The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

Covid-19*

Letter to the editor: Any day is a good day for a parade

(Editor’s note: scroll down to see photos from the parade.)

To the editor:

There’s something about a parade on a beautiful day that brings joy to everyone along its path. It doesn’t have to be a holiday; it just has to be a time set aside. And once the parade participants gather, the excitement and the sense of community grow.

So it was on Thursday, May 14,  when more than 20 cars lined up along the side of Sandy Pond Road with balloons, signs, banners, flags, horns, and cow bells. Tucker Smith, part of the First Parish Church’s Community Engagement Task Force that was formed to help during the Covid-19 crisis, conceived a plan to bring cheer to seniors and caregivers at two local senior residences, and their activity directors enthusiastically agreed to the plan.

We went first to The Commons, where we kept in our bumper-to-bumper lineup and wove our way around circles, between rows of houses, up and down hills, and back around again. Residents and caregivers, all masked, basked in the sunlight and waved. Smiles and tears were in their eyes. Joy and gratitude were both given and received by everyone. I wondered how long it had been since there had been a day warm enough for the residents to spend time outside. Everyone applauded the caravan, the honking horns, and the music. Any day is a good day for a parade.

From The Commons, the parade made its way west on Rte. 2 to Newbury Court in Concord. As we traveled along our route, cars honked and waved at us. A fire truck sounded its siren, a police officer and others waved. Everyone enjoys a parade. As we circled through Newbury Court, including Rivercrest and The Gardens, the residents and the staff were delighted with the many expressions of caring, love and appreciation that the band of colorfully masked Lincolnites delivered to their doorways. Our signs conveyed our messages: “Love,” “We Are In This Together,” “Lincoln Strong,”” Love Thy Neighbor,” “Hugs And Kisses,” “Caregivers Rock,” and “Keep Calm And Carry On.”

We were not celebrating a holiday; we were celebrating life and community and caring for each other. My eyes filled with tears as I realized the joy that our caravan delivered to unexpecting audiences. It felt like a first step back into reality and into the spirit of community that we crave. The sun and the balloons and even the masks were there to remind all of us that we are one. We are all in this together. The parade could have been for anyone and everyone. And maybe it was.

Sincerely,

Sarah Cannon Holden
Weston Road

Click images below for larger versions and captions:

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”137″ gal_title=”Covid parade – May 2020″]

 

SBC to make reduced request for school items at June Town Meeting

Back before the coronavirus hit, the School Building Committee was planning to ask voters at a Special Town Meeting in March for up to $2.08 million to partially offset items it had to cut from the school project. Now it plans to ask for less than half of that amount at a stripped-down Annual Town Meeting now scheduled for June 13. However, depending on economic conditions, the SBC will almost certainly seek more additional funding at a Special Town Meeting in the fall.

The SBC settled on a list of cuts in February after construction bids totaled $3.5 million more than the project’s budget. The hope then was that $1.5 million in free cash that was originally recommended for a new public safety radio system could be used to restore the first two “buckets” of items the SBC prioritized. But now, with all the financial uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, the SBC was unsure about how much to ask for in this new environment.

After meeting with the Finance Committee, the SBC voted on May 13 to make a two-part funding request totaling $828,945. The first question will ask for $628,945 for seven items. If approved, they’ll then ask for the other $200,000 to pay for furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E).

The first appropriation would fund the following items:

  • Restore the glass wall between the K-4 Science area and hallway ($26,666)
  • Interior lite and built-in bench at K-4 Art Room ($11,291)
  • Sun shades on the building’s exterior ($285,709)
  • A new auditorium divider ($279,400)
  • Concrete pavement in front of Reed/Brooks ($9,435)
  • A concrete walkway up to the main entrance ($13,799)
  • Concrete on the CASE (special education) driveway ($2,645)

The “first priority” list identified in February mostly matches these seven items but does not include $451,000 for FF&E, which includes crucial technology hardware and systems as well as some furniture. If approved, the second $200,000 request would restore some of that.

After reviewing the town’s budget situation, the Finance Committee this week recommended that the SBC “think of an outer limit of about $840,000 in free cash” that could be available for the school project, FinCom Chair Andy Payne said at the SBC meeting. Current estimates show a town budget deficit of about $800,000 over two fiscal years due to a drop in state and federal revue and added expenses from the pandemic. In a bit of good news, the mild winter resulted in savings on snow removal that can be applied to offset this year’s shortfall.

