City Council President Brent B. Bean, II. (THE WESTFIELD NEWS SUBMITTED PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – City Council President Brent B. Bean II called a meeting with Mayor Donald F. Humason Jr., Health Director Joseph Rouse and the Tech Department last week to discuss making a plan to safely open public buildings in the city, including City Hall.
“I’ve asked the Mayor to come up with a plan to open City Hall, even though we may not open right now because the numbers are increasing,” Bean said on Monday.
Bean said because teachers are in the classroom, it doesn’t seem right that the city wouldn’t open CIty Hall or some of the other public buildings.
“When schools opened, seeing the numbers spike, we were anticipating seeing the schools go remote again. They were able to maintain their access by doing things correctly, and keeping classrooms clean on a daily basis. I don’t understand why we are not opening City Hall when teachers are in school with 20 kids per classroom,” Bean said, adding that he has had several residents on a weekly basis ask him why City Hall is not open.
Bean said the City Council and the School Committee members have been doing their due diligence to keep the business of the city moving forward, and this would be another step.
“I’d like to see the majority of the School Committee and the City Council meet in person, and map out a process for public participation,” Bean said, adding that if there are some members who have concerns about meeting in person, they could accommodate them as well.
Bean said they are making a tour of all the public buildings to see whether a larger space may be available for meetings. “All public buildings are part of this particular discussion,” he said, adding that he’s been trying to move the city forward to come up with a plan, because COVID is not going away anytime soon.
