How will the New England tradition of Town Meeting adapt and survive in the coronavirus context?
How many people have the experience of direct democracy these days? Those of us who have chosen to live in small New England towns do. We get to participate directly in deciding who we are, and what we want to become.
Our small towns run almost entirely on volunteer labor. Stipends for positions are small, and the need for residents to serve on all the various town boards and committees is large. Selectboard, Finance Committee, veteran’s committee, parks, library, School Committee – it’s a long list!
And all of these self-governing boards and committees and task forces require one thing — for people to get together and talk, and discuss, then decide and recommend. The discussions and the decisions that follow are better because they come from groups of interested residents who make it their business to inform themselves, to listen to others, and to commit to the key concept that in groups there is strength.
How does this translate in the new environment of social distancing and self-isolation? Zoom meetings and other virtual meetings are a reasonable way of enabling small groups to talk and plan together. But nothing replaces the face-to-face interaction when everyone is in a room together.
Which brings us to the question for Heath. How will we possibly practice a reasonable measure of social distancing and still be able to have some form of face-to-face meetings as we make critical decisions about our future?
In Heath, most committees and boards have traditionally met in the Town Hall. The rooms there are best described as cozy. Social distancing would be nearly impossible. The Community Hall is larger, but not particularly conducive to effective meetings. Heat is marginal, acoustics not particularly good, and if multiple meetings need to occur at the same time — it would be difficult.
The former Heath School building, in contrast, can provide a safe and supportive physical environment for the town to continue to conduct business. The former classrooms are large enough to practice a reasonable degree of social distancing while still having face-to-face meetings.
None of us knows how long we’ll have to maintain our current practices in the light of the virus. We do know that we want to be safe, to have our families safe, and to ensure the safety of all of our neighbors.
But we also want to continue to govern ourselves — to practice our unique form of direct democracy — and to be able to come together to make the critical decisions we will need to make in the next few months and years.
And for that — having a space to meet like the former Heath School building — that is invaluable, and irreplaceable.
Kenneth Rocke is a resident of Heath.