drink water. So that's specified in the rules. DOESN'T MATTER IF THE DOG IS THREE YEARS OLD OR NOT, ONLY WATER IN THE TAVERN.

YOU HAVE TO DRAW THE BOUNDARY SOMEWHERE. CHAIR, JUST A POINT OF ORDER. WE DO HAVE I THINK ONE PERSON IN THE AUDIENCE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER.

DO WE HAVE A MIC ON THE PODIUM? NO. And then when you come up, we need your name and address for the record, please. And welcome. Yep, I will. It's up at the top. Thanks.

Good morning. My name is John Inova. I'm with Oak Brewing Company. We're located at 1932 West College Avenue. We started in West Dallas just about four and a half years ago and have been dog friendly throughout that time. And it's been very good for our business, beneficial for foot traffic. And, you know, a lot of dog owners are very happy to be able to have a place to bring their dog after work or socialize with their dog. So it's obviously something that we need to monitor, whether it's multiple dogs and one owner or dogs interacting appropriately and We have plenty of space in our tap room and our patio. Not all taverns have that, so it's kind of a case-by-case, you know, look out for your own people and look out for your dogs and keep everything healthy and sanitary. So we've had a good experience with it. I'll say our insurance company has warned us in the past, hey, it looks like there's a lot of dogs there this weekend. You should probably keep an eye on that. That's certainly something we monitor on the liability side. We don't want dog problems. We just want a comfortable place for people to enjoy their time with their dog. So happy to be part of the community. We've been open three weekends now, and everything's going very well. So I appreciate everybody's help and looking forward to the next steps with this.

Are there any questions? Oh, Alderperson Jones.

Will you be having some kind of activity like a dog of the month club?

We're thinking about doing actually like a Monday event. Okay. And to my previous point, We're not ever going to have events where people are encouraged to bring their dogs. We may have a vendor or two that's selling leashes and toys and that stuff. But specifically, we got in trouble with our insurance company. We had photos with Santa, and there were 50 dogs waiting to have their photo with Santa. So we know not to do stuff like that anymore.

So you've had this in West Allis for four years. You've seen what's good. Your insurance company knows what's going on. They've been watching.

So there's a lot of onus on you to control. Right, right. Certainly something we keep an eye on.

So you have to have a special insurance in order to allow dogs on your premises? Is that how it works?

It's a typical tavern insurance or brewery insurance, yeah.

Just curious. Any other questions? Thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right, are we ready to vote? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed? Abstentions, one. So the motion passes. It will go before the council next week, Wednesday. And you're invited to come early, sign up. There's usually a sign-up sheet in the back of the room, and you can address the council at that time, and you can encourage anybody that you might want to come and talk about what they would like as an experience in Appleton to join you and sign up to speak. Okay? Thank you.

Do you want to clarify...

Yeah, I would look to Darren.

Doesn't it go on?

Well, so the way I understand the city code, the Board of Health has the final authority in this matter. This would go before the council as an information item only. So what we're doing here today will codify this.

Okay. I'm sorry. I just assumed it's a resolution that's going on.

This is a complicated one.

Okay. Sorry about that. Thank you for clarifying. And so that I will say Alderperson Jones will take the lead on it if she wants anyone to speak or not to speak. So sometimes quiet is wiser.

Look at me when you say that.

All right. We have no public hearings or appearances. 26-11-46, the Health Department quarterly report. Dr. Siepers?

