SHUTESBURY — When Sirius Eco-village celebrates its 40th anniversary at the Community Center building later this month, those visiting to help mark its milestone can be assured that the public bathrooms and commercial kitchen are functioning correctly.
The Eastern Franklin Health District recently completed an inspection of the 72 Baker Road property after the town’s Board of Health received an anonymous complaint from three people claiming to be former residents of the community. In the certified letter, the writers expressed concern about “two alarming safety code violations” at the Community Center building: a “distinct septic odor” and the ongoing presence of vermin, including mice, in the kitchen.
But Charles Kaniecki, the assistant agent for the health district, said none of the issues outlined in the letter were found at the Sirius site, and the numerous guests expected for the anniversary event Sept. 21 and 22 should have no worries about using the Community Center.
“There was nothing we observed that we felt was a violation of the health codes,” Kaniecki said in a phone interview Wednesday. “There was nothing there that concerned us.”
On Sept. 6, Kaniecki and District Agent Claudia Lucas completed what he described as a thorough inspection of the building. This included Lucas going through the entire kitchen to see if there was any evidence of rodents, mold or insects. At the same time, Kaniecki looked at the perimeter of the building to see if there was any septic system discharge or something else that would have led to the alleged foul odor.
“There was no detectable odor,” Kaniecki said.
Because no violations were observed, the case is considered closed, he said.
Kaniecki suspects that if there was an odor present at some point in recent months, it may have come from drains in the floor in the kitchen that were not being used regularly. When drains dry out, an odor will persist until it is flushed out.
According to its website, Sirius has pioneered community, sustainability, spirituality and education. It has monthly open houses for the public to learn about how to live life with a sacred purpose and with respect for the individual, and teaches topics such as organic gardening and permaculture and building techniques that have minimal impact on the environment.
The letter sent to the Board of Health also contains some inaccurate information regarding past inspections.
“When we lived at Sirius, it was made clear to us that the Shutesbury Board of Health had not been on the premises to inspect any aspects of the Community Center for many years,” the anonymous individuals wrote.
But Kaniecki said Sirius’ Community Center was inspected as recently as six to eight months earlier, as a result of changes aimed at being able to have more events, including small conferences. The site only became licensed last year, and prior to 2017 there was not a commercial kitchen at Sirius, he said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
