ENM Council discusses having in-person meetings

The Elko New Market City Council discussed at its electronically held meeting on Thursday, Feb. 25, the possibility of having hybrid meetings, where council members would meet in-person and the audience would attend virtually.

Council member Bryce Schuenke brought up the possibility of having hybrid meetings.

City Administrator Tom Terry said he had checked with other area communities of how they are having council meetings. He said some go with a combination of meetings, but there are those that have the hybrid meeting as proposed. He noted a majority of the councils has at least one council member who attends virtually. Terry said originally their council was meeting together with staff and the audience attending virtually. That changed when having to wear masks at meetings became a factor.
It was asked if the council could meet without masks. City Attorney Andrea McDowell Poehler of the firm Campbell Knutson said that masks are still required during meetings unless a person is speaking.

Schuenke thought meeting in-person helped with the flow of a meeting and makes it run better. He was in favor of having the council meet in the council chambers at Elko New Market City hall and then “Zoom” in the audience.

It was noted the city would need to make investments into its technology for microphones if they went with hybrid meetings.

Council member Josh Berg said he would like to...

To see more on this story pick up the March 4, 2021 print edition of The New Prague Times.