SAUGUS — John Fralick III, who is currently the health agent in Stoneham, will be the new health director for the town of Saugus.
The announcement came Monday night during a virtual meeting of the Board of Health, and was made by chair William Heffernan.
“He’s an extremely strong candidate,” Heffernan said. “I think Mr. Fralick will be a huge asset to the town. I think he possesses all the necessary skills and education.”
Heffernan said he would try to set up a meeting with the rest of the board so it could get to know Fralick better and study his resume.
Fralick said that his immediate concern is to “navigate this pandemic (COVID-19).
“So far, we’ve managed pretty well within the guidelines from the state,” Fralick said, regarding his tenure in Stoneham. “We’ve tried to focus more on education. Over the course of my career, I found that educating the general public is more valuable than punishing the general public. It’s more conducive to getting things done.
“I hope to help you guys navigate this pandemic, as well as to give the residents of Saugus the service they deserve.”
In other business Monday, health agent Joseph Tabbi had a number of concerns, the most pressing being the number of people allowed inside Macy’s at any given time. The board agreed unanimously to empower him to enforce whatever customer limit he deemed fit.
He also said that he met with the managers of the Square One Mall in an effort to alleviate the trash problem. He recommended the board ask the fire department to put up barriers that would block off the lot that extends across from Sears down Essex Street toward Melrose, because he said that’s where people seem to come in and dump trash.
Town nurse Mary McKenzie updated the Saugus COVID numbers, which, as of Monday, were 559 cases and 36 deaths.
She also said that there would be four day camps opening up as the result of Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan being implemented, two out of the Saugus YMCA, as well as Camp Nihan and the Youth and Recreation Camp at the Lynnhurst School.
“All these camps have revised their standards to meet state protocols,” she said.