The Kingston Town Meeting, which was set for this weekend, has been postponed. Town officials are considering an outdoor meeting at the Silver Lake High School.
Newly-elected Town Moderator Sean O’Brien has concerns due to COVID-19, and would like to see the meeting held outdoors.
Fire Chief Mark Douglass says he’d feel comfortable with the meeting being held indoors at the Kingston Intermediate School.
“I expressed my concerns with Chief Douglass and he’s been a gentleman more than candid, I told him that I prefer to do the meeting outside. He’s explained his concerns,” said O’Brien. “I think we’ve kind of come of with a compromise of having an outdoor meeting that is accessible in a safe manner for our older population and to perhaps have tents, and start the meeting early in the morning.”
A big concern is heat exposure. He said during high school graduations on the football field, they typically transport one to five people due to heat. One year they had nine.
With accessibility concerns on the football field at Silver Lake High School, O’Brien suggested the track by the Middle School. Douglass wants to make sure it’s a safe option before they continue with planning.
“I don’t want to say it’s a final plan. I think it’s a viable option, I’m not 100 percent certain until we do some further planning that it is going to work,” said Douglass. “I have a fairly high level of confidence that we can work through the challenges that are present. I do get the sense that many prefer an outside meeting. I do want to say if we can conduct it safely, I’m all for it if that makes people more comfortable.”
For now, the Kingston Town Meeting is scheduled for August 8th.
