HATFIELD — Both the annual Town Meeting and the annual town election will be delayed until June because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Select Board on Tuesday voted 3-0 to have Town Meeting held June 16, rather than the original May 12 date.
The decision follows the board’s agreement at an earlier meeting to have the town election on June 23 instead of May 19. The board made that decision official Tuesday, also in a 3-0 vote.
But the new dates come with uncertainty about how both the Town Meeting and town election will be conducted.
With social distancing being recommended to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, board members and members of the Finance Committee suggested that the Town Meeting warrant could be voted on by having the meeting in the parking lot at Smith Academy, with residents encouraged to remain in their vehicles or having seating set up but spaced out sufficiently. In case of inclement weather, the meeting could be delayed.
The town election also has uncertainties associated with both the polling hours and location where it will be held.
Town Clerk Lydia Szych said state officials are encouraging cities and towns to have as many people vote early by mail, and to that end recommending that letters be sent to all households notifying registered voters about how to apply for an absentee ballot. She estimated that there would be a $1,200 cost associated with this.
Szych has already received 29 requests for absentee ballots, though they are not yet available.
The Select Board also had questions about whether it might be appropriate to limit the hours of in-person voting at Memorial Town Hall for the safety of poll workers and voters, or whether those hours should instead be extended to spread out when people might arrive to vote. Another idea would be to have the election at a different, larger location, such as Smith Academy.
Board member Diana Szynal suggested holding off on decisions until a subsequent meeting in May, observing that the board has six to eight weeks to decide on those specific procedures.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
