WALLINGFORD, Conn. — Most communities have closed their municipal buildings as the coronavirus has spread. Yet, Wallingford’s Mayor has only closed Town Hall to the public.
And, Town Hall workers are becoming more anxious, because of something they found out this week.
Two weeks ago, Mayor William Dickinson (R-Wallingford) told FOX61 he would continue to keep employees at work in Town Hall and keep the building open to the public. But, he left the door open.
“We might reach a stage where enough people are not here for one reason, including illness, then we would cut back on services,” said Dickinson, on March 18.
As the virus spread, Town Hall was closed to the public last week, but not to nervous Town Hall employees. And, this week, they grew more uneasy.
“We found out earlier this week that somebody in one of the offices in Town Hall is showing symptoms of COVID-19,” said Attorney Eric Brown, of Nutmeg Independent Labor Unions. He represents town Hall employees.
A source tells FOX61 the office that person worked in had a sanitizing bomb set off in it in response. And, the source says, that the rest of the building is being sanitized by janitors.
“We know that there’s probably at least one infected employee working in Town Hall and now we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to deal with that going forward, “ Brown said.
One issue: Wallingford town offices are nowhere near as technologically advanced as many across the state. So, working at home is difficult.
“And so, we’re going to have to explore ideas likes paid sick leave now or other sites for work,” said Brown.
He said the union has had a good working relationship with the town, but he wants a resolution reached, on the Town Hall employees' status, by Monday.
Dickinson was unavailable for comment today.