LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The town has implemented a series of protocols intended to keep residents safe and comfortable attending the annual town meeting on Tuesday.
At Wednesday's meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Town Manager Kelli Robbins laid out the procedures the town has in place for the annual gathering at Lanesborough Elementary School.
She said the protocols have the backing of Town Moderator Chris Dodig, who last week joined the Selectmen's virtual meeting and questioned whether it might make sense to postpone the meeting in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and learn from other towns who hold their meetings first.
Robbins said she met with the Dodig earlier in the day on Wednesday.
"He appeared to be very comfortable going forward with the meeting," she told the board. "He said he didn't need to attend tonight's meeting and asked that I relay that information to you."
Robbins said she would post the protocols for Tuesday's 6 p.m. annual town meeting on the town's website and alongside public postings of the meeting's warrant.
"It's going to feel different," she said in a meeting telecast on Lanesborough Community Access TV. "But it's a temporary difference. The intent is [Thursday] to provide the residents with a list of the expectations in how we're going to proceed to get everyone in safely and the safety measures we're taking for the meeting."
Robbins at Wednesday evening's meeting listed four specific changes that will be in place for the June 9 meeting: the doors will open one hour earlier, seating in the elementary school will be spaced, "social distancing and face covering guidelines will be requested," and residents will be asked to do a temperature check before entering.
"We're going to ask people if they would mind if we take their temperature," Robbins said in answer to a question from Selectman Hank Sayers. "It's a non-invasive [thermometer]. It doesn't come in contact with them. And if anyone has a fever of 100.3, which is the state guideline for non-admittance, we'll ask them if they're not feeling well if they would mind, please, staying at home.
"They may not know they have a fever, but as an adult myself, if I have a fever of 100.3, I'm not going to feel well enough to go out. So I don't think that's actually going to be an issue."
One of the two selectmen in the room with Robbins could be heard saying, "Right," after that last statement. Selectman Gordon Hubbard participated in Wednesday's meeting remotely.
The public health measures are not the only thing that will be a little different at this year's town meeting.
On Wednesday, Robbins told the Selectmen that the town's new electronic voting system has been tested twice and is ready to go for Tuesday night.
She said each voter will be given a clicker, which is "self-explanatory" with a green button next to the word "yes," a red button next to the word "no" and a yellow button if the voter wishes to abstain. The voter also simply can not press any button in order to abstain.
"All the votes will actually be anonymous, so people can feel comfortable using that," Robbins said.
At the end of Wednesday's 17-minute meeting, Chair John Goerlach made a brief statement apparently referencing the wave of unrest that has been witnessed across the country since the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
"I'm glad our area is not getting involved in the nonsense in many other cities, that people are much more civil in what's happening out there," Goerlach said. "It was a sad thing that happened, but that officer will be punished, along with the other officers. These are tough times. There's a lot of nonsense going on, people getting hurt for no reason."
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships
LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock.
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC).
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities. MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities.
Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more
On Saturday afternoon at Lowell’s Tsongas Center, the Hurricanes will take aim at Division 5 State Championships in girls and boys basketball. click for more
Pittsfield High's Matt Dupuis and Lee's Bella Kotek Sunday completed a Berkshire County sweep at the State Bowling Championships at Bowlero.
click for more
Emily Holian’s strike to open the 10th frame of the Wildcats’ second game against Worcester Tech all but assured Lee a team title at Bowlero Chicopee.
click for more
Hoosac struggled to get into rhythm on the offensive end until Joey McGovern got the 3-ball working. McGovern finished the game with 21 points including a triple in the fourth quarter that cemented him in the record books. It took him nearly the whole game but he was able to join the 1,000-point... click for more
Pittsfield High's Eliza Mullen won state title and in the giant slalom and slalom, winning the former discipline by 1.6 seconds and the latter by nearly 2.7 seconds.
click for more