HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 17ORDINANCE NO. 17
Ab act relating to the reorganization of the health d~. .went
and the preservation of the-Public health of the City of Columbia
Heights, Minnesota
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS:
~Section 1. There is hereby established an executive department
in the muni~ipal government of the City of Columbia Heights, Minnesota,
which will be known as the De~Drtment of Health and shall embrace
the Mayor, the City Manager a~'d the Commissioner of Health and suets;~
other assistance and employees as may be hereafter provided for.
.S. ection 2. The executive officer of the said. Department shall
be Commissioner of Health of the City of Columbia Heights and must
be a competent physician of regular practice in said City.
The Mayor and City Manager shall appoint a commissioner to
serve until the first .Monday in June, 1925, at which time and as
soon thereafter as may be, and each two years thereafter, the Mayor
and City Manager shall appoint a Commissioner of Health whose term
of .office .shall be two (2) years .or until his successor is.appointed
and qualified. .
Section 3. said :CommisSioner shall have the management and.
control' 'Of al'i- ~atters' pertaining to the public health in said City
under the supervision of 'the DePartment of Health
Section 4. Said Commiasl0ner, before entering upon the duties
of his' office, 'shall.execute a bOnd-to the City of Columbia Heights,
Minnesota in the sum of'One Thousand Dollars ($1000.00) with such
Sureties as the Mayor., and the'city Manager shall approve, conditioned
for the faithful performance of the dUties of said office.
Section, 5. Said Department Of Health Shall exercise a general
supervision over the sanitary conditions of the City' and shall have
the power to nominate a medical inspector and not more than two (2)
sanitary inspectors, subject to the approvallof the City Council who
shall fix their salaries or other compensation.
Ail of said persons shall execute a bond to the City of Columbia
Heights in the sum of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) with such sureties
as the City Council shall approve, conditioned on the faithful per-
formance of the duties of the said office and shall be subject to
the orders of the Department of Health and shall perform such duties
as the said Department of Health or the City Council, by ordinance,
may require and determine, and such officers shall have by virtue
of their office such police power' and authority as may be necessary
to carry ~nto effect the provisions of this Act.
Section 6-Should t~he necessity arise at any t~e for more
health ~of~iCers or inspectors or other.employees 'than are hereby
provi4ed for, the Department of He~l'th' shall have power to increase
the force an~rescribe their duties by and with the consent of the
City Council.
SeCtion....7. sai4 Department of Health shall have the power to
remoVe any subordinate off~cerl,.' inspector or employee of said Depart-
pent of Health at their pleasure, subject, however, to the approval
of the City Council.
And all orders and directions emanating from said Department of
Health shall be issued in the name o~ said commissi~ner.
Section 8. The said commissioner shall give to the Mayor or other
City authorities all such professional advice and information as they
may require, with a viewtD the preservation of the public health.
And whenever he shall hear of the existence of any malignant,
contagious or pestilential d~sease~ he shall investigate thh same or
cause it to be investigate~ and adopt proper measures to arrest its
progress.
Section 9. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Health
to enforce a~l the laws of the state and ordinance of the City of
Columbia Heights relating to the sanitary regulations of the City,
and cause all nueisances to be aba~d with all reasonable promptness.
And, for the purpose of carrying ou~ ~he foregoing requirements
he, or his subordinate shai1 be permitted at all reasonable times ~to~
enter into any house, store,- stable or other building and to cause
the opening of the floor if he should deem it necessary in order to
have a thorough examination of Cellars, vaults, sinks or drains.
And to cause all privies to be cleaned and k~pt in good condition
and to cause all dead animals or .nauseous or unwholesome things or
substances to be buried or removed or disposed of as the Commissioner
of Health. may direct.
Section 10. In order to carry out the provisions of the fore-
going section, it shall be the duty o~ the Commissioner of Health
to serve a notice upon the Owner, occupant or agent of any lot,
building or premises in or upon which any nuisance may be found, or
the owner or Cause of any such nuisance, requ'~ring them to abate
the same in such manner as he may prescribe, within reasonable time.
PROVIDED, That it ahall not be necessary in any case for the
commissioner to specify in his notice the manner 'in which any
nueisance s~ll be abated ~less he shall deem it advisable t~ do so~
and such notice may be given or served by any officer who may be
directed or deputed to give or make the same.
And if 'such owner, occupant or agent shall neglect or refuse to
comply with the requirements of such order within the time specified,
they shall be subject to a penalty hereinafter provided,, and it shall
be the duty of the said officer to proceed at once, upon the expiration
of the time specified in said notice, to cause such nuisance to be
abated°
AND PROVIDED, FURTHER, That whenever the owner, occupant or agent
of premises, in or upon ~hich any nuisance may be found, is unknown
or cannot be found~ the same commissioner shall proceed to abate
the same without notice~ and in e~ther case the expense of such
abatement shall be collected from the person or persons who may have
created, continued and ~suffered such nuisance to exist.'
