The Borough Assembly will hold in-person meetings in the near future, with limits on people in the room to account for the COVID-19 pandemic.
During their meeting Tuesday night, the assembly adopted a resolution repealing and replacing a temporary amendment to municipal code that allows city business to be conducted through virtual meetings. The item was adopted unanimously.
Under the new provisions, six members of the public or city staff at a time, in addition to assembly members, will be allowed in city hall during assembly meetings, which will continue to be streamed via Zoom for unlimited attendance or viewing.
Those who need or want to attend in person will be socially distanced in the lobby outside the assembly chambers. A podium will be set up near the entrance to assembly chambers where the people can speak, after which the podium will be cleaned before the next speaker.
Face masks or face shields will be required at all times in city hall.
The change to in-person meetings will take effect after the borough clerk publishes a public notice of the assembly action.
The assembly last March adopted a resolution temporarily suspending in-person meetings as concerns over the pandemic grew. The resolution was extended in October, and then again in January. The city administration now believes the assembly can convene for in-person meetings, though not fully open to unlimited public attendance.
The original plan was to set up equipment for assembly meetings in the Nolan Center, where there would be adequate room for social distancing. However, city staff discovered the audio equipment echoed in the large room and dropped the plan. Staff then tried using a smaller classroom in the Nolan Center, but found it too small.
It was decided to hold the meetings in city hall, with limitations described in the resolution.
The solution will put the borough assembly and manager on the main floor, with members six feet apart, at individual tables, according to the staff proposal given to the assembly. The Zoom feed will be projected on the screen in the chambers so that members can see and hear anyone participating remotely.
Borough Clerk Kim Lane reiterated for the assembly that the new setup would not require assembly members to attend meetings in person. Zoom will remain as an option for the public and assembly members to participate.
In the event that Wrangell has four active cases of COVID-19, the in-person meetings would be cancelled and business would return to online only, Lane explained in her presentation.
"We will continue to utilize the Zoom platform and Facebook Live the meetings," the presentation said. "Moving forward in the direction of in-person meetings is not to force anyone to attend in-person. It is paramount that each and every person feels comfortable with attending in-person meetings and if they do not, have the option to continue to attend by teleconference."
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