DANVILLE — The next Danville village council meeting will be held remotely Monday, April 6 at 7 p.m. Instead of meeting in person, the council plans to meet via video conference on Zoom.
Mayor Joe Mazzari admitted that he does not have too much experience with the technology and is “feeling (his) way through this.”
The council plans to have a “test run” Thursday to sort out the logistics. Mazzari said Village Clerk Laurie Vess will still maintain a written record of the meeting as usual but with the video conference, they may have a recording as well.
One of the hurdles Mazzari and Vess are working to navigate through is how to keep a video conference public.
“I want it to be a public meeting. It should be a public meeting,” Mazzari said, noting logistical difficulties.
Since individual callers can access the conference call by invitation, anyone who wishes to join the meeting will have to provide a working email address beforehand to be sent an invitation link.
According to Mazzari, if Thursday’s test is successful, the council might post the information on the village’s website and social media or find other ways to get the word out for those who would like to request access.
Another potential issue is Zoom’s 40-minute limit on group meetings. A Danville village council meeting regularly lasts over an hour. Mazzari said the council will have to figure out how to continue the meeting when they reach the time limit.
All of this will have to be hashed out at the Thursday test run.
As the COVID-19 state of emergency continues, Mazzari said Danville is following the President and Ohio Governor’s direction in the village’s response.
Village maintenance workers returned to work this week; however, Mazzari said they “won’t be out and about.” The workers will tend to indoor projects and only go out when responding to emergency calls.
The municipal building and the public library remain closed to the public.