NORFOLK, Mass. (TND) — A Massachusetts town slated to host migrant families in a former state prison is experiencing anxiety over the newcomers' expected arrival, according to one local leader.

Norfolk Select Board Member Anita Mecklenburg told The National Desk (TND) the state’s plan to accommodate up to 450 people in the decommissioned Bay State Correctional Center has sparked concerns after Massachusetts officials allegedly designed it without local input.

“This is our first time housing families that I’m aware of," Mecklenburg said. “We have just a queue of people eager to help and eager to be supportive, and there’s some anxiety as well, which is fair. We don’t have a lot of information, and when things are uncertain, it is an anxious time.”

The shelter, which Mecklenburg expects to open next month, will house families currently residing at Boston Logan International Airport and operate for up to a year, according to the town. Norfolk has had one meeting with state officials to discuss logistical issues with the facility.

“We’re in the very early stages of having information from the governor. We’ve had only one meeting with them, and so we really don’t have enough information to know the details of what challenges that it presents,” Mecklenburg said. “I think that there will be challenges, but I don’t really think we know the specifics of what they are.”

She added communication between Norfolk and state officials could have been better. The officials purportedly agreed, telling the town they would improve on it.

READ MORE | Massachusetts town blindsided by governor turning former prison into migrant shelter

Norfolk is not alone in planning to house migrants. In January, Roxbury began transforming a recreation center to accommodate families. The following month, Gov. Maura Healey signaled a shelter would open in an office building in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood.

“We have reached out to other select boards who have experienced this already and said, ‘What can we learn from you? What are the things that you’re feeling really good about?'” Mecklenburg told TND. “We have begun that dialogue with several other communities.”

The governor has said Massachusetts’s makeshift shelters have been borne out of necessity as the state addresses its influx of migrants. Massachusetts has a right-to-shelter law requiring it to provide temporary housing to “needy” families.

"I think that the situation is a national situation. We have a national situation, and all states are involved," Mecklenburg said. "And that includes Massachusetts as well."

Gov. Healey's office did not immediately return The National Desk’s request for comment.

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