Coronavirus Florida: Royal Palm Beach to have first electronic council meeting
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ROYAL PALM BEACH - The Village Council will wade into nearly uncharted waters Thursday night as it conducts its first electronic meeting.
The change comes following an executive order issued last month by Gov. Ron DeSantis in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The council will use a virtual meeting service called GoToMeeting to host the regularly scheduled council meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m.
Typically, a quorum - the minimum number of council members needed to conduct a meeting - needs to be present in person for the meeting to proceed, per Florida law.
Under DeSantis’ executive order, issued March 20, the requirement for a physical quorum is waived, and local governments can use technology including phone and video conferencing instead.
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That doesn’t mean council chambers are closed, village manager Ray Liggins said.
He expects three council members to attend the meeting in person, with two using GoToMeeting. Department heads will be present but only seven or eight chairs will be available in the audience, with most of them removed to enforce social distancing.
Liggins confirmed that this will be the first electronic meeting held by the Village Council.
Village staff has used GoToMeeting for internal meetings in the past, and the most recent two Technical Staff Review meetings have been conducted using the service, he said.
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The only item on Thursday night’s agenda is discussion and action “on preventative steps for COVID-19.”
According to a notice on Royal Palm Beach’s website, those who want to participate remotely in Royal Palm Beach’s meeting will be able to do so by accessing GoToMeeting using a computer, tablet or smartphone at global.gotomeeting.com/join/762759189.
People also can call in by dialing 571-317-3122, access code 762-759-189.
Public comment can be emailed to village clerk Diane DiSanto at ddisanto@royalpalmbeach.com.
The meeting also will be livestreamed online via www.royalpalmbeach.com.
Other municipalities are considering electronic meetings, including Wellington.
According to the Florida Department of Health’s Tuesday evening update, there are 14 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Royal Palm Beach and 15 in Wellington. As of Wednesday afternoon, 567 people in Palm Beach County tested positive for the virus, and there have been 6,955 cases statewide.
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