After months in the planning, the Secaucus Board of Health finally introduced its inspection ordinance for nail, tanning, and hair saloons, tattoo and massage parlors and barbershops at a meeting Feb. 20.
In 1999, Board of Health President Frank Mancuso put together a committee to look into doing local inspections on various person hygiene services in town. Mancuso brought up the issue after noticing that some salons may not be taking adequate steps towards sterilization of equipment and other health-related precautions. As a result, the Board of Health has begun to look into possibly licensing of hair and nail salons in Secaucus in order to provide a closer scrutiny and local instruction as to proper safety procedures.
“We are doing this so that we can be certain these places get regular inspections,” Mancuso during a telephone interview.
Although the state Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling does regulate some of these salons, they almost never inspect them unless they get a complaint, according to Health Officer Vincent Rivelli.
While Board of Health Member Robert Grewe raised concerns about the legality and possible response from local business owners, Rivelli said ordinances of this kind already exist in other Hudson County towns without problems.
Mancuso said this is a revised ordinance from one proposed earlier in the year, and it addresses concerns raised by some owners. While he said some owners might complain, the heath issue is more important. Rivelli said the purpose of the ordinance is to inspect facilities where people might be nicked or cut or have other services to make certain that the tools used meet health standards.
Under this ordinance, the health office could warn, fine or even close down an establishment based on the health risks found during an inspection. This ordinance goes further than state law in regulating local establishments, and guarantees minimum yearly inspections, rather than responding to a complaint made by a patron. It requires each establishment to get a license and be inspected. The ordinance would establish a fee of $20, and a $40 re-inspection fee if the establishment fails its initial inspection.
The ordinance would also:
• Require each establishment to give the Board of Health a list of suppliers. Then, the health inspector could talk to the suppliers if they want to determine if the materials are being used the property sanitary and hygienic manner.
• Require each establishment to have hot and cold running water available at the service location.
• Ban the washing of linen or of using such materials to cover more than one patron. Mancuso said traditional washing does not get hot enough to sterilize these items. The ordinance does not ban paper coverings that would be disposed of after each patron’s use.
• Require that a store be separated from living quarters. A residential area must be separated from the store by a permanent partition extending from ceiling to floor and the door between store and residence must be closed during operations.
• Require each store to post its hours of operations, and display the inspection certificate and license so patrons can see them.
• Fines range from $25 for the first offense, $50 for the second offense, and up to $500 for a third with a required appearance before the Board of Health.