As COVID-19 concerns persist, Waterville council votes to hold remote meetings until end of March

WATERVILLE — City Council and other municipal meetings will be held virtually until the end of March to protect people from the spread of the contagious omicron variant of COVID-19.

Councilors on Tuesday disagreed about whether to go to remote meetings, narrowly voting 4-3 to approve doing so for the next three council meetings.

Councilor Claude Francke, D-Ward 6, said that hopefully by the end of March things will have improved and the city can return to in-person meetings, which are held at The Elm.

“However, the pandemic is still with us,” he said. “There are still people dying from it, and I think it’s the cautious thing to do, particularly in light of the impact it’s had on city staff. I’m concerned with their welfare as well as the welfare of the residents of the city in general.”

Mayor Jay Coelho asked how those who don’t have access to a computer or smartphone can participate in meetings. Francke said the city clerk, deputy clerk and others would continue to set up at The Elm at 21 College Ave. so that if people need to attend in person, they may. Monitors are set up there that show councilors participating from home. Fewer people would be in the room and city staff and others would be better protected, according to Francke.

Councilor Rick Foss, R-Ward 5, said he understood what Francke was saying but asked, “Why the need to go remote when we’ve got to set this up anyways?”

Council Chairwoman Rebecca Green, D-Ward 4, replied that the city is trying to provide remote access to meetings while also having a safer way for people to meet.

“If we’re following our resolution that we adopted in the fall, everyone who attends council meetings should be wearing a mask,” she said.

She and Francke, as well as councilors Flavia DeBrito, D-Ward 2, and Thomas Klepach, D-Ward 3, attended Tuesday’s meeting from their homes; Coelho, Foss and Councilors Mike Morris, D-Ward 1, and Thomas McCormick, D-Ward 7, attended in person and none were wearing masks.

Foss said people at meetings could be spaced 6 feet apart, but Green countered that sitting 6 feet apart is not going to stop the spread of COVID-19. She said if the council were prepared to adopt a resolution requiring everyone attending to wear masks, she would reconsider meeting in person.

“But we have a situation where this virus is ripping through the community, and it’s really not safe to be meeting in a space right now, under the conditions that we have before us,” Green said.

Morris said he thought it would be “a little bit weird” to to ask the public to attend meetings when no city officials would be present.

“To me, it’s an all or nothing — that we’re all in the boat together or we’re all on the land together,” he said.

Klepach said the issue is not primarily about the people at meetings who have a vote and a voice, but those who are obligated to attend, such as the city clerk and deputy clerk, but have no vote. They must be protected, he said.

Author and former Colby College professor Elizabeth Leonard, attending remotely, said she thought The Elm has a policy requiring masks be worn, but Coelho said he believed a message is posted on the door that says people must wear masks unless they are vaccinated. Leonard asked whether people are checked at the door for vaccination status and if they are not vaccinated, whether they are required to wear masks.

“It doesn’t seem to me the City Council or the Planning Board are adhering to the building’s own policies, which I find troubling. And it’s one of the reasons I don’t come to meetings in person anymore,” Leonard said.

Coelho said he follows the guidelines and has had two vaccinations and is about two weeks away from getting a booster shot. No one stands at the door asking for vaccination cards, he said. City Manager Steve Daly said the city leases the room and holds The Elm harmless for any claims of damages.

“They’ve given us this room and said, ‘You manage the room the way you choose,'” he said.

DeBrito, Klepach, Green and Francke voted to move to remote meetings; Morris, Foss and McCormick voted against.

Daly reported that as of Jan. 21, the city had five employees who remained in quarantine from work because of exposure or illness related to COVID-19. Four were police department employees and one worked at the fire department, and “in all cases it has not affected our ability to perform services,” he said.