EAST LONGMEADOW – Rather than hosting a regular town council meeting on March 24, council vice president Michael Kane gave a brief video update on two public hearings that were originally scheduled for the meeting.

In order to maintain the social distancing guidelines as imposed by Governor Charlie Baker, Kane said that for the purpose of this meeting he was just with Town Clerk Jeanne Quaglietti and Town Manager Mary McNally. He said that because of the ongoing pandemic, the whole town had to change the way it operates, resulting in the new online video format for meetings. “The changes in the way our town conducts business necessitated by the pandemic have been unprecedented to say the least,” he said.

Kane announced that the two public hearings originally scheduled for the March 24 meeting were both postponed until the council’s April 14 meeting. The first of the scheduled public hearings was the continued hearing of a zone change at Rear Pease Road from Residential AA to Industrial/Industrial Garden Park, which originally began back in 2018. And the second hearing was an application from Zains Smoke Shop at 611 North Main St. for a wines and malt beverages off premises liquor license.

He explained that the Town had to postpone the hearings due to the ongoing restrictions at Town hall and said that both applicants had no problem with the choice to postpone. “These public hearings are being rescheduled due to the closing of Town Hall to the public and to comply with the Governor’s orders,” he said, “The applicants in both cases have agreed to the extensions in writing and have waived any claims for constructive grant.”

Currently, the next East Longmeadow Town Council meeting is scheduled for April 14.