“Zooming” It In***

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The ‘novel’ corona virus resulted in a novel approach to conducting the April 2 Palm Beach Gardens City Council meeting.  While most in-person meetings were cancelled in the City, the council meeting was going to be held in the council chambers with minimum representation and adequate social distancing.  Council members Mark Marciano, out-going Matthew Lane, Rachelle Litt and in-coming Chelsea Reed participated remotely.  Council members Maria Marino and Carl Woods were in the chambers, along with City Manager Ferris, and minimal staff.   The Council was mostly visible on the livestream screen, along with presentation materials as needed, and the meeting proceeded fairly smoothly.

Congratulations to new Mayor Carl Woods, Vice Mayor Maria Marino, Vice Mayor Pro-Tem Rachelle Litt and new Council Member Chelsea Reed!   See the Palm Beach Post article for more information on the selection of the Mayor and Vice-Mayor and the meeting.

Public Comment was made via email and read by Mayor Woods:

• Marsha Thrower  – urged the City to issue a Stay At Home order and to close all non-essential businesses
• Former Mayor Marcie Tinsley – wished every well, thanked Matthew Lane for his service to the City and welcomed Chelsea Reed

City Manager Ferris described the adjustment to City Operations – schedules and staffing, summarized in his status report which can be read here.  He also thanked all the first-responders as the  heroes in these unusual times and that we all owe a lot to them.  He also thanked all the other employees who have been making everything work despite the limitations.  The City has reached out to Gardens and Jupiter hospitals who have adequate supplies.

Consent Agenda passed 5:0.  Council Member Reed asked that Resolution 11 be pulled – regarding future sidewalk and bike-path on Kyoto Gardens Drive – giving kudos to staff for their application to TPA and for furthering the City’s mobility plan.  Council Member Litt asked that Resolution 29 be pulled to have City Manager Ferris or City Attorney Lohman explain the purpose of the Resolution.  It would allow the City Manager to have the authority to continue the Covid-19 Emergency status as long as necessary, rather than needing council approval every seven days.  Both pulled items also passed 5:0.

Both Ordinance 4, 2020 first reading regarding updating land-use regulations to be consistent with recent state legislation, and Resolution 23, 2020 regarding Nuvo Business Center at the Gardens, passed 5:0 with minimal comment.

The Council then segued to external board and committee appointments, after which a discussion ensued regarding how to better inform the Public about Covid-19 related issues.  Most on the Council were getting questions from the Public – unrelated to the operations of the City and described their attempts to communicate with current information.  When it seemed that they were going to assign the task of dealing with the issue to the City Manager – he pushed back.  His job was to run the city, and he recognized that people were frustrated and scared about all kinds of things related to Covid-19.  He is not a physician, nor should the City be trying to get information on the location of affected patients, nor where is toilet paper.  The information on those kinds of issues are on tv, the radio, on the internet and social media.  He said that he gives the Council all the information he has and it’s their role to use what communications media they have to respond to their constituents.  Mayor Woods agreed, as did the Council, to continue to direct the public to the information they did have.

The business of the city goes on and all should be commended for their flexibility and patience during these unusual times.

(*** we have not confirmed that the City used Zoom for the City Council Meeting yet – but will update this comment if we’re able to find out which application was actually used)