As Environmental Health Manager of the Central Nevada Health District (CNHD), it is my pleasure to invite you to partner with the District, in an advisory capacity, to form the Food Protection Hearing and Advisory Board (FPHAB). The FPHAB will provide independent, unbiased oversight in the event that a food service facility disputes the decision of the Environmental Health program. The CNHD is committed to excellence in its Environmental Health program and by participating on the FPHAB, you will have an opportunity to guide our program by enhancing public/environmental health within our district boundaries. The goal of the FPHAB is to help ensure our team is meeting the needs of the local food industry regarding compliance and enforcement actions through a collaborative and systematic approach. We know that no single entity or agency can make this process run smoothly, so we are delighted to collaborate with you towards a shared goal of assessing and improving environmental health within the District.
The voluntary FPHAB will be a District Board of Health appointed seven-member advisory board, two of which (at least) will be representatives from our local food industry and the remaining five members will be considered based on your willingness to make a difference within our communities. Three members of the FPHAB will be appointed for a one-year term, three for a two-year term, and one for a three-year term. The advisory board will meet, as needed, in person or by telephonic or electronic communication to review any pending requests for appeals and/or waivers.
At this time, we do not see an extensive time commitment for advisory board meetings. The first meeting will be to introduce the members and establish the structure of future meetings. Subsequent meetings will be scheduled as needed to evaluate and determine if a food facility’s appeal/waiver is warranted and make recommendations to the District Board of Health for a final decision. Meetings will only be scheduled when formal requests for appeals/waivers are received and will not occur more frequently than monthly.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and to consider being a part of the FPHAB. We invite you to apply to become a member and look forward to working with you to advance the goals of our program. For your convenience, I have included an online form for the Advisory Board Application, or you can download the application as a PDF which can be emailed to info@centralnevadahd.org. If you need additional information and/or have questions, please feel free to call me at 775-867-8181.
Sincerely,
Daren Winkelman, Environmental Health Manager