.Section 11. Any e~pense in~Ur~ed by the Health DePartment, in
en~oraing-t,he provisions Of the above section, shall be recovered in
an action of debt, to be brought in the name of the people of the
State of Minnesota against the Party offending, or in the event that
the offending person is brought before the Municipal Court of the
City of Columbia Heights, the said expense incurred by the Health
Department may be assessed as part of the costs of any prosecution
brought under this ordinance. ·
Section 12. It shall be the further duty of the Commissioners
of H~alth to ~isit and examine, or cause to be visited and examined,
all sick persons who shall be reported to him as laboring or supposed
~:0 be laboring under any yellow or ship fever, small pox, cholera, or
any infections or pestilential disease,
-2-
And cause all such infected persons to be removed ~o ~he Cholera.
small pox, or other hospitals, or to such other safe and proper place
as he may deem proper, not exceeding three (3) miles from said City.
And cause them to be provided with suitable nurses and medical
attendance, at their own expense, if they are able to pay for the
same, if not, then at the expense of the City.
Se~qtion. L13. It shall be the further duty of the Commissioner of
Heal~ 'to cause a notice, written or printed in large letters, to be
placed upon or near any house in Which any person may be affected
or sick with small pox, scarlet fever, or any infectious,pestilential
or epidemic disease, upon which shall be written or printed the name
of such disease a~d an order forbidding any person or persons, except-
ing the medical attendants and spiritual advisors, from going to or
leaving said premises.
And if any person or ~ersons shall deface, alter, mutilate,
destroy or tear down such notice, ,without permission of the Commission-
er of Health, or shall otherwise fail to comply with this act, such
persons or person shall be subject to the penalty hereinafter pro-
vided.
The occupant of any house upon which such notice shall be placed
or posted as aforsaid, shall be held responsible for the compliance
with the act and for the unauthorized removal of the notice, and
if the same shall be removed without the permission of the Health
Commissioner such m~_~3r4~ pan~ shall be subject to the penalty herein-
~fter provided.
Section 14. In case of pestilential or epidemic disease, or of
danger from anticipated or impending pestilence or epidemic disease,
or in case the sanitary condition of the city shall be of such a
character as to warrant it, it shall be the duty of the said depart-
pent of Health to take such measures and to do and order, and cause
to be done for the preservation of the health (though not herein
or elsewhere or otherwise authorized), as they may, in good faith
declare th~ public safety and health to demand.
Sectio. n 35. The Department of Health, may take such measures as
they may, from time to time, deem necessary, to prevent .the spread
of small pox, by issuing an order requiring all persons in the City
or any part thereof requiring vaccination, to be vaccinated within
such time as they shall prescribe, and all persons refusing or neglect-
ing to(bey such order shall be liable to the penalty hereinafter
provided. PROVIDED, that it shall be the duty of the Department to
provide for the vaccination of such persons as are unable to pay for
the same, at the expense of the city.
Section 16. The Department of Health shall have the power to
cause any 'hoUSe or premises to be cleaned, disinfected, or closed
to visitors, and prevent persons from resorting thereto while any
person is laboring under any pestilential or infectious disease.
They may, by an order, direct any nuisance to be abated, or
unwholesome matter or substance, dirt or filth to be removed from
any house or premises, and may prescribe the time and mode for doing
so, and take any other measures they may deem necessary and proper
to prevent the spread of any infectious, pestilential or epidemic
disease.
And any person who shall neglect or refuse to obey the orders,
directions and instructions of said Department of Health, shall be
subject to a penalty hereinafter provided.
Section 17. The moneys appropriated to the Department of Health
by the Cit~~ C0-uncil shall be faithfully applied by the said Department
to the true objects and purposes of its appropriations, a~d the
said Department shall make reports of all bills authorized by them
to the City Council, Which bills shall be passed upon the same as
other claims against the City.
Section 18. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Health
to inspect'a~y part of the city and its environs, which from its
locationm or from any collateral circumstances, may be deemed the
cause of ~isease.
And in all cases Where he may discover any agent, the existence
of Which will prove dangerous~ to the health of the city, and there
is no ordinance competent to the correction of the evil, he shall
immediately report the same to the Department of Health, accompanied
wi~h his opinion of the necessity of extraordinary or particular
action.
