Since there has been some concern about attending what promises to be a lengthy Town Meeting in an enclosed space, I am forwarding an email from Andy Hogeland.
Fellow Williamstown Residents:
I have heard numerous comments over the last few days taking differing views on the merits of adjourning Town Meeting to a different date and place. I am offering a suggestion on how to proceed in an orderly manner. Please note that this question is not under the jurisdiction of the Select Board and I am not acting as a member of the Select Board, but only as a private citizen preparing for Town Meeting.
At this point, the authority to adjourn Town Meeting rests with whoever votes on that question at Town Meeting on Tuesday night. So if this question is important to you, you should show up if you can safely and comfortably do so to vote on it. Since such a motion may fail, you should show up if you can safely and comfortably do so to attend the full Town Meeting which would proceed. In any case, I hope the prospect of adjournment does not reduce attendance.
Since such a motion needs to state a time and place to reconvene, arrangements have been made to address that contingency. I am grateful that both the college (on the football field) and the high school (in the gym) have agreed to make facilities available on Tuesday June 14 at 7pm. If Town Meeting votes this Tuesday to adjourn, I believe the high school gym is the better choice. It has a significantly larger seating capacity than the WES gym, is not subject to weather events like cold or rain, and would be partially set up already since it will just have been used for graduation. The college football field is subject to weather, has been the subject of complaints about difficulties to hear, and would necessitate a process for setting a rain date.
Per advice from the Moderator, the process for making the motion is faily simple. Since such a motion is not contemplated in the Agenda (the warrant), it should be preceded by a request for a procedural point of order (“Procedural point of order, Mr. Moderator?”) once the meeting is called to order. Once recognized by the moderator, the requester may make a motion to adjourn to a fixed time and venue (“I move that we adjourn this annual town meeting to the gymnasium at the Mt. Greylock Regional School, 1781 Cold Spring Road, at 7:00pm Tuesday June 14, 2022”). The moderator would then ask if the motion is seconded. If seconded, the motion may then be debated and amended. The motion requires a majority vote to pass. I am prepared to make this motion, but am happy to defer to others – the goal is just to get the motion properly on the floor for debate.
Please note that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the Williamstown Board of Health recommend residents wear a proper-fitting mask over the nose and mouth in indoor public areas. I have been told that to further increase the circulation of fresh air, the doors and windows in the WES gym, and the rear doors of the school, will remain open throughout the meeting with the overhead fans on. I have also been told that free N-95 masks can be obtained from CVS in North Adams, Pittsfield, and Bennington; Walgreens in North Adams and Pittsfield; Market 32 Pharmacy in Pittsfield; and Big Y Pharmacy in Pittsfield. I also understand that the town will be making masks available.
I hope this framework helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Take care,
