HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-029 City Council Meetings During COVID-19Date: March 27, 2020 Report No. 2020-029
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Overview of planned City Council meeting procedures in response to COVID-19
BACKGROUND:
On March 16, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott took action at the request of the Office of the Attorney
General to maintain governmental transparency and continued governmental operations while
reducing face-to-face contact for open government meetings. In accordance with 418.06 of the
Texas Government Code and in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Governor Abbott
temporarily suspended various provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) to allow for
telephonic or videoconference meetings of governmental bodies so long as those meetings are
accessible to the public.
During the March 31, 2020 City Council meeting, the City Council will consider adoption of an
ordinance that will temporarily amend certain provisions of the City Council Rules of Procedure
to accommodate temporary videoconferencing and public comment procedures during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Section 2-29(b)(14) of the Rules of Procedure currently requires that
proposed Rules of Procedure amendments be introduced during a separate meeting prior to City
Council adoption. The City Council may suspend the requirement of a second reading for Rules
of Procedure amendments and the current provisions for videoconferencing to allow City business
to be conducted via videoconference during the March 31 meeting. The ordinance for
consideration will confirm that suspension, if it is made by Council and provide for the temporary
amendment of the Rules of Procedure to provide for flexibility in conducting City business during
the period of the emergency declaration, specifying alternative options for Council members and
the public to attend and participate in open meetings.
DISCUSSION:
If the Council chooses to suspend the second reading requirement and amend the Rules of
Procedure, the March 31 City Council meeting and all future meetings taking place during the
COVID-19 response will be conducted via ZOOM videoconference. Council members will
remotely connect to the meeting by using the link provided by Technology Services staff prior to
the meeting.
Mayor Watts will host the meeting remotely from his office at City Hall. All votes of the City
Council will be made by raising hands and those votes will be recorded by the City Secretary.
Meetings conducted via videoconference will be streamed online, broadcast on the Denton
Television cable channel, and available on-demand for public viewing.
Council member microphones will be muted through the ZOOM platform if they are not actively
speaking. Council members are asked to raise their hand to request to speak. When recognized
by the Mayor, their microphones will be un-muted so they can ask questions or make comments.
Date: March 27, 2020 Report No. 2020-029
Agenda Item Questions
To help alleviate the need for staff to call in to the meeting to answer consent agenda questions,
staff asks that Council submits their agenda item questions by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 30th to
give staff the opportunity to provide an answer prior to the meeting.
Staff Participation
Staff will be available to answer questions associated with agenda items using the dial-in feature
of the City’s videoconferencing technology. As questions are posed, staff will await direction from
the Mayor, identify themselves and respond to the question(s) raised. All staff presentations for
Work Session and Individual Consideration items will be made from the City Hall Work Session
Room.
Presentations will be shown full screen and Council members will be able to hear, but not see, the
presenter. Because of this, the City Council will be asked to hold their questions until the end of
each presentation. Staff will deliver concise presentations and be prepared to answer questions
after the material has been presented. City Council members will be asked to cite the slide number,
if applicable, when posing a question.
Citizen Participation
To accommodate and receive input on agenda items, citizens will be able to participate in the
following ways (NOTE: citizens are only able to comment one time per agenda item using one of
the methods below):
Online comment form – On the afternoon of Friday, March 27, the agenda will be
posted online at www.cityofdenton.com/publicmeetings. Once the agenda is posted, a
link to a comment submission form will be made available under the main heading on the
webpage. Within this comment form, citizens may indicate support or opposition, and
submit comment about a specific agenda item. Similar to when a citizen submits a white
card to indicate their position on the item, these comment forms will be sent directly to
City Council members and recorded by the City Secretary, and the support/opposition
will be entered into the record during the meeting. Comments may be submitted up until
the start the meeting, which begins at 1 p.m. Online comments received after 1 p.m. will
not be delivered to the City Council nor entered into the public record.
OR
By phone – Citizens wishing to speak over the phone during this Council meeting, may
call (940) 349-7800 when the meeting begins at 1 p.m. When the call is initially received,
a staff member will receive the caller’s information and either, 1) offer to call the citizen
back when it is time for them to speak, 2) record the caller’s information, support or
opposition, and comment. If the caller wishes to receive a call back, the voice of each
caller will be broadcast into the meeting during the public commenting time of their
desired agenda item. Individuals will be able to comment once per agenda item.
Date: March 27, 2020 Report No. 2020-029
OR
In person – Citizens may request to speak on an agenda item in person at City Hall (215
E. McKinney St.). When each attendee arrives to the building, they will receive a number
to determine the order of speakers. During their turn to speak, attendees will be asked to
stand in front of a camera to be broadcast online and to the Council members.
To reinforce social distancing, those wishing to attend the meeting in-person will be seated in the
City Council Chambers. Once this room is at capacity, no additional individuals will be
allowed to enter the building. All persons entering City Hall will be screened for COVID-19
symptoms and exposure prior to entering the building. Based on Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) guidelines, the screening is identical to the screening used by the Denton Fire
Department when responding to emergency calls, will be performed by City of Denton paramedics,
and will involve screening for COVID-19 symptoms:
Fever (using an infrared or temporal scan thermometer)
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
If a person exhibits symptoms of COVID-19, they will not be permitted to physically enter City
Hall. These precautionary measures are to protect the health and safety of other in-person meeting
attendees and limit the spread of COVID-19 at public gatherings, while providing residents the
ability to participate in public meetings.
In-person citizen participation will be allowed for the March 31 meeting; however, it may not be
an available option in future meetings that utilize a videoconference platform for the purpose of
social distancing.
CONCLUSION:
The temporary amendment of certain Rules of Procedure requirements is intended to allow for
maximum flexibility and transparency of public meetings during the City of Denton’s response to
the COVID-19 pandemic. Once in-person City Council meetings resume, the temporary
suspensions will be lifted to restore the procedural requirements that were in place prior to
March 31.
STAFF CONTACT:
Ryan Adams
Deputy Director of Public Affairs/IGR
(940) 349-8565
Ryan.Adams@cityofdenton.com
Date: March 27, 2020 Report No. 2020-029
Rachel Wood
Deputy Director of Development Facilitation
Rachel.Wood@cityofdenton.com
Catherine Clifton
Deputy City Attorney
(940) 349-8333
Catherine.Clifton@cityofdenton.com
REQUESTOR:
Staff Initiated
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS:
Public Affairs, Development Services, Legal