Richmond Board of Health Defers Hilltop Permit Dispute, Clears Two Housing Cases

RICHMOND -- December 3, 2020, Richmond Board of Health clears two housing complaints and flags unresolved issues at Hilltop food establishment. At the December 3 Zoom meeting, chaired by a member identified in the transcript as Tony in his final session as chair, Alliance health agent Charlie Kinecki inspected both 282 Canaan Road and 2 Willow Road and found no actionable sanitary code violations at either property, closing both cases. Public health nurse Emily reported four confirmed and one probable COVID-19 case in Richmond, all household-transmission, with PCR results delayed up to five days; she said a switch to the Broad Institute platform was expected the following week. The board tabled a full review of Hilltop, a food-service business that has never held a 2020 permit due to septic failures, missing ServSafe certification, and inadequate facilities, to its January 5 meeting. Health agent John Olander notified the board he would undergo knee-replacement surgery in late December and proposed coming off payroll January 1, with Alliance staff to cover Richmond on a weekly or biweekly basis.