Aquinnah officials decided to postpone Saturday’s special town meeting due to concerns over coronavirus spread within the Island community.
Although Aquinnah has seen a minimal number of COVID-19 cases, selectmen said at a board meeting Tuesday that the risk involved with gathering a quorum of 43 people for the meeting on Nov. 14 is too high.
The town was scheduled to vote on 12 articles, including one to allocate $35,000 from town funds for renovation plans of town buildings, one for $20,000 for new restrooms at the Aquinnah Circle, and an aspirational goal that seeks to reduce fossil fuel use on the Island 50 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2040.
That article also seeks to increase the Island’s renewable energy usage to 50 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2040, along with fostering carbon sequestration by protecting wetlands and adopting regenerative agricultural practices. Additional articles included $20,000 for a parking lot at the library, and approximately $19,000 to pay for leasing town vehicles.
“Even though it’s outside, I question the feasibility and the safety aspect of it, particularly now, with the increase in cases on the Island,” chair Jim Newman said of the meeting. “If you have a minimum number of 43 people in that driveway, there is going to be close contact. I am wondering how reasonable it is to ask people to come to this, and I wonder how many people would even come, given the situation. Had we not had this spike, I wouldn’t have thought about it.”
Newman wondered if it might be possible to host the special town meeting through Zoom, but town administrator Jeff Madison said he doesn’t think that would be permitted because some folks in Aquinnah don’t have necessary access to video technology.
“People that might have something they want to say might not have access to a computer. So that is out, you cannot do that,” Madison said. “People who want to give input to the meeting cannot, or may not be able to do so, if they do not have a cell phone, the internet, or the capability of communicating electronically, and everyone must have an opportunity to give input in the meeting.”
Newman wondered if important outstanding bills owed by the town could be paid without a town meeting vote, but Madison said he has checked with town counsel, and the town cannot pay something which has not been approved at town meeting.
“There was a time during the early stages of COVID where there was an allowance to pay a certain amount of bills that were encumbered as the result of a delayed town meeting, but I believe that has passed,” Madison said.
Although he said the notion of being around a large group of people is discomforting for him as well, he disagrees with the idea that there can’t be six feet of space in between folks in front of the firehouse.
Madison said a “more realistic solution” would be to postpone the special town meeting, and in the meantime have selectmen take a vote to reduce the quorum for the meeting to the maximum number of people allowed in a certain gathering space, which is 25.
According to Madison, there may be a special regulation put in place by the Massachusetts government that allows selectmen to temporarily reduce the quorum, but he said he isn’t sure if that law is still in effect.
He said it is too late now to reduce the quorum for the posted special town meeting, because a quorum must be reduced before posting and advertising the meeting date.
“We would have to dissolve this meeting, readvertise, and do the whole thing over again. That would be a temporary reduction,” Madison said.
Selectman Juli Vanderhoop wondered whether the town could hold the meeting and see if people show up. “We are either going to get a quorum and move through the meeting or we will not,” Vanderhoop said.
But selectmen reached a consensus that they would dissolve the meeting, and wait for Madison to confirm that the temporary quorum reduction law is still valid.
Once Madison confirms the special legislation and gets an opinion from town counsel Ron Rappaport, he said, he will get back to selectmen, they can post a selectmen’s meeting, then vote to reduce the quorum before scheduling a special town meeting 14 days out.