A disapointed 91原创 City Council has resumed virtual meetings after an attempt to hold an in-person council meetings found councillors were having trouble hearing each other over COVID-19 protective plastic dividers.
At the Monday, Sept. 29 meeting, council voted to carry on with electronic meetings while staff try to solve the issues uncovered during the in-person meeting experiment on Sept. 14.
In his report to council, 91原创 City Chief Administrative Officer Francis Cheung said the see-through barriers made it hard for council members to hear each other, especially when the microphones were turned off for a confidential closed-door discussion.
Another potential problem was the limit of 19 people allowed in council chambers 鈥渨hich would make participation by the public at public hearings problematic.鈥�
It also costs extra to have additional staff on hand to guide members of the public, Cheung warned.
Cheung said virtual meetings should continue until those issues can be resolved, possibly through a 鈥渉ybrid鈥� mix of in-person and virtual technology, where, for example, members of council could meet in chambers to hear from the public via streaming video.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a work in progress,鈥� Cheung told the 91原创 Advance Times.
Councillor Gayle Martin thought in-person meetings should be possible, given the usually light attendance for council sessions.
鈥淯nless there鈥檚 an incredible wave of the public against something,鈥� turnout is usually modest, with many empty seats, Martin noted.
She also questioned the need to have extra staff direct people attending a council meeting.
Councillor Nathan Pachal pointed to the trouble hearing other members of council and the likelihood of an increase in coronavirus cases as reasons to continue virtual meetings.
鈥淲e are just starting the second wave of COVID,鈥� Pachal said.
Coun. Rudy Storteboom said it could turn into a positive, that the city 鈥渃ould actually have more people attend electronically than in-person, in these times.鈥�
Coun. Rosemary Wallace complained the virtual meetings have left her feeling 鈥渄isconnected鈥� from other members of council.
Con, Teri James was 鈥渟uper-disappointed鈥� it didn鈥檛 work out.
Coun. Paul Albrecht remarked that he found it 鈥渋nvaluable to meet and see eye-to-eye.鈥�
Since March, City council meetings have been held using video conferencing, with the live broadcasts archived online at the City .
READ ALSO: VIDEO: No-contact council meetings planned for both 91原创s
A number of other local governments are resuming in-person public meetings, Cheung said, including Abbotsford, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and the Fraser Valley Regional District.
Cheung noted the province is encouraging municipal governments to 鈥渕ake best efforts鈥� at resuming public meetings.
Media relations at 91原创 Township, in response to a 91原创 Advance Times query said 鈥減lans are being developed to allow for Mayor and Councillors to safely attend Council meetings in-person, but a [precise] date has not been set.鈥�
In late June, the Township announced the council chambers will be open to the public, but council members would not be present.
Seating was reconfigured in the council chambers, the Fraser River Presentation Theatre, for the open portions of council meetings to allow for social distancing, limits on meeting sizes, and other restrictions required by provincial health authorities.
Gallery seating for the public will be limited to 20 people.
READ ALSO: Public can attend 91原创 Township council meetings in person but councillors still virtual
The Township is also limiting numbers of riders in the elevators and the new procedures are posted.
Council members will be attending the meetings electronically and will not be physically present.
dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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