Clifton Park closes town hall, limits staff in buildings

Decision aimed at reducing spread during upcoming holidays

Starting on Tuesday, 25 percent of the town's employees will work from home and town hall will be closed to the public until Jan 4.

The decision to cut the number of people laboring in town buildings is aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus. It mirrors a similar effort made in the spring.

In a Dec. 11 memo to employees, Supervisor Phil Barrett said town hall “must continue to function” and therefore department heads will “be designated as essential staff.” However, he acknowledged the holiday season means that in-person workforce reductions through Jan. 8, 2021 are “warranted.”

“Reports from public health authorities indicate that the most specific threat for the spread of the virus is currently family and holiday gatherings, which bring people together from different geographic areas” he said. “We believe the best way to reduce the risk ... is to reduce the number of employees at the worksites during the holiday period.”

He also said that different departments have different missions and “may need to be at full strength to respond to infrastructure or public safety emergencies” including snowstorms.

“The current situation is very similar to earlier in the year,” Barrett wrote. “The circumstances on the ground are changing quickly. We should all maintain an expectation that additional operational adjustments may be necessary with little notice.”

Town hall will also be closed to the public until Jan. 4, 2021, when the tax receiver’s office will open.

The workforce reduction follows the first confirmed case of COVID -19 in town hall. In a separate Dec. 11 memo, Barrett wrote he and town attorney Tom Mccarthy spoke about the case with Saratoga County's commissioner of public health.

“Based on his analysis of the facts and timelines of the employee's exposure report, it was determined the situation did not meet the definition of exposure to fellow employees,” he wrote. “Therefore, the situation would not necessitate a worksite investigation and quarantines were not ordered. All elements of the situation clearly point toward the fact our fellow employee was exposed outside of the workplace.”

In both memos, he asked employees to continue to monitor their health, wear a mask, keep apart in the workplace, maintain clean work stations and wash their hands. Meanwhile, Barrett wrote, “We are continuing to monitor developments each day.”

Clifton Park, Saratoga County's largest municipality, has had the highest number of coronavirus cases in the county. According to the county's COVID -19 dashboard, it has had 659 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. Halfmoon has the second highest number at 444, while Saratoga Springs has the third highest at 426 cases.