The New Ipswich Green Center is back open for its regularly scheduled business, after the Select Board approved a plan presented by the volunteers who run it during its Tuesday meeting.
During its meeting, the Select Board met with Green Center volunteers to hear their proposal for reopening the swap shop.
The Center is typically open every other Saturday, and is available for residents of Greenville and New Ipswich to drop off clothing, books, toys, and household goods, which other residents can then pick up for free.
The Center has not been open due to COVID-19, but volunteers were eager to start it back up.
Select Board members agreed unanimously to allow the Center to start up again, with some changes to how it’s managed.
The interior of the Center has been rearranged to allow for wider aisles and more room for customers to browse. Though no money changes hands, the space is considered a retail space, which under current state guidelines, allow up to 50 percent of the spaces maximum capacity, if customers can still socially distance.
The Select Board was prepared to OK a plan that specified allowing up to 15 customers at a time, and two volunteers, for a total of 17 people.
Selectman John Veeser acknowledged that may be an “inconvenience” for residents, but said often, those dropping off donations and those selecting items are two separate groups, and said it was the best way to ensure that the maximum amount of people could get through the doors, as the main force of volunteers at the Green Center are usually running donations from the drop off point to the shelves.
“It is a huge asset to the town,” he said.
One of the adjustments made to the model, in an effort to reduce both the amount of volunteers and the customer traffic, is that donations will now be accepted on Friday evenings, and the shop itself will be open on Saturday mornings.
The board unanimously agreed to allow the Green Center to open from 3 to 6 p.m. every Friday to accept donations, and every other Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, with a cap of 17 people at a time in the building. Selectmen said they do not have a time frame for when the Green Center may be able to reintegrate accepting donations and browsing back into a single day.
In other town news, the Select Board reviewed the policies put out by the state for town swimming pools. The board had voted at an earlier meeting not to open the New Ipswich Town Pool for the summer due to coronavirus, but at that time, the state had not released potential guidelines for town pools. However, after reviewing the restrictions, which include social distancing both on the pool deck and in the water, and maintaining six feet of separation during activities such as swim lessons and lap swim, the board reiterated their decision not to open the pool for the 2020 year.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.