Hatfield names COVID-19 coordinator, plans outdoor Town Meeting at pavilion

HATFIELD — June 2, 2020 — Hatfield Select Board unanimously appoints a COVID-19 coordinator and votes to hold Town Meeting outdoors amid a nearly $450,000 construction overrun at Town Hall. The board approved the temporary appointment of Kerry Clarity, a Board of Health member who has coordinated the town's pandemic response since March, to a new COVID-19 coordinator post averaging 20 hours per week through December 31; the position will be paid from Hatfield's $289,000 CARES Act allocation. In a joint session with the Finance Committee, both boards confronted a total Town Hall renovation deficit of $448,451, of which roughly $386,934 remains after repurposing closed-out project funds — caused by early accounting errors, code-mandated elevator and fire pump upgrades, a failed sewer line, and electrical problems discovered mid-construction. Both boards agreed to pursue a straight borrowing of approximately $386,000, which Town Accountant Sharon estimated would add about $28,000 annually to the tax levy. The board also voted unanimously to hold the June 16 annual Town Meeting at the town pavilion with a 6 p.m. start, mandatory hand sanitizer, and masks encouraged, after Fire Chief Kerry Clarity outlined a detailed social-distancing plan using perpendicular table rows, six-foot spacing markers, and firefighter escorts.