Payne emphasized that the FinCom was not recommending spending $840,000 from free cash on the school — rather, it’s the maximum amount that the board felt comfortable making available for discussion and voting.

Other sources that could be tapped include some of the stabilization fund, which currently stands at $2.2 million, or deferring some or all of the town’s planned $550,000 contribution to its OPEB (other post-employment benefits) fund. OPEB covers non-pension costs for retired town employees such as healthcare premiums. Dipping into the stabilization fund would require a two-thirds majority of votes at Town Meeting.

Given the uncertainty of getting voter approval for more money now or in the fall, SBC member Peter Sugar suggested using part of the construction contingency fund for some of the trimmed items instead. “We don’t know what people’s financial situation is,” he said. “I don’t want to have animosity build up in this town for this project, even from a minority. I think that would be a mistake.”

But others didn’t support that idea. If the contingency fund runs dry later on, “we’ll have to go back to the town [anyway] and tell them they have no choice” but to appropriate more money, SBC member Tim Christenfeld said.

“I’m concerned about eating into our contingency too much even before we’ve technically broken ground,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said. “Let’s put the information before the town so the town can make the best-informed choice about how the project will unfold.”

Some SBC members worried that residents would not be receptive to another “ask” in the fall and that the June request should therefore be larger. But the FinCom encouraged the SBC to keep their request lower for now and defer seeking money for items that don’t need to be committed to at this early stage of the project.

“I’m not trying to discourage you from coming back in the fall,” FinCom member Jim Hutchinson said. “It’s obvious to me that some of the FF&E is needed in this project, but it also doesn’t need to be decided right now.”

“If the SBC is heading down a path of a phased-request approach, I would encourage the SBC to share as much visibility as possible into these future requests with the FinCom and ultimately the residents,” Payne said.

Asking for less than the full amount suggested by the FinCom now might be more politically palatable. “I’m not sure we would get support for [all of] the $840,000. My sense is more like $500,000 to $600,000,” School Committee member Tara Mitchell said.

“My sense is that the more we ask for, the thinner the support might be,” agreed FinCom member Gina Halsted.

Town Meeting plans

The current plan is to hold the June 13 Town Meeting outdoors under a large tent and lawn seating in the central ballfield on the school campus. This location provides easy access to electricity from the portable classrooms and the temporarily paved areas offer better footing than the grass in Codman Field, which was also considered as a site.

The Town Meeting will feature an expanded consent calendar of financial items that can be voted on in a bloc (though residents have the right to “hold out” any items for separate discussion and voting). There will also be separate votes for the school funding question and a Water Commission capital request. The commission voted in January to seek another $250,000 to replace aging equipment in the town’s water system.

If the Town Meeting still can’t happen on June 13 for public health reasons, the town (and the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School district) will open the new fiscal year on July 1 using monthly budgets based on 1/12 of their fiscal 2020 budgets for as long as necessary.

Positive Covid-19 antibody test could require isolation, public health nurse warns

An illustration showing how a sample is collected for a PCR test to see if a patient is currently infected with Covid-19 (click image to enlarge). Source: New England Journal of Medicine (no copyright infringement is intended).

Some residents are getting tested for the antibodies to the Covid-19 virus to see if they’ve already been infected, but some of them get an unpleasant surprise: mandatory isolation if the result is positive, even if they feel fine.

Tricia McGean, Lincoln’s public health nurse, gets the result whenever a Lincoln resident is tested either for a current infection, or for antibodies indicating that they were infected earlier. The infection test uses a nasal swab and is sometimes referred to as a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

Serological blood tests for Covid-19 antibodies have recently become available, and some people have taken that test to see if they’d already had the infection, with or without symptoms. “A couple of people told me they did it for fun,” she said.

However, new guidelines handed down late last week by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health require people who test positive for Covid-19 antibodies to immediately self-isolate (even from family members) for at least 10 days — unless they previously had a positive PCR test. For those who never had a PCR test, they can get that test after their antibody test. If that PCR result is then negative, they don’t need to continue isolating — but until the test result comes back, they must isolate. This is because, depending on the types of Covid-19 antibodies they have, they actually might be recovering from a recent infection (even without symptoms) and could still spread the virus.

