Homelessness panel meeting moved to remote due to COVID

LACONIA — The first meeting of the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness meeting on Tuesday has been changed to remote due to increased COVID-19 concerns, City Manager Scott Myers said Thursday.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. and is expected to last for 90 minutes, Mayor Andrew Hosmer said earlier this week.

The meeting had been scheduled to take place in the City Council Chambers in City Hall, but Myers said the decision was made to hold it using the Zoom teleconferencing platform because of the recent increase in the number of positive COVID cases, both in Belknap County and statewide.

“Knowing that there has been public interest expressed by residents looking to attend the meeting and knowing that if we have a large crowd in City Hall it will be a challenge to properly socially distance. In the interest of public health and safety the decision was made to hold only the Zoom meeting,” Myers said.

Anyone who wishes to observe the meeting can find the Zoom meeting link by going to the city website www.laconianh.org, scroll down to “Public Meetings,” and click on the “Mayor’s Homelessness Task Force” link, or go to: https://bit.ly/2HLZaXn

Hosmer formed the group in order to explore ways the city can combat the problem of homelessness and assist those who have no stable place to live.

The mayor said he expects about 20 people will be taking part in the inaugural meeting.

Hosmer envisions the task force as a “cooperative effort,” with members including nonprofit organizations, businesses, and taxpayers. But he has said he does not want the panel to duplicate the work that is already going on to help the homeless.