May 27, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer
A number of town departments are shouldering a heavy workload, even with COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Asst. Town Administrator Michelle Monsegur provided an update to the Selectmen last night about a few of those.
Over the last two months since town employees have been working remotely, Building Commissioner Michael Clancy and the building department team have issued 459 permits, conducted 780 inspections, and responded to more than 1,061 phone calls and 10 after-hours emergencies. "Staff members have done a great job continuing to serve the homeowners, contractors, and town departments as usual," Monsegur said.
During the last two months, Assessor Rick Nowlan and his assessing team have completed between 300 to 400 exterior property inspections and input approximately 700 to 900 properties into Vision, the town's assessment database. "Right now, they are finishing up abatements from fiscal 2020, inputting properties for the fiscal year 2021 preliminary bill, and preparing for the FY21 interim revaluation," Monsegur said.
The School Department continues its work with a focus on three distinct priorities:
* Remote Learning 2.0, which is in place and will continue through the end of the school year.
* Planning and implementing year-end close out, which involves allowing teachers into classrooms to collect their personal belongings and to organize materials that need to be returned to students, and allowing students to pick up personal belongings and to drop off textbooks, technology, library books, and other materials.
"These activities will be managed with social distancing and cleaning high-touch surfaces as the highest priority," according to Monsegur.
* Staff are beginning to plan for summer school and a September return to classes, albeit within a different way of doing things. Supt. of Schools Paul Austin has created four working groups for the planning processes: a) a Recovery Advisory Committee consisting of school and municipal leadership, district staff, and parent and student representation; b) a Finance, Facilities, and Operations Committee; c) a District Instructional Planning/Student Health Committee; and d) a Special Education and Student Services Committee.
"The school department expects more state guidance on protocols for the fall, but discussions are beginning now so that school officials can contemplate and plan for school operations, education platforms, and service delivery," Monsegur said.