PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 7, 2020
TOWN OF GROTON – COVID-19 UPDATE
Town Meeting Postponed
Town Meeting has been postponed until Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. The Meeting will be held out doors at the track and field behind the Florence Roche Elementary School, 342 Main Street, Groton, MA. The Town Moderator, pursuant M.G.L., Chapter 39, Section 10A, as amended by Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020, has determined that a public health emergency may prevent voters from attending Town Meeting on May 18, 2020 as printed in the duly posted Warrant. The formal declaration from the Moderator postponing Town Meeting may be found on the Town of Groton’s Website (grotonma.gov). In the event of inclement weather, the Moderator may either further postpone or if advisable under public health guidance at the time, hold the meeting in the adjacent Middle School Performing Arts Center, Cafeteria and Gymnasium to enable social distancing protocols. Please look for updates on Town Meeting on the Town’s Website.
Town Election Reminder
The Annual Town Election will be held on June 9, 2020. The Select Board and Town Clerk are strongly encouraging all voters to vote in this election by absentee ballot in the interest of safety. An absentee ballot application can be found here:
https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/absentee/English-Absentee-Ballot-Application.pdf
A completed application may be mailed to Town Clerk, 173 Main Street, Groton, MA 01450, faxed to 978-448-2030 or emailed to townclerk@townofgroton.org. In addition, in an abundance of caution to protect the Town’s Election Workers and residents participating in the Election, the Select Board has set the polling hours on June 9th from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
TOWN OF GROTON – COVID-19 UPDATE
Groton Country Club to Open for Golf Only on May 8, 2020
Pursuant to Governor Baker’s Order allowing Golf Courses to open, the Town Manager has authorized the Groton Country Club Golf Operation to open on Friday, May 8th pursuant to the following protocols:
- Security personnel can be delineated by each club and will be present to enforce social distancing. There can be no other employees working at the recreational component of the golf operation.
- All staff must wear face coverings while on the property
- Club facilities including but not limited to the club house, pro shop, restaurant, bag room and locker room must remain closed
- No caddies allowed
- No golf carts allowed
- Push carts may be used. Players must either carry their own bag or use a push cart
- All golfers must maintain proper social distancing of at least 6 feet at all times
- Groups of players are restricted to no more than 4 players at one time.
- Maintenance personnel are permitted to work on the golf course
- Tee Time Policy must be 15 minutes between groups
- Golfers must stay in their car until 15 minutes before their tee time and must return to their car immediately following play
- Online and remote payment options must be utilized
- All golfers must use their own golf clubs. Sharing golf clubs or rental golf clubs is not allowed.
- Flag sticks must remain in the hole. Hole liners must be raised so picking a ball out of the hole doesn’t occur
- Bunker rakes must be removed, and ball washers must be removed or covered.
- Practice putting green, driving range, and chipping areas must be closed.
- Facilities must have readily accessible hand sanitizer
These rules will be enforced by the General Manager of the Groton Country Club.
The Town of Groton and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are taking unprecedented steps in order to reduce the rate of spread by working proactively to reduce transmission and promote public health recommendations. We urge all citizens to exercise appropriate measures in order to reduce the risk of infection. Additional information regarding risk and containment can be found on the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/. Thank you for your immediate attention and cooperation with this. We will continue to update the community as information becomes available. Please keep checking the Town of Groton website and social media outlets for updates as they become available.
Sincerely,
Mark W. Haddad
Town Manager
