LEYDEN — The Selectboard has announced the postponement of the upcoming caucus, election and Annual Town Meeting, along with additional measures to ensure the safety of residents and town employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Selectboard held its first meeting by teleconference last week to continue essential operations and to ensure communication between department heads. According to Chair Jeffrey Neipp, the Selectboard voted to cancel the caucus and postpone the subsequent May election. No new date has been set.
“There’s just no way we would have been able to hold the caucus,” Neipp said.
Instead, the town is having residents who are interested in running for office take out nomination papers, which can be found in the green posting case outside the Town Offices. Nomination paperwork must be filled out and posted back in the case for signatures.
Neipp said residents should avoid going door-to-door to collect the 10 required signatures. Instead, residents can stop by the Town Offices to sign the papers in the posting case. All nomination papers are due by April 30.
The positions that are up for election this year are: moderator, tree warden, and seats on the Selectboard, Board of Assessors, Planning Board, Board of Health and Library Trustees.
As for Annual Town Meeting, Selectboard members and Town Clerk Nicole Glabach are working to finalize the warrant. Once the written warrant is assembled, Neipp said they will announce the articles and officially postpone the meeting by 30 days.
“After that we can always announce another postponement,” he said.
Selectboard members also voted last week to extend a previous declaration that closed town buildings to the public. Leyden’s town buildings will now be closed to the public through May 4.
To allow essential tasks to be completed while also cutting down on the number of people working in close proximity to one another, the Selectboard decided to have Department of Public Works crews work every other week. Neipp said employees will continue to be paid full-time.
Similarly, to allow essential functions of town government to continue while the stay-at-home advisory is in place, Neipp was elected as the sole Selectboard member required to sign payroll and town warrants.
So far, Neipp said residents have respected the stay-at-home advisory and appear to be remaining healthy. While some residents previously self-quarantined, they have since been cleared from the 14-day isolation period.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.