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Date: 8/11/2021
WILBRAHAM – The Wilbraham Board of Selectmen discussed whether to re-impose a mask mandate in town buildings. Town Administrator Nick Breault said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had put out a recommendation for individuals to wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status. As of the Aug. 9 meeting, no mandate had been sent down.
Board of Selectmen Clerk Theresa Goodrich opined that she was not in favor of any mask mandate. “The guidance on it changes every day. The validity of it changes every day.”
While Vice Chair Carolyn Brennan did not call for a municipal mask mandate, she did ask that the topic be reviewed in 30-day increments as the situation continues to change.
Chair Robert Boilard said that the town has always followed pandemic restrictions from the state and will continue to do so. The three agreed on that point.
During the open forum, resident Michael Squindo encouraged the board to follow data on the issue of masking and requested the metrics for the masking mandate decision be made public to reduce confusion among residents.
The topic of the town building survey was brought up, with resident Dave Sanders asking who will make decisions about the future of Memorial School now that the conditions of the structure have been established.
Boilard explained that any lease of the town-owned building would be under the purview of the Board of Selectmen, but Town Meeting would decide whether to sell the building. In the meantime, needed repairs to the building will be worked into the Capital Planning Committee’s project schedule. Boilard agreed with Sanders that some repairs were urgent.
Resident Matt Villamaino expressed concerns about paying for immediate repairs to the building only to have it continue to degrade. Resident John Broderick asked about the cost associated with keeping the former school “moth-balled.” Boilard assured them that the town was actively examining options for the school and would not allow the building to “rot.”
Moving to another topic, resident John Farrington asked about the status of the pickleball courts that had been approved for study at 540 Stony Hill Rd. He explained that a biodiversity survey was ongoing at that site and that the project had catalogued 116 bird species in the area, higher than the national average. “In terms of the town’s natural heritage,” he said, it would be a shame to lose it for “something that can go elsewhere.”
Boilard suggested Farrington go to the state with the information and fight against the clearcutting of wooded lands off of Three Rivers Road to install a solar field. He noted that the Planning Board had been “held to task” for opposing the project.
Goodrich asked Farrington to forward her the information he had so she could discuss it with him further.
In Wilbraham Fire Chief Michael Andrews’ COVID-19 update to the board, he said there had been a “small uptick” in cases of COVID-19 that his department had transported via ambulance. Three of the six cases had been mutual aid calls from out of town. He noted that the department had once again begun advanced cleaning procedures at the station and of the ambulances.
Breault told the board that the Parks & Recreation Department had decided to close the last week of summer camp out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19 cases among campers.