Actual and hybrid meetings of town boards and committees will resume as soon as May 16, following a unanimous vote by the Select Board Monday night.
The motion also encouraged boards and committees to begin discussions on options – in person, virtual, or hybrid — which in some cases will include new technology on which volunteer members can be trained.
The board agreed that its first hybrid meeting will be on May 23, although some members suggested waiting until June.
Remote governmental meetings, authorized by emergency state legislation, have been the norm since the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in mid-March 2020. Under the state law, they can continue through July 15.
The School Committee resumed hybrid meetings Tuesday, as proceedings were available in person or on Zoom.
“All the other boards and committees are waiting for us to make a recommendation,” said Select Board Chair Emily Mitchell. She noted that the Board of Health has not issued guidance specific to this topic, although “mitigation strategies in the broadest sense” include the option of indoor face covering to protect various vulnerable people, such as immunocompromised or elderly. “We can’t assume that anyone in attendance doesn’t fit one of those categories,” she said.
There was a clear consensus to resume meeting in person. The harder part was determining when.
“You get a better sense [by] looking at people and being together,” said Shawn Hanegan, who served for several years on the Planning Board before he was elected to the Select Board in March. But he acknowledged that Covid case numbers are increasing, and no one knows when they will stabilize or recede.
Select Board member Edward Pierce agreed that “it would be good to get back together. I think we could signal something for the end of May or beginning of June, so we can see what this other variant is, give other boards and committees time to decide how they might want to proceed, and give staff some time to figure things out.”
Members Bopha Malone and Hanegan favored the idea, but their colleague Margot Fleischman felt that “if we wait until June 1, there is going to be some other wrinkle.” She acknowledged that the upward Covid-19 trajectory is concerning, but added that a better metric is the actual number of virus cases.
Town Manager Sarah Stanton requested that the board provide at least a two-week lead time for the transition, to take care of staff who have child care and eldercare issues. She also assured that the meeting rooms in Town Hall are “incredibly well ventilated,” and that there also is room for meetings in Town Center.
Stanton also suggested that the Select Board communicate with other board and committee chairs, presenting the timeline for the transition and encouraging them to meet with their members.
She added that, if returning to in-person format, she hopes boards “go with empathy, be thoughtful of vulnerable co-workers and family members.”
Hybrid meetings will be served by a new video conferencing platform called Owl, which will be used by the Select Board, Finance Committee, Board of Health, and Planning Board. Fleischman said training will be available for committee members on operating the system, which will “take the pressure off staff.”
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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