DAPHNE – Almost two months after canceling Planning Commission and other committee hearings due to COVID-19 the Daphne City Council will vote Monday, May 4, to resume the meetings with social distance precautions.
The council voted in March to cancel the committee meetings for two months. At the April 20 City Council meeting, President Robin LeJeune said he felt the boards could meet if members were careful about distancing and other efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“I think we need to start meetings again,” LeJeune said. “I think we can have them here in this chamber rather than back there (committee conference room). It gives plenty of distance.”
LeJeune said that since March, officials had gained more experience about ways to keep people apart at meetings and maintain hygiene, such as spraying podium microphones with disinfectant between speakers.
“When we implemented the ban for 60 days, there was a lot of unknown, a lot of things we were doing for safety and we still want to do that and still remain vigilant as far as that goes with our safety, but I do want y’all’s thoughts on the possibility of maybe lifting that as far as committee meetings go before May 18 and if we feel that we need to keep that until May 18,” LeJeune told council members.
Councilman Ron Scott said the ban has slowed action by the council, which has continued to meet.
“I’ve been on the council almost 16 years and I’ve never seen a council meeting that we didn’t have any resolutions or any ordinances and I think part of the reason for that is that most of those come through the committee meetings and without the committee meetings, we’re not generating anything that I think would move the city forward,” Scott said.
Councilman Joel Coleman said the City Council is limited without the recommendations of committees and other boards.
“We all want to do what’s best for the city, but when there’s nothing on the agenda, it limits our ability to take any action,” Coleman said. “I would be in favor of reinstituting those as soon as possible as long as we are adhering to social distancing standards.”
Mayor Dane Haygood said the state’s current ban on gatherings of more 10 people is set to expire this week and he did not expect restrictions to be as strict in May.
“The current order from the Alabama Department of Public Health expires April 30 at 5 p.m. I think it’s extremely likely that we’ll have a replacement order with some new restrictions or relaxation, depending on how that’s worded,” Haygood said. “I would imagine we’ll probably see something this week, but it’s very likely that the state of Alabama is moving toward a Phase 1 reopening and I think we should certainly make some plans.”
LeJeune said some committee meetings could be combined to keep members, residents and officials from having to come to as many gatherings. Scott said some participants could also follow the meetings from outside the chambers or in cars over the internet and only come into the chambers if needed to provide information or comments.
