TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Linda A. Nemeroff, District Secretary
SUBJECT: Resumption of In-Person Board Meetings
ACTION ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving a report on plans to resume in-person public Board meetings as of the June 15, 2021 State reopening, subject to forthcoming state and local guidance; and provide direction to staff with respect to piloting "Hybrid" Board meetings. [Requested by Director Young - 4/14/21]
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
There is no strategic importance associated with this report.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
Holding public meetings are a cost of doing business. However, if the Board wishes to combine virtual and in-person meetings in a "hybrid" setting, this will require additional staffing (facility maintenance, safety, technological support) and the Board Room will need to be augmented from a technology standpoint to provide a seamless interface. Language translation will also need to be made available in both settings. At the time of this writing, staff is investigating the technological options, secure and reliable, that might be available at a reasonable cost.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
On March 19, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a State-wide Shelter in Place Order in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Governor's Executive Order (N-29-20) also suspended some public meeting requirements under the Brown Act, including:
* The requirement to identify the physical location of members participating by teleconference;
* The requirement to post agendas at all teleconference locations; and
* The requirement that a quorum of the legislative body's members be within the jurisdiction when the meeting is taking place.
Essentially, all in-person attendance at public meetings was banned and the District quickly adapted to a virtual meeting setting, which is how public meetings have been conducted since the onset of the Pandemic.
Governor Newsom has now signaled that California is poised to ...
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