Politics & Government
University Place City Announces Virtual Council Meeting On May 4
Those who wish to simply listen to the meeting will be able to dial in using a provided phone number.
April 29, 2020
On Monday, April 20, the University Place City Council held its first virtual meeting to ensure that essential city functions continue amid Governor Inslee’s Stay Home – Stay Healthy Emergency Proclamation.
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Council members were able to be “present” by connecting from their homes and voted on the Consent Agenda items that had been previously studied and discussed. In addition, the meeting also allotted time for public comment and public testimony on items that were emailed to the City Clerk in advance of the meeting.
As might be expected, there were a few technical glitches that staff will iron out prior to the next virtual City Council meeting on May 4, but Monday night provided some valuable “lessons learned” for moving forward. “I think that given that this was a first real roll-out it was a big learning opportunity for all of us,” said Mayor Caroline Belleci. “There were technical challenges because of the number of us on the meeting and possibly not having sufficient bandwidth, so things slowed down considerably for staff and Council. But I am grateful that Council was all in attendance and that we stuck to our 30-minute time frame for our first meeting. I’m confident the new format will get easier with each subsequent virtual meeting.” Those who wish to submit public comments for the May 4 City Council meeting need to send them to Emy Genetia, City Clerk at EGenetia@CityofUP.com. Comments received by 5:30 p.m. on May 4 will be provided to the City Council electronically for consideration at that evening’s meeting. Comments received after that deadline will be provided to the City Council after the meeting.
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Watch the City’s website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates and a link to the May 4 City Council meeting, which will also air on UPTV (Click! Channel 12 and Comcast Channel 21) as well as the City’s YouTube Channel. Those who wish to simply listen to the meeting will be able to dial in using a provided phone number.
This press release was produced by the City of University Place. The views expressed here are the author’s own.