Sonoma State University

Campus-wide Safety Committee Meeting Minutes October 7, 2021

Minutes

Attendance: Ruth LeBlanc, Christy Gorman, Stephen Green, Erin Taylor, Tyson Hill, Karl Mortenson, Margot Brown, Missy Brunetta, Dennis Goss, Michael Eynon, Celeste McLaughlin, Jordan Lundberg, Mark Utarid, Lauren Antoni, Ryan Henne

  1. Meeting was called to order at 9:05 and minutes from the previous month were approved as written at 9:06.
  2. Accident & Near Miss Review (Workers’ Compensation)
    1. Celeste M. reported three injuries since last meeting. First injury involved a fall on walkway due to insufficient lighting. Second injury involved a trip on the curb in a parking lot on a curb (person didn’t see curb and cracked ribs). However, no claims submitted for either. The third injury is a filed claim which involves an injury to wrist due to repetitive motion. This injury occurred in March. Celeste reminded committee that it is very important to ensure all personnel report injuries right away to encourage time for healing and avoid prolonged injury. Ruth L. reported that EHS has been working with Facilities Management on trimming trees to allow light on pathways. Committee discusses and agreed on scheduling another night time walk to view lighting on campus. Ryan H. reported that there are students from council that can participate in the safety walk, so please include when scheduling. Team will discuss and finalize date and will schedule to include students (encouraging feedback). Missy inquired about any assessments occurring for tree replacements to check impact to campus lighting. Ruth reported that there is none yet and suggested that the topic to be addressed in the next RMSS/FM meeting.
  3. Standing reports:
    1. Sonoma State University Police Dept- Karl M. reported September monthly crime log involved the following: violation of probation; controlled substance possession; tampering with fire alarm in dorm, report of a weapon on campus (report unfounded after conclusion of investigation), reported extortion attempt (involving social media- two open cases), reported petty theft, vandalism, hit & run in parking lot A, and reported battery from two students. There have also been reports about minors unaffiliated with university coming to campus and egging dormitories and parked cars. It is suspected to be related to a social media challenge.  
    2. EH&S reported general updates
      1. Annual review and updates to several programs completed.
        1. Reminder about the Roof access procedure. Please follow procedure. There is fall protection needed on some roofs on campus.
        2. Changes to Hazard Communication program: make sure all SDSs in your area are on MSDS online. EHS does back up all information from MSDS online. Historical SDSs are required to be retained for 35 years. Contact EHS if you would like EHS to keep on file. If you need a QR code poster for MSDS online access, contact EHS.
      2. Wildfire Smoke – Check the EHS website for Cal-OSHA mandatory information. EHS will let you know what to expect from SSU. Missy reminded team that metrics on what university uses to hit benchmarks for air quality can be found on Emergency Services website.
      3. Upcoming Laboratory Inspection for Physics and Astronomy.
      4. Ruth L. presented bio-sampling results from organic matter sampling (using Hygiena) which measures cleanliness in areas on campus. It was acknowledged that anything lower than 500 RLUs is considered clean. Chart presented showed that buildings are relatively clean (all below 180 RLUs). Cleaning efforts are doing well, especially in heavily student populated areas. 
      5. Bloodborne Pathogens training: Karl M. reported that his department is currently taking bloodborne pathogens training. Ruth advised that he should send people to EHS if they should have any questions.
    3. Facilities Management- No reports from Facilities Management.
    4. Student Affairs- Ryan H. reported that. National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week (NCAAW) is scheduled for Oct 25-29. The schedule will be finalized on Monday, Ryan will forward the schedule to the group once the marketing is finalized. Ryan also reported that they are preparing for potential wildfires by sending reminders to campus residents about emergency kits and evacuation procedures.
    5. Disability Services for Students- Michael E. reported that his department is currently facilitating in person exams. He has no accessibility issues to report. Currently preparing for next semester enrollment.
    6. CSUEU-  Dennis G. inquired about the timeline for soil testing. Ruth stated that there is no timeline at the moment. (Background information: Soil sampling is being conducted as a response to a concern that someone brought in vermiculite and serpentine in 1984). Based on the information, currently Carson has come up negative. Additional planning for soil sampling along Carson, Nichols, and the Student Health Center is planned (Stevenson has results have come back negative). Once the results are received (and comes up negative), restrictions can be lifted. As of current, landscapers are restricted from blowing on raw dirt. More information to come, upon receiving data.
    7. Teamsters- No reports from Teamsters.
  4. Emergency Services
    1. COVID-19 Campus update- Missy B. reported that effective as of last Friday, there have been 42 employee cases (13 on campus) and 183 student cases (45 on campus). 90-95% of students are in compliance with reporting (vaccination status or exempt status). Some unions on campus have not agreed to vaccination policy so they are not required to report. There was a discussion about mask compliance. Campus is working on educating employees on mask mandates as some people are voluntarily removing masks in groups. Students are reporting that they see other people not wearing masks. Some staff don’t feel comfortable policing mask mandates, so campus is working on increasing signs and education on mandates. Missy advised that if anyone does not feel comfortable policing mask mandates, please report any areas of concern. Ryan H. reported that to get more students in the compliance category, his team has been calling each student to ensure that they are uploading correctly and completing forms. The plan is to put a hold on student accounts for spring registration if they are not completed. He reiterated that there will be no disenrolling of students. Ryan stated that there are three paths to compliance: upload vaccination card, exemption option, waiver option (off-campus students). Ryan also reported that currently not all offices are checking student badges consistently. So, they are looking into it. People who refuse to wear mask are being addressed through the conduct process. So far, only two administrative warnings have been issued to two students. Dennis G. asked about availability for booster shots. Missy advised to refer people to RMSS, and they can direct interested parties to places that provide boosters. Currently there is not enough demand yet to have a place on campus to provide boosters.  
    2. Missy reported that there have been questions about telecommuting agreements and stated that HR is working with the Chancellor’s office on next steps.
  5. New Business from members / Roundtable Discussion- Ryan H. inquired about the solar panel project in the parking lot. He stated that there is no curb dividing parking lot and road. Tyson stated that he will follow up on when parking lot will open. Project has different stages of timelines to allow for parking availability. Jordan reported that there is a plan to place parking stops in the area.