Nothing in particular I would call out. I would take any questions if there are any. With the exception, I take that back. Let me highlight the TB skin test program. So we've been asked about this. we've been talking about this in a few different meetings and a few different meetings and this is not something that we this is not something that we typically call out but as a fee for typically call out but as a fee for service element this is a for us service element this is a for us it is an opportunity cost a reduction it is an opportunity cost a reduction so we have to give a tv skin test so we have to give a tv skin test to those that that need it without to those that that need it without insurance that that kind of thing insurance that that kind of thing because of that we give maybe about two or three skin tests per year. There are 10 doses in a vial. And with that, the thought came, this was two years ago, what if we developed a fee-for-service program to sell the rest of the doses in the vial? And this is not something we actively advertise, but there are a number of use cases where this is needed. So colleges, certain employers do require a TB skin test. And again, blood draw would be better in some cases, in other cases not. So this is not something that we actively advertise. But through word of mouth, this has grown pretty substantially. So you'll see, I'll just highlight, in the first quarter, 2026, you see that we had 35 TB skin tests. This was largely due to one A COMMUNITY CARE CENTER THAT HAD REACHED OUT AND WE PROVIDED SKIN TESTS TO 31 OR 32 STAFF. WE JUST GOT WORD THAT WE HAVE ANOTHER FACILITY, ABOUT ANOTHER 25, THAT HAVE REACHED OUT. AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE 2027 BUDGET, WE HAD TO ACTUALLY INCREASE OUR FUNDING FOR LAB SUPPLIES TO BE ABLE TO PURCHASE THE SUPPLIES NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS AT A NET PROFIT. So it's an interesting thing because you never know what happens when you kick these sorts of things off. But what turned into an opportunity cost has really started to gain steam and has become a revenue source for the public health nursing unit, which is one that doesn't have many sources of fee-for-service revenue. So I just wanted to highlight that program.

Okay, Alderperson Jones. These are for TB skin tests. Do you find that there are other items in which you could expand the fee for service?

We are always looking in that aspect. What becomes challenging is we do not have a medical billing infrastructure, nor would our activities be enough to be able to even break even in that. So what we do is partner with other CLINICS THAT ARE ABLE TO TAKE ON THAT FEE-FOR-SERVICE. FOR EXAMPLE, JUST RECENTLY, WE WORKED WITH THE APPLETON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PROVIDE BACK-TO-SCHOOL VACCINE CLINICS FOR KIDS, AND I THINK THE I think the advice that we had gotten here a couple years ago was, you know, the last time that was done we had gotten about five. We had 53. So there was a huge uptake in vaccines in this, IN THIS CAPTIVE SORT OF COHORT, AND WE PROVIDED THESE VACCINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MOSAIC, AND SO FOR THOSE THAT DID NOT HAVE INSURANCE, THEY WOULD QUALIFY UNDER OUR VACCINES FOR CHILDREN PROGRAM. FOR THOSE WITH INSURANCE, THEY COULD BE COVERED THROUGH A MOSAIC LINE, AND SO FOR THE For the kiddos that were going through that process, it was seamless, so they didn't know either way. We made contact prior, so we had all that information, whether or not they had insurance or whatnot.

So it looks like not only are you having an income stream in an area that normally doesn't have that, it's looking in your newsletter that you're also doing further partnerships beyond that with organizations. I saw that Appleton West students worked with some of your community engagement teams. So it looks like it's more than just one prong, but a multiple prong approach of engagement, service, and support. I think that's great. Thank you.

I just have one question. Anybody else have any questions? I just have one question, just so everybody understands. We have latent TB. that's doubled now this last year? And are we the ones having to administer in this case? Is that an increase in workload for our nurses?

No. And there's a couple different reasons for that. Part of the latent TB workload is tied to the availability of pharmaceuticals. for that, right? It's latent TB, so it's not a transmittable element, but they should be treated. Because of recent supply chain issues, a lot of those drugs are very hard to get. So we're doing case management in terms of monitoring, but in terms of DOT and that kind of thing with latent TB, that's become less and less.

And congratulations to Eric Maggio for going to the Great Plains Leadership Institute for leadership training. That's really a great opportunity. It's fun to watch him blossom and grow. We've got to keep him.

It really has been.

All right. Any other comments or questions? All right. So going on to 26-11-44, we already talked about the health department newsletter. Are there any other comments or questions? Good job again, Megan. All right. 26-11-45, noise variances. Are there any comments or questions?

Not at this time.

OK. Seeing none, click the page. I'm seeking a motion to adjourn.

Move to adjourn.

Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you all for your time. And it's certainly nice to go to a short meeting again.