Abbot Hall is both a museum space and the location of some of the town offices for Marblehead, Massachusetts. Members of the Board of Health say they have been blocked from using the space for meetings due to a dress code violation.
In a statement to the Marblehead Current, Board of Health member Tom McMahon says town Select Board Chair Dan Fox reached out to the head of the Health Board with concerns regarding attire, including hat wearing.
McMahon can be seen in publicly recorded Health Board meetings wearing a hat. McMahon said if there was a formal policy, he would follow it, and that it was not his intent to show disrespect. Nonetheless, the board was banned from using the building for meetings.
After meeting on Wednesday, McMahon and Fox released a joint statement to the Marblehead Current, saying they both agreed to "swallow some pride" and admit fault to avoid any further disputes.
"Marblehead 'hat-gate' is a situation that escalated much faster than anyone would have thought or wanted," McMahon and Fox said in the statement, admitting they have butted heads in the past.
McMahon said he will commit to not wearing a hat going forward. Fox acknowledged the process of banning the Board of Health could have been handled better.
The initial ruling caught the ear of neighbors. "Marblehead is very old-fashioned, so it's not surprising, but it is surprising that they would take it to that length, that they would say 'you can't meet here,'" said Marblehead resident Emily Figueroa.
Other neighbors took their opinions to social media saying on the Marblehead Community Forum:
"It is called respect. The bar is so low now with dress codes and it will never come back," mentioned one commenter.
"With all the important things happening in this world, I find this ridiculous," said another commenter.
In their statement, McMahon and Fox said they "commit to working together in a professional and respectful manner because they both love this town and want what's best for the community."
