By Patrick Adrian [email protected]
CLAREMONT — All governmental meetings in Claremont, including the city council, boards and committees, will only be scheduled for essential business matters until further notice, and meetings will permit officials to participate remotely rather than in person.
The Claremont City Council held a special meeting on Monday to discuss the city’s plan of operation while New Hampshire remains under a state of emergency during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to receiving an update from City Manager Ed Morris and Claremont Fire Chief Bryan Burr regarding the city’s emergency measures for operations and services, the council decided unanimously to determine the need to schedule meetings based on case-by-case conversations with Morris.
“My hope would be to limit the meetings to the essential business only, which will really shorten the meetings and be a lot easier [technologically] to deal with,” Morris told the council.
An executive order by Gov. Chris Sununu prohibits gatherings of 50 or more people. The Claremont City Council decided to limit the city’s governmental gatherings to 10 people, which has been recommended by some medical authorities and President Donald J. Trump.
With issuance of the executive order, Sununu has given “a lot of flexibility” to councils and boards regarding structural rules to allow governing bodies to conduct needed business, according to Mayor Charlene Lovett.
Perhaps the most important announcement is that governing bodies may waive the requirement to have a physically-present quorum of members, so long as there is a quorum of total members either present or participating by phone or web connection.
This option will still require a physical space for the public to attend, as well as a means of telecommunication so that citizens may participate remotely, Lovett said.
Morris said the city is looking at a variety of technology options, including video chat, to support a virtual-meeting format. Visual information can be shared via email and other online resources. But Morris recommended that the council consider reducing meeting agendas only to essential items, such as matters requiring a time-sensitive action. This would hopefully reduce the number of informational presentations that utilize a lot of visuals.
Councilor Deborah Matteau agreed with holding meetings that focus primarily on essential items.
“I think this is important, particularly with land-use (related) boards with items where the abutters will want to speak,” Matteau said. “It’s important that we cancel those, because some people who will have a lot to say will come out for that [meeting] regardless of what might be going on outside.”
Though Matteau did not specify an example, the most immediate one is the upcoming zoning board hearing continuation for American Recycling & Disposal, who seek to build an indoor waste transfer station Industrial Boulevard. The previous meeting drew an attendance of approximately 70 residents and stakeholders in opposition to the project.
Matteau said she doesn’t anticipate there being many essential meetings requiring decisions, since so many sectors of the country’s economy and government are going into slowdown. Federal and state departments are extending deadlines for many issues that would normally require immediate action, and there will likely be less activity involving grant-opportunities, for example.
The council also decided to listen to the city manager’s recommendations to determine when to schedule a meeting.
“I am for letting the city manager make those determinations,” Matteau said. “I feel the less that we put on his plate, because he’s got so much on his plate already that’s more important, that we let him tell us when we need to convene for a meeting.”
The city council also voted unanimously to cancel all board and committee meetings that are considered nonessential. The chairperson of each board or committee will work with Morris to determine and schedule essential meetings.
Morris said that the zoning board’s hearing on the American Recycling & Disposal application, originally scheduled on Monday, April 6, has been cancelled, due to the anticipated public turnout. Morris has already notified the applications of the cancellation.
The Monday, March 30, meeting of the zoning board — which does not involve American Recycling & Disposal — will still be held in light of two action items with “important ramifications,” according to Morris. He said he doesn’t expect a public turnout for these items and that the applicant may choose to participate remotely.
Residents who wish to stay current with scheduling updates and changes to city meetings and events, please visit the city’s events calendar online at http://www.claremontnh.com/residents/local-resources/events.aspx.
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