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Date: 6/21/2021
WILLIAMSBURG – During the Williamsburg Board of Selectmen’s June 17 meeting, the board met in person for the first time since the beginning of COVID-19 and discussed mask recommendations for town offices.
To start the discussion, Board of Health Chair Donna Gibson said she was not ready to remove the mask recommendation for town offices.
“We are concerned about the fact that children are not vaccinated, and I think that is going to affect the library and I am worried about this variant coming from India, it is looking pretty bad. I just think we should air on the side of caution that we do not know if people are vaccinated coming in from the general public,” she said.
Board member Dave Mathers said he was in favor of following similar guidelines for masks to the ones used at the Annual Town Meeting.
“I like the idea that we did at Town Meeting, if you are not vaccinated, we recommend you wear a mask but obviously for the people that are vaccinated I do not want to annoy them or the businesses,” he said.
Board member Denise Banister said it is not the town’s job to police people for not wearing masks if they are not vaccinated by choice.
“If they choose not to get vaccinated, I feel like they are choosing to take the risk. If you cannot get a vaccination, at some point you have to take responsibility for yourself. I think we are at the point that people should take responsibility for themselves, I do not think we should be the parent in this case,” he said.
For people that are unable to get a vaccine because of medical reasons or people that are concerned about coming into the building, Banister said town employees should continue to accommodate those people.
“We have been making accommodations for over a year so we would just continue to make accommodations for those who cannot get vaccinated or are uncomfortable walking in here,” she said.
To wrap up the discussion, Gibson said the town had not seen a new COVID-19 case in over a week.
The board unanimously approved the Board of Health’s mask recommendation for town offices.
During the meeting the board also approved a litany of appointments and reappointments to positions across town.
The Board of Selectmen next meets on July 1.