As soon as McGean learns of a positive antibody result by a Lincoln resident, she’s required to contact the person and order them to isolate. She must also interview them about close contacts and quarantine those close contacts for 14 days.

“This is not going over very well, as you can imagine,” she said at her weekly Covid-19 update to the Board of Selectmen this week. “We weren’t expecting this. They change guidances quite frequently, so hopefully this won’t be the end guidance.”

Relatively few people who weren’t feeling sick got PCR testing until recently because the test was hard to obtain earlier during the pandemic, but they’re more accessible now, McGean added. 
This summary sheet explains the required public heath responses to test result scenarios. It acknowledges that the guidelines are conservative due to uncertainty about the quality of the various antibody test types as well as the unknown timing of Covid antibody development or duration. “This guidance will change as we learn more about antibody responses to Covid,” the sheet says. 

Here’s a brief Q&A with McGean about timing for those who are thinking about getting a Covid-19 antibody test:

Q. How does my antibody test result get conveyed to the town’s public health nurse?

A. Just like Covid-19 infection results, this happens through the state’s MAVEN website. A majority of my day is spent on this website, so once it’s uploaded, I usually see it quite quickly.

Q. How quickly can I get a PCR test, and where?

A. That’s the million-dollar question, but there are many resources online where you can go for testing. I don’t do them myself.

Q. How soon after I have the PCR test will we receive the result?

A. Usually fairly quickly. It depends if the lab calls the patient or the doctor who ordered it or me when the result comes into MAVEN.

Q. Do I have to self-isolate while I wait?

A. Yes. If your antibody test is positive [and you didn’t have a positive PCR test result before that], you have to be in isolation until we get the PCR test back. The turnaround time for PCR testing has been much quicker recently, with often a 24- to 48-hour turnaround time.

Covid-19 rates still climbing in area towns

[lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]
The latest town-by-town data show that Lincoln has the lowest rate of growth in the rate of Covid-19 infections among bordering towns over the past month.
Every town except Lincoln is still increasing in its rate of infection per 100,000 people, according to weekly figures released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. In the past week, Bedford, Weston, and Sudbury have increased at the fastest clip. Bedford has by far the highest rate of infection, while Lexington has the most total cases because it has the largest population among the seven towns.[/lgc_column]

State face mask order supersedes Lincoln’s

Lincoln will adopt Gov. Charlie Baker’s May 1 order to wear face masks in public, superseding a rule passed by the town’s Board of Health on April 29. Meanwhile, officials are keeping a close eye on trail traffic in town and are mulling steps to take if they get too crowded with walkers as the weather warms.

Starting on May 6, everyone in Massachusetts is required to wear a cloth face mask when in public spaces both indoors and outdoors. The state order applies to everyone over the age of 2, whereas Lincoln’s earlier order specified age 5, and the governor’s version is more specific as to fines for violating the rule (up to $300). In any case, businesses may bar entry to anyone not wearing a mask. The order is in effect until the governor rescinds it or until the state of emergency is lifted. The stay-at-home order is currently set to expire on May 18.

As of May 4, Lincoln has had a total of 29 cases of Covid-9. All five deaths have involved residents of The Commons in Lincoln who had “serious health co-morbidities,” Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean said.

The Commons is working with Mt. Auburn and Emerson Hospitals to test all staff and residents starting with the assisted-living and memory care cohorts and doing the independent-living residents after that. The process is ongoing as they experience “peaks and valleys” in inventories of supplies, she said.

McGean also cautioned that anyone who’s gotten tested for Covid-19 is not exempt from continuing precautions. “It’s nice to get a negative test, but we still have to practice all the measures that have been drilled into us,” she said. “It’s how you are today, not how you are the next day or the next.”

The mask requirement extends to people walking on trails when they pass within six feet of another person. Many residents from Lincoln and elsewhere have flocked to the trail system for recreation since the pandemic began.

If walkers don’t cooperate enough in terms of social distancing, Lincoln may consider closing trails to non-residents (a step recently take by Sudbury), closing the parking lots, and/or limiting on-street parking near trailheads. Drumlin Farm trails have been closed since late March.

