Town officials on Tuesday approved a $9,000 monthly agreement with a Fairfield-based cleaning company to provide additional services at public buildings including Town Hall, the Police Station, Lapham Center, Ambulance Corps, Train Station and former Outback Teen Center.
The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of the contract with System4 Facility Services. First Selectmen Kevin Moynihan said he had already signed off on the agreement on an emergency basis but still needed approval from the selectmen.
“The whole point is that it’s consistent with the what the schools are doing, and others,” Moynihan said during the Board’s regular meeting at Town Hall.
“You really just want to increase your disinfecting of public spaces,” he said.
Moynihan participated in the meeting by phone.
The contract approval came as New Canaan braced for changes now materializing with the confirmed presence of COVID-19 in town. The public schools closed, turning to a learn-from-home program for students, and several organizations shut down entirely until further notice. Though Town Hall is open, would-be visitors are asked to call in first about services they require, and those coming to 77 Main St. in person are instructed to enter by the northern entrance, where a greeter is pointing out hand-sanitizing stations and fielding inquiries.
Selectman Nick Williams noted that flu kills “many thousands of people in this country” each year, adding, “The only good thing that I think comes out of COVID-19 is a greater understanding of the importance of cleanliness, keeping your hands without touching your face.”
The town should view the additional cleaning services not “as a one-time expenditure in light of the coronavirus, but maybe we do more cleaning on an annual basis,” Williams said.
“We will be stuck with the coronavirus— we will get a vaccine but it’s still going to be around, like influenza—and I think it’s important to clean our public spaces and go the extra distance… If we need additional spending going forward on an annual basis, so be it. I think it’s important whether it’s flu or coronavirus, it’s causing untold issues with our economy and our health.”
In addition to Moynihan and Williams, Selectman Kit Devereaux voted in favor of the agreement.
Positive excellent common sense rules approach.