No more Zoom? Lexington council to return to in-person meetings in August.
After more than a year of meeting via Zoom, the Lexington council will resume in-person meetings at city hall starting in August, allowing more people and city staff time to receive coronavirus vaccines.
But there will be restrictions on the number of people in the council chambers.
Members of the public who wish to attend will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Chairs will be set up outside council chambers for people who want to give public comment on issues before the council. Everyone must submit to a temperature screening, wear a mask and observe social distancing guidelines.
The number of staff in council chambers will also be kept low.
Susan Speckert, the city’s law commissioner, told the council during a Tuesday work session that the number of seats in the council chamber will likely be limited to 15 with an additional 14 seats available outside for people waiting to give comment.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, like many elected bodies, began meeting virtually in April due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Several times over the past year, the council has proposed returning to in-person meetings when new coronavirus case numbers dropped, but ultimately decided to continue holding meetings via Zoom.
Online meetings have also created challenges for public comment and opportunities for trolls.
During two different meetings last summer, racist trolls signed up for public comment via Zoom, posing as citizens. To stop the trolls, the council temporarily cut off public comment. Later, it came up with a sign up system that would help it vet or verify the identities of people wishing to comment. People have to sign up 24 hours before a council meeting at www.lexingtonky.gov/public-comment.
There was also a decline in the number of people who wished to comment via Zoom after the new protocols were introduced.
Under the proposed protocol Speckert unveiled Tuesday, the council will continue to offer virtual public comment via Zoom for those who do not feel safe attending in-person meetings.
The seven-day rolling average for new coronavirus cases in Fayette County is now the lowest it’s been in nine months. In Lexington, nearly 90,000 people have been fully vaccinated or about 28% of the total population.
Councilwoman Jennifer Reynolds had proposed the council return to in-person meetings on May 25. Many other government bodies have returned to in-person meetings, Reynolds said.
But several council members said they thought that was too soon.
“I’m concerned we aren’t setting a good example,” said Councilman Richard Moloney, citing recent warnings from health officials that the pandemic was far from over.
Many city employees haven’t yet received the vaccine but exactly how many received it is not known.
Mayor Linda Gorton, who is a nurse, said because the Federal Drug Administration has only given emergency use for the coronavirus vaccine, the city cannot require staff to get one. It also can’t ask how many employees have received the vaccine because of federal health care privacy laws.
Gorton said everyone who wants a vaccine can get one by May 1.
Some council members proposed moving the in-person meeting date back to mid-June. However, the council summer break starts in July.
Vice Mayor Steve Kay recommended the council restart in-person meetings the first meeting in August, which is Aug. 10. That would set a clear time line for the council to return to meeting in person. It also would allow plenty of time for people who want to be vaccinated to be vaccinated.
Reynolds and Councilman Fred Brown were the only two council members who voted against the resolution.
