Minster business owner works to have food license reinstated

WAPAKONETA - The owner of a Minster restaurant and bar is working to clean up the premises after having had its food license revoked in June.

Auglaize County Environmental Health Director Curt Anderson on Thursday told health board members that Dutch Mill owner Brian Clune is moving in the right direction.

"As of now they are really putting a lot of effort into, at least putting on paper what we like to see, so that's a good step," Anderson said. "It really looks good on paper. The concern is, will it continue six months from now? You have to change the culture, and that's difficult to do."

Clune has completed a lot of surface cleaning but hasn't delved into the deeper issues yet, Anderson added.

"They did redo the men's restroom floor, which was a big improvement, and they've developed a weekly cleaning list, detailed job descriptions and a detailed plan," Anderson reported.

Board members decided to revoke the Dutch Mill's food license due to 13 years of repeated critical and noncritical violations found during health department inspections. Anderson called the establishment's environment "kind of a yo-yo-type situation."

The restaurant's Level 3 food license was revoked, but Clune was given permission to immediately reapply for a Level 1 food license, which would allow him to sell beverages, including alcohol, but no food. This prevented the establishment from closing completely, allowing Clune to still operate the Dutch Mill as a bar.

"Nobody really wanted to close the Dutch Mill down, but in the interest of public safety, something had to be done," board president Linda Kitzmiller said.

Anderson noted the feedback he's received about the board's decision to revoke has been "close to 100 percent" in support.

Clune was given permission to reapply for a Level 3 food license in August if he's completed all of the board's requirements.

In other news, director of nursing Brenda Eiting reported a recent increase in immunizations as the new school year approaches.

"It's started to pick up with our phone calls, and clinics are getting full with our back-to-school (immunization) rush, she said.

Health department employees in June saw 2,262 clients and provided 586 services, including 544 immunizations.

Health commissioner Oliver Fisher updated the board on the department's progress toward applying for accreditation. All county health departments are required by the state to be accredited by 2020.

"We're still shooting for May 2018 to apply," he said. "After we apply, we're still going to have 12 months to gather all our documents and submit them. So we're on track and going strong."

One of the last necessary documents for accreditation - the Workforce Development Plan - was unanimously approved Thursday by board members.

Members also approved June receipts of $63,575 and expenses of $159,359 for the health department and receipts of $9,118 and expenditures of $30,020 for Family and Children First.

Also on Thursday, members,

• approved semi-annual payment of $2,500 to OB-GYN Specialists of Lima for Woman's Health Medical Director services.

• issued seven-day orders to provide proof of current rabies vaccination for two dogs in St. Marys. The dogs live at 217 N. Augustus St. and at 215 S. West St.

• approved the hiring of Kylee Reineke as WIC health professional at a rate of $19 per hour.

• agreed to purchase a refrigeration unit and a freezer unit to store vaccines at a total cost of $9,246.

• approved a memorandum of understanding with Auglaize County Council on Aging to host the annual satellite immunization clinic.

• renewed a contract with Diane Schulze as a contractual part-time nurse at $22.43 per hour.

• approved the purchase of a new immunization window at a cost of $561.

• approved a cellphone policy to establish a 24-hour helpline to reach the breastfeeding peer helper.