June 13 is the new target date for Town Meeting

Officials are now hoping to have a bare-bones Town Meeting outdoors on June 13 and the local election on June 15.

“The goal is to have it be as stripped-down as possible,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said at the board’s meeting on May 4. As previously discussed, Town Meeting will include only votes on budget matters that require a decision before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, with votes on less time-sensitive items shelved until the fall. The meeting this spring will incorporate what was originally planned as a separate Special Town Meeting — a vote on restoring items to the school building project.

Presentations and other information that are normally part of the Town Meeting will occur online ahead of time, “so when we get to Town Meeting, it’s about the voting, not about the presentation,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said. Some presentations may be given live using Zoom  so residents can ask questions in real time.

June 13 is the earliest date that the meeting could be held while still satisfying the 30-day public notice requirement after the end of the Massachusetts state of emergency banning gatherings, which is set to expire on May 18.

“Whether or not there is an extension of the state of emergency, we should pick a date and start putting the engine of local government into operation to get that done,” with the option of further postponing until the fall if conditions warrant, Town Administrator Tim Higgins said. Officials are reluctant to schedule an Annual Town Meeting over the summer when many residents are away, and a fall date (in addition to complicating town accounting and budgeting procedures) could be jeopardized if the pandemic makes a comeback just as the next flu season approaches.

The tentative plan is to have Town Meeting outdoors to maximize social distancing — probably in the field next to Codman Pool, with as many people as possible under a large tent (overflow attendees could sit outside the tent if necessary). In case of rain, the meeting could be quickly convened and postponed for a day or two, which may require holding it on a weekday evening.

The election will happen on June 15 regardless of when Town Meeting takes place. Residents can vote by mail, or return sealed ballots to the Town Clerk’s office or leave them in the mailbox outside Town Hall.

Early voting is normally not allowed for municipal elections, but the state legislature has relaxed that rule. Early and absentee voting are both allowed this spring without having to provide a reason (other than the Covid-19 pandemic). All ballots must be received by the time the polls close. By law, polls must be open and staffed on Election Day for at least four hours, but “we hope everyone votes absentee,” Higgins said.

Face masks now required in public in Lincoln

The Board of Health has ordered all residents to wear face masks starting Friday, May 1 when they’re in public — even when outdoors in some cases.

The order posted on April 30 and sent to all Lincoln households via robocall says that everyone age 5 and older entering public spaces including stores and government offices as well as group homes, nursing homes, and other communal facilities must wear a cloth or paper face mask that covers the nose and mouth. There are exceptions for anyone who has trouble breathing or anyone who is unable to remove the mask without assistance, as well as for children under age 5.

Employees in grocery stores, retail store, and food service establishments must wear face coverings, and all businesses open to the public must post signs at their entrances advising customers that they are required to wear a face covering on entering.

Walkers, joggers, cyclists, and others using the town’s roads, sidewalks, bike paths and trails must wear face coverings when approaching or overtaking other people. When no one else is nearby, the face covering may be worn under the chin in a position from which it can be quickly pulled up over the nose and mouth when needed. When approaching or overtaking another person, both parties must move off the path to the side to establish at least six feet of separation.

The order does not have an expiration date; “it will be discontinued when the Board of Health decides there is no longer a public health emergency,” Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean said.

Anyone who does not already have a mask can call the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811 or the Board of Health at 781-259-2614, or check with other residents or online for sources of handmade cloth masks.

Lincoln joins a growing list of cities and towns that are requiring face masks. As of Thursday, 34 Massachusetts communities had issued similar orders, most of which took effect on April 29 or April 30, according to lists on Boston.com and NECN. Waltham’s rule takes effect May 1.

Towns including Cambridge and Somerville say they will fine residents who violate the order. Lincoln’s order notes that it will be enforced as necessary by the Board of Health and Lincoln Police “with the potential for the imposition of fines,” though McGean said that officials hope that won’t be necessary.

Covid-19 by the numbers

The Lincoln Squirrel has compiled some charts from Covid-19 data supplied by the state Department of Public Health. Click any chart to enlarge.

