KALAMAZOO, MI — Each speaking from locations around the county, members of the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners this week discussed coming together for in-person meetings, while still allowing virtual participation from elected officials and citizens.
The board met virtually on Tuesday, June 1, and discussed the possible meeting format changes during its Committee of the Whole meeting. The board, like others in Michigan, has been meeting electronically via Zoom for more than a year due to government restrictions on gatherings related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s certainly pros and cons to both formats,” Commissioner Jen Strebs said.
Related: How government meetings changed during the COVID-19 pandemic
While some commissioners said they want to be back in-person for meetings in the future, others outlined reasons why they or others would want to attend or comment virtually, such as having children at home who are too young to be vaccinated.
“Once we get to a point where this body begins to meet in a physical space with one another,” Strebs said, “I think opportunities like having closed captioning on meetings, being able to be a member of the public and get into the meeting remotely from wherever you’re at — rather than driving down to the administration building — and that opportunity to pre-record public comments for individuals; I really would like to see us being able to utilize these tools.”
Kalamazoo County Administrator Tracie Moored said the county is anticipating changes from the state of Michigan, on or about July 1, that will loosen restrictions related to public gatherings, and remove mask requirements.
The discussion Tuesday was to see what the board’s pleasure was moving forward, Moored said.
The county administrator said other governments within the county have inquired about how long the county’s state of emergency will last, because it could impact other boards.
“We are still looking at numbers for COVID,” Moored said. “We’re working with our public health officer to try to see when he’s comfortable pulling back that state of emergency, but for us, once we pull back our state of emergency, we will then have to meet in person.”
Related: Grand Rapids City Commission scheduled to return to in-person meetings July 13
The question will then be how some of the virtual meeting elements can be implemented during in-person sessions, she said.
“How much of that virtual world do we want to maintain?” Moored asked commissioners.
County staff is looking into making the commission chambers “Zoom accessible” by having cameras upgraded and making other changes, she said.
Moored said she could give a update on the topic at the next public meeting. The last cost estimate for renovating cameras in the meeting room was about $50,000, Moored said.
She mentioned other time efficiencies that virtual meeting options provide, such as presentations given by video at meetings.
Commissioner Zac Bauer said he wanted to be accommodating to elected officials who may have reasons to want to continue using the virtual meeting format.
“I think that we find that this format allows us to probably reach more people,” Bauer said.
Commissioner John Gisler said he supports the idea of being flexible for elected officials and citizens.
“I would like to think maybe a hybrid or a blended meeting is not a bad idea indefinitely into the future,” Gisler said, agreeing with points Bauer made.
Board Chair Tracy Hall said she is supportive of a hybrid, blended meeting model once the board goes back to gathering for in-person sessions.
“Having Zoom and the updated technology as we move to in-person meetings will only make it better for all of us,” Hall said.
Corporate Counsel Matt Nordfjord said nothing in the Open Meetings Act would prevent the board from continuing to offer two-way communication to non-commissioners in the future. Based on current rules, which temporarily relaxed open meetings requirements during the pandemic, commissioners would have to participate in-person beginning in 2022, he said.
“After 12-31-21, commissioners will not be able to participate,” he said. “You could listen; you just can’t vote, virtually, unless you are on military duty. Barring some amendment to the Open Meetings Act.”
The attorney pointed out changes to state law could still affect how the county holds meetings going forward.
“Now, if you would have asked me a year ago if I thought an amendment to the Open Meetings Act was likely after it not being amended for the first 35 plus years of existence, I’d say no,” Nordfjord said. “Now, I think that it very likely could be amended so my answer is conditioned upon there not being an amendment before 12-31-21.”
The city of Kalamazoo currently plans to continue meeting in a virtual format through Aug. 31, 2021, spokesman Ryan Bridges said Wednesday.
“There are more than 20 boards and commissions that the city oversees meetings for. So we’re working with them to identify our path forward beyond Aug. 31. We’re working with our IT department and other involved parties to identify the best path forward,” Bridges said.
City staff is looking at hybrid and in person options meetings for after that date, he said.
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