ATHOL – At its meeting next Tuesday, Oct. 3, the Selectboard will consider whether or not to declare Athol a “non-sanctuary city.”

This was proposed by board member Brian Dodge at the Sept. 19 meeting in response to the possibility the town might be chosen to house migrant families who have recently found themselves in the Commonwealth. At that meeting, Dodge also expressed concern over demands that might result from an influx of migrants on the police and fire departments, as well as on the school district.

Dodge did not respond to a request for further comment by press time.

One board member not present for the discussion was Rebecca Bialecki, who walked out of the meeting when the issue was first raised.

“I couldn’t stand hearing the rants,” she said.

Bialecki told the Athol Daily News the proposal to declare the town a “non-sanctuary city” flies in the face of a vote the board took in January, declaring 2023 the Year of Kindness in Athol.

“It’s just another way of thinking about being isolationist, without any understanding of what that even means,” she said. “Being a non-sanctuary city means we would allow ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to do raids in our community. First of all, we aren’t a big enough population for them to care about, so it doesn’t make any sense to take that action.

“The other issue is about the migrants who are arriving in Massachusetts. None of them are illegal – they’re all being processed through the federal government and they’re, right now, working on getting working documents so that they can in fact find work.”

Bialecki then went on to discuss the experience of Greenfield relative to the arrival of migrant families in that city. Since June, 48 immigrant and refugee families totaling 150 people have arrived in Greenfield, many of whom are Haitian immigrants coming from the Boston area, according to Mayor Roxann Wedegartner.

“A large group of Haitian refugees landed at one of the hotels, and four of those young men had working documents already,” Bialecki said. “They attended a job fair, got hired on the spot, and started work the following Monday. So these are not people who want to come to the United States and slack off and live off government benefits—these are people who want to get jobs and go to work.”

At the Sept. 19 meeting, board member Stephen Raymond, who is also on the board of the local Salvation Army, said, “We have enough homeless folk in our area right now…We don’t need anymore.”

A request for comment from local Salvation Army officials was forwarded to Massachusetts division in Boston. Director of Communications, Marketing and Public Relations Heather MacFarlane responded, “With a footprint of over 7,200 locations across the United States, The Salvation Army is committed to meeting human needs without discrimination in each community where we serve. When we see need in the Athol community and others across Massachusetts or the country, we work to meet it however we can. As the nation’s largest private provider of social services, we are uniquely positioned to respond to changing needs. We are committed to love and serve anyone who is hungry, homeless, or hurting.”

Rev. Candy Ashenden, of the Athol Congregational Church spoke for herself and not the church, as the congregation has not yet discussed the issue.

“As a person of faith, I believe that my faith teaches me to welcome everyone equally…the immigrants, themselves, as well as those who feel we shouldn’t welcome the immigrants,” Ashenden said.

As for any impact a non-sanctuary city declaration might have, Town Manager Shaun Suhoski said, “Members of the board did express a desire to learn more about the migrant issue that the Commonwealth is facing right now. We do have a Right to Shelter law here in the Commonwealth, and Town Counsel and I will be researching that and providing information to the board so that they’re fully briefed and have that available for any further discussion they wish to have.”

Suhoski added that he has participated in briefings with Lt. Gov. Jane Driscoll and other state officials and that Athol does not have any hotel or motel rooms or rooming house where units are available.

“Nor are we well-situated for the transportation priorities that (the state is) looking for,” Suhoski said. “So I don’t see this as an immediate problem.”

Suhoski said he has asked Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera and Health Agent Deb Vondal to join him to be the main contacts between the state and the town, and all three will participate in weekly briefings with state officials.

“I think Athol is prepared,” he said. “The state is trying to get its arms around the issue, and we will be prepared to do whatever we need to do to help families in crisis, just as we do every day.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.