Waynesboro eyes new health inspections

(Waynesboro) — Restaurants and other business might face additional scrutiny with how they operate if Waynesboro borough officials decide to partner with Chambersburg for health inspection services.

However, borough officials said it will only be a concept for now, not a done deal.

Discussions between the two municipalities began last month after Borough Manager Jason Stains, Waynesboro Council President Harold Mumma and Councilman Michael Cermak met with Chambersburg Borough Manager Jeff Stonehill and Council President Allen Coffman to talk about how Chambersburg’s Board of Health is organized and how restaurant and health inspections are done there.

Waynesboro Councilwoman Niccole Rolls said the discussion is in a very early stage.

“Right now we are just gathering information,” she said.

Rolls said a special committee was formed last month to look into the possibility of either bringing back Waynesboro’s health department or partnering with Chambersbirg’s health department. The Waynesboro department was shut down about 10 years ago when the municipality’s health officer retired, she said.

But today, some Waynesboro officials believe there might be a renewed need for such a department, Rolls said.

Still, she said the renewed interest in a local health department is not in reaction to a problem that exists today or complaints about health issues in local restaurants and eateries.

Such a department would not just provide local restaurant inspections, but would handle general health issues, she said.

Stonehill acknowledged that he and Coffman met with the Waynesboro representatives “to discuss how Chambersburg operates a local food service permit system for the town’s restaurants and food service operations.”

“We explained our system, and Waynesboro representatives expressed interest in having their own local system and maybe using the Chambersburg Board of Health to review violations or other food service issues,” Stonehill said.

He said Waynesboro’s concept was to set up their own system but then share Chambersburg’s Health Board.

“Both President Coffman and I thought it was interesting and rather simple concept,” he said.

Right now Waynesboro’s restaurants are inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Stains said during a Waynesboro Borough Council meeting in January that the borough is not trying to “downplay” the role played by that department’s local inspector, but insisted the borough was just exploring an option.”

He said that in addition to restaurant inspections, many issues regarding code enforcement could be handled by a local health board, including educational opportunities for food handlers at churches, restaurants and mobile vendors. It could also provide information for the general public about pandemics and epidemics.

At a meeting Jan. 20, several local citizens, including restaurant owners, brought up issues they saw with the proposal, indicating they worried about increased fees as questioning whether the frequency of inspections would increase.

Sheree Green of Christine’s Café, 81 W. Main Street, asked “why make a change” in restaurant inspection procedures since there have been no issues with restaurants in the borough for the last 10 years.

She said it appeared the issue was with residential code enforcement.

Stephen Monn, a West Main Street resident, suggested subcontracting with Chambersburg to provide services required for code enforcement issues but continuing to use the current state inspection and licensing program for restaurants.

Stains said that although Waynesboro is looking into the pros and cons of the potential for an inter-municipal agreement with Chambersburg, the concept is in what he calls “an exploratory phase at best.”

“I do not expect Borough Council to take action anytime soon,” he said this week..

Vicky Taylor, 717-262-4754

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