Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 24
feet of people. Some will give you like, two hours in terms of accumulating the viral load that ultimately means your body
is most likely to contract COVID. So with variables like that, | don't think it's a given that COVID has disappeared just
because our hospital rates are down. | think it's still a pandemic and we're still at substantial transmission levels. We may
see some increase over the next couple of weeks because people are going on vacation, they're going to be traveling
more, and because we're lifting his mask mandate. | don't know which one is going to have a bigger impact. | know
people's opinions vary and we aren't running a focus group or a specific study in Nashua to justify these things clinically.
The best we can do is look at best practices elsewhere. | would say for public buildings where people need to use them,
there are foundational access right for everybody. We should make sure that we're protecting people during a pandemic.
Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel
Yeah, I'm concerned based upon some of the subsequent discussion that | didn't make myself clear in my previous
response. The Board of Aldermen cannot make rules for the schools, cannot make rules for the library, cannot make
rules for the police station, the fire station. So whether you pass anything tonight, the library can still have rules adopted
by the Library Trustees. Fire stations by the Board of Fire Commissioners. Police Department by the Board of Police
Commissioners and the school buildings by the Board of Education. So | don't think that should enter into your
consideration. They can make their own rules for their buildings.
Alderman Thibeault
Yeah, | mean | agree. | mean, it's the people's house, but it's still a place of employment for people. So | feel that, you
know, the Mayor's the CEO of this business and he's got to protect the employees that are under his watch. If we're
letting the Fire Department because we can't do that make their decisions, and library, and any other private business
then | think we should let him do that the same thing and maybe he will decide that, you know, tomorrow is the right way
or next weeks the right way. | think we should let him do that.
Alderman Comeau
Can | ask the Mayor a question through the Chair?
President Wilshire
Yes.
Alderman Comeau
Mayor Donchess have you considered the possibility of changing the face covering restrictions within City Hall? If not,
what kind of metrics and numbers would you need to see in order to consider reconsidering the mandate?
Mayor Donchess
Well | haven't looked back to all the history of the legislation as you were recounting before, but my recollection is we did
remove the mask mandate in City Hall for a period of time and then re-instituted it.
| first want to get the input of city employees and actually we have a meeting scheduled later in the week to kind of see
how people feel. | don't have a definite answer and | think | would come up with an answer sometime in the near future.
Alderman Comeau
Given the temperature of the room here, I'd like to rescind my motion to amend.
President Wilshire
Okay, so be it. Then the motion is for final passage.
MOTION BY ALDERMAN MORAN FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF O-22-006, BY ROLL CALL
Alderman Jette
So on the motion that’s now before us which is to pass this rescission of the mask mandate. As | said before, | came to
this meeting fully expecting to support the mask mandate because | thought that's what the Board of Health was their