Section 19. The Department of Health, by a~d with the approval
of the City ~o-uncil, may select, pur~ase, lease and establish such
sites, places and boundaries for quarantine stations and purposes,
and with the approval,of the City Council, may erect from time to'
time, such buildings and hospitals, upon such sites and places, and
so keep the same in repair, as in their judgement shall be deemed
necessary,
Section 20. It shall be the duty of the Department of Health to
provide ~he-necessary books for keeping a record of all transactions
of said Department, including the proper registration of births and
deaths, and such other statistical informat~on necessary for efficient
working of said Department, and also keep on hand all necessary blanks
4~ be used by physicians and midwives, and furnish them with the same
on application.
Sect$0n~ 217 Said Department of Health shall always have on hand
as far as practicable, a sufficient quantity of vaccine virus, and
they shall provide to physicians who will vaccinate without charge,
all persons who may apply to them for that purpose, and shall give
certificates of vaccination to children who have been vaccinated,
and require such certificat~e to a~misslon to the public schools.
~ection...22. Any master of a vessel, conductor captain or any
person Whosoever, who shall violate any clause, provision, require-
ment, duty or regulation of this act or any rule or regulation of
the said Department of Health or Commissioner of Health, or employee,
in the discharge of their duty, or in charge of any quarantine, or
any person whoseever, Who shall fail or neglect to comply with any
such clause, provision, requirement, duty or orders, or who shall
interfere with or in any manner resist any officer or agent of the
Department of Health of the City of Columbia Heights, in the discharge
of his duty, as herein conten~lated, or Who shall commit any such
breach of peace or be guilty of any act or thing calculated to
defeat or interfere with the carrying into effect any part of this
act, or any regulation or order of said Department of Health or
ordinance of said city in relation to the public health, shall, upon
arrest and convietion by the m~nicipal court of the City of Columbia
Heights, or in the ~strict court of the County of Anoka, be subject
to a fine not to exceed One Hundre~ Dollars (8100.00) nor less than
ten Dollars ($10.) for each offense, together with costs of prosec~ion.
Section 23, It shall be the duty of the City Attorney of the City
of C~lumb~ 'Heights, to act promptly in all suits or procee~ngs of
any violation of this act, an~ in all procee~ings approved or prompted
by said department of Health, or their employees, and to bring the
same to a speedy hearing or termination, and in case of the obtaining
of a ~udgment, to direct execution therein without delay.
.~e~tion 24. Said Department of Health may order or cause any
excavation, erection, vehicle, vessel, water craft, room, building,
place, sewer, pipe passage, premises, ground, n~atter or thing in
the City of Columbia Heights or adjacent waters, regarded by said
--m4-
Department as in a condition dangerous or detrimental to life or
health, to be purified, cleansed' disinfected, altered or improved~
and may also order any substance matter or thing, being or left in
any street~, alley, water, excavation, building, erection, place or
grounds (whether such place Where the same may be in private or
public) and which said Depar.tment may regard dangerous or detrimental
to life or health, to be speedily removed, and may designate or provide
a place to which the same shall be removed, when no such adequate
or proper place, in the judgment of said Department is already provided
Section 25. It shall be the duty of the said Department of
Health--in the enforcement of, and, as far as practicable, to
enforce all laws of this state applicable within the limits of the
City of Collumbia Heights, to the preservation of
the care, promotion or protection of health~ and human life or to
said department .
may exercise the authority given by the laws a~oresaid, to enable
them to discharge the duties herein impose~ and this section is
intended to include all laws relative to cleanliness, and to the
use or sale of poisonous, u~wholesome, deleterious or adulterated
drugs, medicines or food. A~d said Department is authorized to
require reports and information at such times and of such facts, and
generally of such nature and extent relating to the safety of life
and the promotion of health, as its bY-laws and rules may provide,
from all dispensaries, hospitals, asylums, infirm
schools and from the mn ............ ar es, prisons and
~'=~=~, Principals and officer .
ail other institutions, their of~ ......... s thereof, and from
~ ~==r~ anu managers, and fr
p.r.oprie.te~s, managers, lessees an~ ................ om the
onner places of ~ubli~ ~-~ -- _-_~_~w~=~ o= .all rhea=ers and
is hereby made '- ~ *~ ~ ~usement in sa~d district~ and it
the duty of the officers, institutions and persobs
so called on or referred to promptly to give such reports, verbally
or in writing, as may be required by said Department.
