By Patrick Adrian
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — Tensions are flaring again between city councilors over Ward II Councilor James Contois’ continuing refusal to attend meetings in person, with members pushing new rules aimed to limit his utilization of remote participation.
The city council moved to cease the use of Zoom to participate in city council meetings, with an exception for scheduled out-of-town presenters or consultants, in a 6-3 vote on Wednesday. The motion, raised by Councilor Jon Stone and seconded by Councilor Michael Demars, seems directed specifically to Contois, who continues to only attend meetings remotely due to health concerns pertaining to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I have a family whom I have to protect and I can’t have a breakthrough infection,” Contois said in objection. “Vaccinations are only 90 percent effective. I could get an infection and bring it to children.”
Contois, who has family members who are immunocompromised, has previously raised questions about the council chamber’s ventilation quality and whether some councilors remain unvaccinated.
Contois accused Stone of directing the motion “out of spite” and personal political views.
But other councilors disagreed, saying that Contois’ use of Zoom technology slows the pace of meetings by requiring roll call votes for all councilor decisions, as well as posing frequent technical difficulties.
“There have been several meetings where I cannot even hear Councilor Contois,” Councilor Nicholas Koloski said. “And the amount of times we have to repeat simple phrases like ‘You’re on mute’ are distractions to the meeting.”
Notably, Koloski said he still advocates for the allowance of participation by phone, which was the most common tool for remote participation prior to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.
But a second motion raised by Stone could limit that access as well.
Following the vote to cease Zoom participation, Stone motioned to prevent councilors from using phone participation “solely for convenience or to avoid attending a meeting in person.”
Additionally, Stone’s motion requires any councilor who cannot attend in person to obtain permission from the city mayor to participate by phone.
Several councilors have expressed wariness over Stone’s second motion.
“This part I cannot support,” said Koloski, stressing his support for absent councilors to have some electronic means of access.
If approved as written, this motion would grant an unprecedented power to the city mayor, giving the mayor full discretion to decide which councilors may or may not participate remotely. Theoretically a mayor could use this power to sway the outcome of a vote.
Councilor Deborah Matteau agreed with this concern during a phone interview with the Eagle Times on Thursday.
Matteau, who researched council rules in other New Hampshire cities, said she prefers an approach used by the Rochester City Council, which has written guidelines specifying the allowable reasons for participating by phone, such as an illness or out-of-town trip. The mayor could still receive councilor requests for phone access, though the guidelines — not the mayor — would determine approval.
Matteau said that Contois should resign from the council if he is unwilling or unable to attend meetings in person. While sympathetic to the current health risks, Matteau said councilors have a duty to be physically present at public meetings. The councilor also expressed worry that Contois has no clear endpoint to his remote participation and, if re-elected on Tuesday, could remain out of council chambers for the next two years if allowed.
Mayor Charlene Lovett opposed the end of Zoom access, warning the council that the state Legislature is currently working on legislation aimed to permit the use of remote technologies such as Zoom to conduct meetings or participate.
“If this is accepted and incorporated into law, there are going to be a lot of changes with regard to how we do things,” Lovett said.
The council has tabled the motion to restrict use of phone participation to allow time for councilors to research the city’s current policy on the subject.
In June, the council unsuccessfully attempted to require Contois to attend meetings in person. The council ended the discussion when Contois cited state statute 91A:23, which permits an official to participate in a meeting from a separate location “when such attendance is not reasonably practical,” which by law includes health or medical issues.
But a related statute, read by Matteau, indicates that the council “is not required” to guarantee councilors a remote access.
City Manager Ed Morris said the city will still use Zoom technology to livestream meetings until the city finds an alternative means.
reporter @eagletimes.com
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