EASTHAMPTON — On Wednesday, the City Council will host the first-ever remote public speak time in its history.
While the council conducted its first remote meeting on March 18, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, that meeting didn’t have a public comment portion, as the technology hadn’t yet been set up for it.
“This will be the first true public airing of what the public is thinking,” said Mayor Nicole LaChapelle. “That’s a big deal for me.”
This time, the council will be conducting the meeting through the phone/video conferencing application Zoom, and members of the public will be able to offer comments.
Those wishing to call into the meeting, which will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, can dial 646-558-8656 and enter the meeting ID number, 193 725 535. Residents who want to join with the video option should use the link zoom.us/j/193725535.
“They can say whatever they want to say,” said City Council President Peg Conniff.
Conniff expects people will talk about the coronavirus pandemic and may bring up social distancing and describe how they are faring.
She will be unmuting members of the public participating in the meeting one by one and asking them if they’d like to speak. Public comment will still be limited to three minutes; and as with any other meeting, city councilors will not be allowed to respond to public comment.
“We expect that there might be a few hiccups,” Conniff said.
Conniff also said that she may limit video participation to those actually speaking and to council members, depending on how many people participate in the meeting.
She said that if people don’t have access to a phone or videoconferencing, they can email the City Council with their comments and they’ll be read into the record Wednesday. Those wishing to email can reach Conniff at mconniff@easthamptonma.gov, or they can email any of the other members of the council.
“I recognize that this is not perfect,” Conniff said.
The public can watch the meeting live on Charter 193, and it will be posted later to the Easthampton Media website as well.
The council president said she expects the meeting to be a short one, as there is no new business to discuss.
City Council committees have not been meeting during the public health crisis, but Conniff noted that she has been training committee chairs on the Zoom application so that they can conduct remote meetings of their own.
“I just feel very strongly that we need to get back to work,” Conniff said.
Most of the items on Wednesday’s agenda still have to be acted on by committees before votes can take place.
The Appointments Committee will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday, before the meeting, so the council may have appointments to vote on. The council is also set to vote on approving the minutes of past meetings.
There are still technical issues to figure out regarding the possibility of remote public hearings, Conniff said, and if the public health restrictions continue into May, “we’re going to have to solve that problem.”
“The work has to get done,” she said.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.