HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 13868City of Palo Alto (ID # 13868)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 12/13/2021
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Title: Discussion and Possible Direction Regarding In-Person, Remote, or
Hybrid City Council and Board and Commission Meetings
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Manager
Recommendation
Staff recommends that Council discuss and provide any supplemental direction
regarding the timing of resuming in-person City Council, Board, and Commission
meetings, or using remote or hybrid formats.
Background
On September 27, 2021, the City Council approved the following direction regarding the
initiation of in-person Council, board, and commission meetings:
A. Begin hybrid City Council meetings on November 1, 2021, and not requiring
Standing Committees, Ad-Hoc Committees, Boards and Commissions to
physically convene until January 2022;
B. Require the public, Staff and City Council Members to provide proof of
vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours prior to the meeting;
C. Provide an option for City Council to attend in-person or virtually as long as
the Santa Clara County maintains mandatory indoor masking for public meetings;
D. Upon the end of mandatory indoor masking, modify the City Council protocols
to increase City Council’s teleconference participation to 5 meetings per year;
E. Request Staff to allow virtual attendees to participate by video, barring
technical barriers in doing so; and
F. Upon relevant changes in Santa Clara County’s or the CDC’s guidelines, for
City Council to revisit the guidelines, consider a default standard for in-person
meetings if provided by the Santa Clara County, and discuss other in-person
meeting requirements.
On October 7, 2021 the Santa Clara County Health Officer along with other Bay Area
health officers identified criteria for the lifting of indoor masking requirements:
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•The jurisdiction reaches the moderate (yellow) COVID-19 transmission tier, as
defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and remains
there for at least three weeks; AND
•COVID-19 hospitalizations in the jurisdiction are low and stable, in the judgment
of the health officer; AND
•80% of the jurisdiction’s total population is fully vaccinated with two doses of
Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson (booster doses not
considered)
OR
Eight weeks have passed since a COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for
emergency use by federal and state authorities for 5- to 11-year-olds
Based on the Council’s September motion, the Council Chambers in City Hall reopened
in November and December for members of the public who wish to attend City Council
meetings in person, with an alternative option for the public to participate via Zoom.
Council Members also had the option to attend in person or via Zoom in order to
promote social distancing in light of the continuing pandemic. Some supporting staff
attended in person, while others participated via Zoom. In-person attendance has been
low. During November and December, Council committees and Boards and
Commissions continued to meet entirely via Zoom.
Based on Council’s September direction, Council committees, Boards, and
Commissions are directed to return to in-person meetings for meetings after January 3,
2022. Staff is currently working through the logistics of supporting hybrid participation
(in-person and remote) by commissioners and the public.
Discussion
Controlling the potential exposures to Covid-19 continues to be the fundamental method
of protecting the public, Council and City staff. While progress has been made toward
the established metrics for lifting indoor masking requirements, the emergence of the
omicron variant at a time of increased holiday travel and seasonal increases in cases
have cast doubt on the likelihood that masking requirements will be lifted prior to
January. Given the high level of public engagement that the City has experienced with
remote meetings and the added administrative requirements to support hybrid
meetings, staff recommends that Council consider delaying in-person meetings for
Boards and Commissions until February 1 or later, and maintain Council meetings as
primarily in-person with an option to Council Members to attend remotely in order to
promote social distancing in light of the continuing pandemic.
Stakeholder Engagement
Staff contacted the chairs of City boards and commissions to solicit their feedback on
the requirement to return to in-person meetings in January. Out of the Boards,
Commissions and Committees that routinely meet, 4 of 8 articulated agreement with
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deferral to February 1 or a later date, 2 desire to go in-person or hybrid. The remaining
identified no preference. Staff supporting these groups have expressed a preference for
deferring in-person meetings.
Resource Impact
The resources necessary to support a hybrid meeting at this time are more intensive
than either an in-person or a virtual meeting. As the Boards and Commissions are
supported by individual departments in collaboration with the City Clerk’s Office, an
increase in administration resources to suport hybrid meetings will have an impact on
administrative capacity across the organization as it requires additional resources for
not only meeting management but also the necessary heath checks. The Clerk’s Office
is providing training to assist department liaisons in the administration of hybrid
meetings.
Environmental Review
Not a project for CEQA purposes.
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