As the coronavirus pandemic became increasingly serious in past weeks and shelter-in-place orders were issued, local governments had to scramble to figure out how to continue doing business for their residents. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-15 which suspended sections of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) requiring meetings be held in a physical place, thereby allowing governments to hold virtual meetings. Traverse Area Community Media at LIAA, under the guidance of Station Manager Matthew Kern, stepped up to provide assistance to participating governments. Working closely with Traverse City Clerk Benjamin Marentette, Kern developed a safe and secure way to manage a public meeting using the Zoom webinar tools, then trained board members how to fully participate in the meetings. All participants arrive with video and audio muted, avoiding some of the problems with virtual public meetings recently reported in the media. Designated meeting facilitators can enable board members to speak during discussion and voting while inviting public comment at appropriate times during the meeting. Meetings are recorded for later playback and cablecast live when possible on GovernmentTV Channel 191 in Northwest Michigan.
Traverse Area Community Media is developing guidelines for holding virtual meetings and invites inquiries from any interested governments or non-profit organizations. Email cmc@liaa.org for more information.