WESTPORT — Despite warnings from the town moderator, selectmen agreed on Monday to host the annual Town Meeting at White’s of Westport.

That meeting will be on Tuesday, July 21 at 7 p.m.

At an early June meeting, selectmen agreed to White’s, a restaurant and banquet facility. On Monday, they voted on the date.

Town Moderator Steven Fors, citing conversations with other moderators and his research, urged selectmen to consider an outdoor location.

Fors said outdoor Town Meetings have been held with success, and pose less of a risk for contracting COVID-19.

“Fors mentioned that the state Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Moderator Association recommend holding outdoor meetings, if possible.

He said some have been held in parking lots, football fields and baseball fields. Some meetings have had as many as 250 people.

Fors said the baseball fields on the high school campus might be a good location.

Selectmen in early June voted unanimously to hold the Town meeting at White’s and did not want to reverse the decision.

Selectman Steven Ouellette talked about some of the logistical challenges of holding the meeting outdoors, which include exposure to ticks and mosquitoes, and possible bad weather. He said that it would cost much more to hold it outdoors and would require more assistance to run the meeting.

“It makes so much more sense to have it at White’s,” Ouellette said.

“The big thing with White’s is there is more room to spread out and more doors to enter,” Selectwoman Ann Boxler said.

Boxler also mentioned that there would be check-in points, with the Health Department checking voters’ temperatures before entry, as well as having voters respond to COVID-19 related questions.

Boxler, a member of a subcommittee that recommended White’s, said that the high school had been eliminated as an option. She said that the school building would require people to park in many different places to avoid close contact. That building has fewer entrance points and would not promote social distancing as well as White’s.

Boxler also raised the possibility of using Zoom or Google Meet for people to watch. Ouellette recommended Youtube Live as an additional option

Venus de Milo, a similar facility to White’s, has held two town meetings for Swansea this month.