Southwick, Westfield continue remote public meetings

April 28, 2021 | Peter Currier
peter@thewestfieldnews group.com

The Southwick Select Board will continue meeting through Zoom.
Reminder Publications file photo

SOUTHWICK – As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues and infection rates drop locally governments have begun to discuss options for in-person and hybrid public meetings.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to the widespread adoption of Zoom to conduct public meetings while gathering restrictions are in place. In March of last year, Gov. Charlie D. Baker signed multiple executive orders to allow municipal boards and commissions to conduct their business remotely without violating Open Meeting Law.

Southwick’s Town Hall has remained partially open for most of the pandemic. The north side of the building has remained open so that residents may conduct business with the Assessor, Treasurer, the Town Clerk, and tax collections according to Southwick’s Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart.

Stinehart said that Southwick’s status as a high-risk community for COVID-19 means that there will be no in-person meetings in the near future, but he said that they are planning for the possibility of hybrid meetings when boards can meet in-person.

“Some of that will depend upon the current  state Open Meeting Law guidelines and  any soon-to-happen amended governor emergency orders permitting the same,” said Stinehart.

Southwick included broadcast infrastructure for certain meeting rooms in Town Hall in the FY22 municipal budget. Stinehart said they are working towards outfitting the major meeting rooms to be able to broadcast meetings on public access on Channel 15. 

“We are working toward outfitting our major meeting rooms to permit Channel 15 public access capabilities  for broadcasting meetings out of town hall and can complement that with Zoom too,” said Stinehart, “Technology investments will need to take place for us to achieve this balance in the future.”

In Westfield, the plan for in-person public meetings is not yet clear. The city’s Media Systems Specialist Peter Cowles said the Health Department had not yet given him the parameters for public meetings. Westfield’s City Hall only just opened to the public for limited business on April 20. 

The City Council Chambers, where the City Council, School Committee, and Planning Board meet, is already outfitted to broadcast on Channel 15. Other boards and commissions for the city, however, typically met in smaller rooms in City Hall without broadcast capabilities before the pandemic.  

Health Director Joseph Rouse and members of the Board of Health expressed interest in having their meetings take place in-person in the near future. It is not yet clear how the board and others like it in Westfield will do so while social distancing measures are in place.

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