Section 26. That it shall be the duty of all coroners within
the ~~f Columbia ~eights, .within three (3) days after the
taking of any inquest, to file a written statement with the said
Department of Health, signed by the coroner making the same, stating,
so far as he is able, where and upon the body of whom such inquest
was held, and the cause and date and place of the death of such person.
section 27. That the said Department of Health is hereby author-
ized''' and it'shall be its duty to make such rules and recommend such
ordinances as to th~ may seem necessary and ~roper, for the
of com~elling all ~hysicians ~racticing within the limits of purpose
the City
of Columbia Heights to make reports of all cases of contagious diseases
upon which they may be in attendance, and all keepers of boarding or
lodging houses, all innkeepers and~ hotel keepers, to make reports
~f all cases of contagious disease occurring within their respective
houses, and generally to make such regulations and rules as to them
may be deemed necessary for the carrying ~nto effect the objects of
this section of obliging reports of contagious diseases to be made
to said Department of Health, by all persons becoming cognizant
the same.
A A~d the said Department of Health is hereb authori
and its duty to make rul ........... Y zed
lating the interment and removal of dead bodies, their entry into,
=~ ur r~commen~ ordinances regu-
removal from the passage through the said City of Columbia Reights,
and no body shall be ~uried or exhumed within the limits of the said
City of Columbia Heights, removed therefrom or received therin, to
pass through the said City without a written permit first obtained
from 'the said Department of Heaith, and to be issued in the manner
and under the conditions of them prescribed, and the said Department
Of Health shall make all rules and regulations necessary for carrying
out the objects of,this section.
Section...29~. That the jurisdiction of the City of Columbia Heights
shall extend to, and prevail over all cemetaries under the control
of organizations established in said city, and it shall be the duty
of the Department of Health to make such rules and regulations as may
be deemed necessary regarding the reception and terment of deed bodies
within the same and prescribe the duties of all sextons and keepers of
such cemetaries relative to the reception and burial of dead bodies.
section .,30. Copies of the proceedings of said Department, of its
rules, regulations, by-laws, books and papers, constituting part of
its archives, when authenticated by the Department of Health, shall
be presumptive evidence, and the authentication to be taken as pre-
sumptively correct in any court of justice of judicial proceedings,
when they may be revelent to the point or matter in controversy of
the facts, statements and recitals therein contained.
And the action proceedings, authority and orders of the said
Department of Health, shall at all times, be regarded as in their
nature Judicial and be treated as prima facie just and legal.'
Section 31. The juri~~nn of the Department of Health of
the C~ity of-Columbia Heights shall extend over all lakes and water
courses of the county of anoka, and lie within the limits of said
City.
~ection 32. Said Commissioner of Health shall annually, on or
befo~e ~e-'-f't~st (lst) day of January, present to the Mayor and City
Council, a thorough and comprehensive statement of all matters per-
taining to said Department during the year, and of all expenditures from
the appropriations for the Health Department, together with a state-
ment in detail ~f the appropriations required by the Department
during the next municipal year.
Section 33. It shall be the duty of all employees in said
Department of Health to obey and carry out all orders and directions
of the Department of Health and perform such ~uties as may be imposed
upon them by said Department.
~_ectl0n 34. The City Attorney of the City of Columbia Heights
or his assistants by his directions, shall be the legal adviser of
theCommissioner and Department of Health, in all matters incident
to their office. The said attorney or assistants, shall render and
perform all legal service pertaining to th~ Department of Health,
and where requested, shall furnish written opinions upon all legal
questions pertaining to said Department.
Section 35. It shall be the duty ~f the Chief o~ Police to
cause 'tO be" ~'xecuted all orders of the Department of Health, so far
as they may relate to the preservation of the health of the City, or
whenever requested to do so by the Department of Health.
Section 36. It shall be the duty of every street Commissioner
and p°liCeman' of the City of Columbia Heights to promptly report at
the office of the Department of Health any violation of the rules of
the Health Department of the City of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, that
may become known to him while on d~ty.
Secti..on 37. All acts applying to the term of office and salary
of Healt~' Officer and all acts or parts of acts and amendments thereto
now in force which conflict in any way with this ordinance be and
same are hereby repealed.
Section 38. The Health Commissioner shall every two weeks render
a st~ his services and shall be paid a reasonable compensation
for the rendering of such services in the same manner and form as
all other cit-f employees are ~aid, provided, however~ that whenever
said Health Commissioner shall appear in a court proceeding in ~he
Municipal Court of the City~ of Columbia Heights, the charges for
such attendance shall be tab. ed as part of the costs in the action
wherein ' -6-
wherein such Health Commissioner shall appear and be paid to said
Health Commissioner in the same manner and form as other witnesses
are paid.
$~c~ion 39. This act shall take effect ~ud be in force 30 days
from-~ after its passage.
(sE )
W.C. GAUVITTE
Mayor
HAZEL A. TRUCKER
City Clerk
First readingApril 30th,1923
Second~ reading May 14th, 1923
Passed May 14th, 1923.