Some observations:

  • The New York Times Covid-19 dashboard divides U.S. states into three categories: those where Covid-19 cases are still increasing, those where new cases are slowing, and those where new cases are decreasing. Massachusetts falls into the first category and has the highest cases total of the 22 states in that group. It’s currently #3 in the country (after New York and New Jersey) in total number of cases.
  • Though cases in Massachusetts are still increasing, the rate of increase has slowed considerably since peaking on March 25 and has been averaging about 5% a day for the last two weeks.
  • Lincoln saw a steady rise in cases after public health officials began posting figures on March 21, but there have been no new cases reported since April 25.
  • The state Department of Public Health began publishing town-by-town data on April 16 and is now updating its figures every Wednesday. Among area towns, Lincoln has both the lowest total number of cases and also the lowest prevalence of Covid-19 as a unit of population. Lexington has the highest number of cases as well as the highest prevalence. It also has the largest population and is geographically closest to Boston.
TownPopulation (2010 census)
Lexington33,480
Concord19,323
Sudbury18,940
Bedford14,126
Wayland13,720
Weston12,067
Lincoln6,726

Lincolnites reflect on how the pandemic has affected their lives

Earlier this month, the Lincoln Squirrel asked readers to share their thoughts on what’s changed for them since the Covid-19 lockdown began. Here are some of their responses.

One of the dolls that Ellen Morgan kitted out for her granddaughter (click to enlarge).

From Ellen Morgan:

My granddaughter, Dorothy Grubler, lives in Hudson, N.Y. She is four and a half and worried — all her dolls are sick and in bed, and she is short on hospital beds. So I made them all masks and gowns. I sent them to her since I can’t visit.

From Sharon Antia:

I’ve been surprised at how quickly the titles I have on hold through Minuteman Library Network have become available, and then I made the connection. Everyone must be home catching up on their reading so we are all cycling through our reading lists quicker.

I miss my grandchildren.

My house gets dirty a lot quicker when I’m home all day.

I love being home.

It’s hard not to just run into Donelan’s for this or that. I’m not good at planning a week or two’s menu and shopping all at once, and though I happily live off rice and beans, I prefer to have fresh fruits and vegetables to go along with them.

I do not watch the news — well, except I try to catch Governor Cuomo — and I watch “The Tonight Show” the next day on Hulu (OK, this is not the news but it is as close I currently allow myself to news). Other than that I read the Globe and the Times. Watching the news leaves me with a feeling of hopelessness. I miss listening to public radio but refrain for the same reason as above.

Making and distributing masks to family, friends, and neighbors gives me the opportunity to feel like I’m at least doing something to help.

I’ve been taking advantage of yoga classes online, live music, Zoom, and talking to my siblings more than usual.

I subscribed to “In Ayr’s Kitchen” on YouTube. Our neighbor, Ayer Muir, owner of the Clover restaurants, has an almost daily show telling us how to use our pantry items. I either watch him live or the next day. Have made many of his recipes, all with much success.

Tucker Smith has been creating a “Good News” wall in her house along with a bingo card to remind herself and others to look for the good things happening around us in this uncertain time.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”133″ gal_title=”Covid-Tucker”]

From Jennifer Glass:

Something I’ve really enjoyed is spending time on Lincoln’s trails. We walked from our house to Walden Pond last weekend — something we never took the time to do before now. In addition, it’s been great to get to some of the organizational projects that always fall to the bottom of the to-do list. I also think the garden/yard will get much more attention this year.

Frozen fruit and flour have been harder to find at Donelan’s. We are grateful that Codman has really risen to the occasion and we will continue to be frequent shoppers there even when the restrictions lift.

This is definitely a challenging time for college students who miss being on campus. The work continues to be rigorous, but the experience is not the same. On the other hand, there’s been lots of positive sister time.

I work part-time at the Grasshopper Shop in Concord. I miss being there, interacting with customers and ordering crazy socks. And while it’s convenient to have town-related meetings from home, I do miss the in-person interaction.

Joanna Schmergel took these photos during long walks around Lincoln.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”134″ gal_title=”Covid-Joanna”]

“Life has changed in tremendous ways,” said David Levington, an independent-living resident at The Commons in Lincoln. No one can have visitors. Staff members take requests and leave meals and groceries outside residents’ doors, and his daughter drops off items for him outside his porch. He ventures out only to walk his dog and drop off bags of trash.

