Public meetings will resume at Huntington Town Hall in July, Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci announced Wednesday morning.
In addition, in-person staffing will resume at pre-pandemic levels, he said. Appointments will still be required at Town Hall at the moment, Lupinacci said, as the town reviews a new building security plan. Once that’s approved and put into place, walk-in visits will return, with scheduled meetings getting priority, he said.
“The decision to return to pre-pandemic in-person staffing levels at Town Hall was made by this administration over one month ago when we started phasing in higher in-person staffing levels in our departments with the goal of resuming 100% in-person staffing at Town Hall by June 7th; this decision was relayed by the administration to all Town employees on May 3rd with the goal of addressing any issues or concerns related to returning to fully in-person staffing within our departments before publicly announcing the return to 100% staffing and in-person public meetings.”
Town Hall shut down in 2020 as the Covid-19 epidemic burst onto the scene and businesses, schools and government offices all around the country closed down. Lupinacci said town facilities reopened to employees last June.
“I am very happy to say that we have been tremendously successful so far, and I would like to thank all Town employees for their part in the overall process. However, the process that began at the beginning of the pandemic is ongoing. We are constantly learning about new strategies and techniques and applying them in an expeditious fashion. Furthermore, the needs of the Town vary over the course of the year based on the services that are provided, therefore, our reopening plan has been updated numerous times.”
The town also said:
- Town beaches will remain open to Town of Huntington residents only this year. The Dix Hills Pool and the Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo Memorial Spray Park at Elwood Park will be open to residents only by registration only at https://wwwTOHParks.net. Skate Parks at Greenlawn Park and Veterans Park are accessible with a Resident Recreation I.D. Card.
- All Parks & Recreation summer programming is open by registration at https://wwwTOHParks.net. The Dix Hills Ice Rink is open to all.
- The Department of Human Services and all of its Divisions, including Senior Citizens, Disability Services, Minority Affairs, Veterans’ Affairs and Women’s Services, have been consolidated at the Village Green Center/John J. Flanagan Center at 423 Park Avenue, Huntington. This move will promote inter-departmental efficiency and help alleviate parking congestion for visitors to Huntington Town Hall. The Town is still studying logistics to reopen for the Town of Huntington Senior Center and Adult Day Care program.