WHATELY — The Selectboard approved tag sales this summer, but not before a brief disagreement over the specificity of a set of proposed guidelines for tag sale hosts.
Although all three members of the board appeared comfortable allowing tag sales to take place — which up until this week the town was not issuing permits for — not all were in agreement over the level of guidance hosts should be expected to follow.
During its meeting on Wednesday, the board reviewed a set of example guidelines the town received from Greenfield pertaining to holding tag sales during the pandemic.
The first page of the document was a set of guidelines for the host. Those guidelines included wearing a face covering, disinfecting items and surfaces, and considering ways to minimize contact at checkout, such as rounding prices to the nearest dollar or accepting local checks.
The second page was a sign, which welcomes customers to the tag sale and reminds them to wear a face covering, to keep 6 feet from others and to avoid touching items unnecessarily.
Selectboard member Frederick Orloski said the guidelines for the host went “overboard.”
“We’re getting too specific over things we have no control over,” he said, noting the suggestion to disinfect items as an example.
“That’s standard,” Chair Joyce Palmer-Fortune said.
Orloski also argued that people should already be aware of state guidelines, and imposing such a long list of guidelines was overbearing.
But Palmer-Fortune and Selectboard member Jonathan Edwards disagreed.
“I do think we are wise to say, ‘Here are the current recommendations to preserve the public health and to maintain our ability to limit sickness,’” Edwards said. “I think that it’s incumbent upon us to remind people what is currently being recommended. If we don’t, we are limiting our ability to act if people are taking steps we really feel are impacting public health.”
Palmer-Fortune said she believes the town should offer hosts the maximum advice on how to safely hold a sale.
Reviewing the guidelines, particularly the bullet point that recommends finding ways to minimize contact at checkout, Town Administrator Brian Domina said many of them appeared to be suggestions rather than directives.
“It provides some general guidance to keep people safe,” he noted.
After about 20 minutes of discussing the issue, the board ultimately voted 3-0 in favor of issuing tag sale permits, provided hosts post the sign with the state guidelines and promote safe hygiene.
“Obviously, if things go bad again,” Domina said, “we’ll have to consider again whether it’s a good thing to do or not.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne
