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Date: 6/1/2021
WESTHAMPTON – Members of the Westhampton Selectboard hope they will soon receive guidance from the Board of Health regarding the reopening of town buildings.
The board requested a list of recommendations from the district during a May 24 discussion regarding Gov. Charlie Baker’s move to rescind all COVID-19-related restrictions – including the mask mandate – and his plans to lift the state of emergency in the commonwealth, effective June 15.
The Board of Health is scheduled to meet on June 3 while the next Selectboard meeting is expected to take place June 7.
The request was made as part of a discussion between Selectboard members and Robbie Armenti, representing the Board of Health, which illustrated confusion in the roles each government body plays in the process.
While admitting Board of Health Chair Thomas Martin was not present at the meeting and she was not prepared to act unilaterally on the board’s behalf, Armenti said the Board of Health wanted the Selectboard to develop a proposal on reopening town offices for the Board of Health to review. Selectboard Chair Philip Dowling voiced concerns with that suggestion, stating it would be a reversal of roles in comparison to earlier coronavirus-related policy discussions.
“So far in this process over the past year and whatever months, we have just been following the Board of Health’s recommendations. You guys have been the pointy end of that stick,” he said. “It seems a little backwards at this moment to just say, ‘Ask us what we think.’ If you made recommendations, I think we’d be more than happy to look at them and say, ‘This works’ or ‘This doesn’t work.’ But to just start over and go the other way doesn’t seem appropriate to me.”
Armenti said the state has informed the Board of Health that it can no longer make those kinds of recommendations, however, Selectboard member Teri Anderson rebutted that while the state has issued guidelines, municipalities could still establish local protocols in excess of state requirements.
Stating her opinion on how Westhampton should proceed with policies for public buildings, Anderson said she felt that it would be premature to lift mask and social distancing requirements ”given the level of public vaccination,” adding screening people for vaccinations would be “inappropriate.”
Anderson also cited the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s letter to the legislature requesting extensions to exceptions put in place in response to COVID-19 regarding remote meeting participation, Town Meeting, elections and voting, and certain local business supports. The Baker-Polito Administration announced on May 25 that the governor had filed legislation to extend the temporary suspension of certain open meeting law requirements, special permits for outdoor dining and billing protections for COVID-19 patients which were due to expire when the state of emergency was lifted on June 15.
Armenti said that as a Board of Health member, she would support the Selectboard’s decisions on reopening if they crafted a recommendation. Again, Dowling reiterated his desire to receive guidance from the Board of Health to which Armenti replied, “What’s very difficult is that we feel like we’ve been making recommendations and the state has told us right here, ‘You can no longer make recommendations.”
Board member Maureen Dempsey countered Armenti’s assertion by stating that as one of the operators of the Northampton Farmers Market, the market cannot change any of its restrictions until approved by the Northampton Board of Health in spite of the fact that the state has altered its guidance. Armenti clarified that while Westhampton has the authority to keep stricter policies than the state has enacted, it was her understanding that the Board of Health would no longer have the support of the state.
“We’re kind of left hanging in the wind,” she said.
Dowling said, “If you continue in that role, we will definitely not just say we’re going to deny your recommendations as being irrelevant. They have been very relevant and very timely all along. We appreciate all the work you’ve done and that’s why I think it’s appropriate, if you’re hopefully willing, to continue with that process at least a little bit longer.”
Armenti also reported during the meeting that Westhampton Public Library Director Meaghan Schwelm told the Board of Health at its last meeting that the library would maintain its requirement for masks inside the library until at least June 15 at which point they would reassess the policy.
“There will still be children inside the library and they will not be vaccinated,” Armenti said. “[Schwelm] feels after speaking with the [library] trustees somewhat uncomfortable about having many facets of population inside.”
She added the Board of Health had also recommended maintaining mask requirements in schools while masking would no longer be enforced outside.
The Selectboard also voted to opt out of the state’s mosquito spraying program in lieu of a local management program prepared by the Foothills Health District.
The town had to submit an application to opt out by May 28. The local plan included the Highway Department’s continued maintenance of culverts and education.