The only thing that compares to the Covid-19 pandemic, Levington said, is the Blizzard of ’78, which happened when he was the superintendent at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. The storm caught the region mostly unprepared, killing dozens, stranding hundreds inside their cars on roads and highways, and paralyzing the Northeast for a week.

“The whole town was shut down, but there was an old civil defense hospital area in the school basement back from the Sputnik days,” Levington recalled. “There were lots of cots; they were thinking of making L-S a refuge, but in the end they didn’t.”

One of his biggest challenges in the immediate aftermath of the blizzard emergency was making sure the off-campus students were safe and could get home. L-S in those days encouraged internships, “alternate semesters,” and other study-away opportunities. “We had a student studying in Montreal who couldn’t get home, one kid interning with the mayor in Philadelphia, and one in a yurt in Colorado,” he said. “The French Club was in Montreal — the teacher had maxed out her credit card and didn’t know what to do.”

As illnesses and deaths mount and restrictions on people’s lives continue for months, the pandemic’s effects will be felt for far longer than a natural disaster. “A blizzard is discrete — it has a beginning and an end,” Levington noted. “This is really not comparable.”

 

Town Meeting decision expected next week

Town officials will make a decision next week about whether to go ahead with a streamlined Annual Town Meeting on May 30 as currently planned.

At their April 20 meeting, the Board of Selectmen indicated they were waiting on word from Gov. Charlie Baker about whether Massachusetts schools would reopen May 4 when his closure order was originally set to expire. But the following day (April 21), he decreed that schools will stay shut for the rest of the academic year due to Covid-19 epidemic.

If an abbreviated Town Meeting is to take place on May 30, officials must commit by May 11 to meet public notice and printing requirements. The board’s next weekly meeting is April 27.

Along with other financial items that can’t be delayed, the Town Meeting will include a vote on whether to spend additional money for items that had to be cut by the School Building Committee (SBC) in February. Before the Covid-19 pandemic upended plans, the SBC identified three lists of items grouped by priority totaling $2.08 million that they hoped to see restored.

One possibility that’s been discussed is postponing a proposed $1.5 million public radio system and use the money for the school instead. Potential budget sources include free cash or the town’s stabilization fund, which currently stands at $2.2 million (this requires a two-thirds majority vote at Town Meeting). More borrowing would require a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting plus a simple majority at the ballot box.

Because of increased expenses and shortfalls in expected revenues, the town is facing a two-year estimated deficit of $600,000–$830,000 for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years, even after some Covid-related expenses are reimbursed through state and federal grants, Finance Committee Chair Andy Payne told the SBC on April 15.

Guaranteed maximum price approved

The SBC voted last week to approve a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of $78,324,908. That figure covers hard construction costs plus the construction manager’s contingency as well as insurance and bonds. It also incorporates cuts of $783,162 from items that were on the lists to bring to Town Meeting.

The SBC is awaiting word on the scheduling of Town Meeting before deciding whether to amend its lists of requests. They are scheduled to meet next on May 13. However, the project will proceed regardless of the outcome of the Town Meeting votes.

There was a delay in finalizing the GMP because the town and construction manager Consigli Construction had to negotiate how they would handle any extra expenses incurred as a result of the epidemic. They agreed that Consigli can tap its $1.7 million construction contingency, and if that is exhausted, they can ask for reimbursement of additional expenses totaling no more than $425,000 from the town. Any expenses Consigli identifies as being due to Covid-19 will be submitted for approval to Daedalus (the owner’s project manager) and/or the SBC. 

In March, the SBC signed a power purchase agreement for a 1.4 MW solar photovoltaic system along with a 500 Kw battery backup and gas-fired backup generator that will make the campus net-zero in terms of energy use. SunPower Corp. will provide the solar PV system through a nonprofit solar program organized by PowerOptions, Inc.

One possible bright spot about schools closing for the rest of the year is that the project might be able to start earlier than planned. Work can’t begin until teachers and students leave after the last day of school, which normally isn’t until mid-June.

“The subcontractors are champing at the bit. If school were to be canceled [for the rest of the year], they’re ready and raring to go,” Consigli’s Christian Riordan told the SBC on April 15.