Douglas Health Board Elects New Chair, Vice Chair

Board of Health · Meeting of October 26, 2026

Douglas Board of Health elected a new chair and advanced a membership application. Members voted unanimously to elect David Balbi as chair for the coming term and Robert Brazeau as vice chair, with the transition set to begin next month. The board also voted to advance a pending Board of Health membership application to the Select Board "for their consideration and possible vote." Staff confirmed Massachusetts has no legal form of kratom, unlike neighboring Rhode Island, and said two local retailers received compliance notices.

Members tabled a dead-battery disposal funding question after learning a prior free mail-in program now costs $90 per box. Public Health Nurse Agnieszka Podstawka reported test-kit demand was outpacing supply as respiratory season began: "all the tests were gone." The board approved its September 28 minutes and set its next meeting for November 23 at 6 p.m.

In the full story:

• Board Reorganization: New Chair and Vice Chair
• Transfer Station Tonnage and the Can-Deposit Program
• Dead Battery Disposal and Transfer Station Signage
• [00:14:12] — a board member, on dead-battery disposal funding
• New Board of Health Member Application
• Kratom Regulation and Food Safety
• Animal Inspector Barn Inspections
• MHOA Conference and Regional Public Health Update (BVPPH)
• Public Health Nurse Report
• Health Inspector Update: Oktoberfest
• Minutes, Bills and Warrants, Next Meeting
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,939 words

Source: the Board of Health meeting of October 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.