Buckley, Black Diamond jump on the virtual meeting bandwagon

Both recent agendas were short and sweet.

By Ray Miller-Still • April 24, 2020 9:55 am
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Depending on whether Inslee lifts his stay at home order in the near future, council meetings may continue remotely into the month of May. File photo
Depending on whether Inslee lifts his stay at home order in the near future, council meetings may continue remotely into the month of May. File photo

City business has gone virtual on the Plateau.

Following in Enumclaw’s footsteps, the Buckley City Council held their first virtual meeting on Tuesday, April 14, and Black Diamond has scheduled its first meeting yesterday, Thursday, April 23.

All three cities are able to hold virtual meetings because of Gov. Jay Inslee’s suspension of certain portions of the Open Public Meeting Act on March 24; namely, the requirement that the public is able to attend meetings in person.

Inslee’s original suspension of the OPMA only lasts for 30 days, or until midnight on April 23. It’s unclear if he will extend the suspension, and any announcement regarding an extension would have been made after press deadline.

Inslee’s March 24 proclamation also limited city councils to only performing “necessary and routine matters” or items specifically addressing the COVID-19 outbreak. For Buckley, this included canceling council and staff reports and reviewing a memo about social distancing, approving payroll and council minutes, and awarding a bid for Cedar Street improvements during the city council’s April 14 meeting.

Buckley Mayor Pat Johnson said she expects meetings to continue virtually for the foreseeable future.

“I think we’re going to be doing safe distancing for quite a while,” she said, “so we’re going to have to get a few longer cords for the recording materials.”

The public is only able to call into the Zoom meeting and listen; no public comment will be taken. However, residents can email city staff or council members for comments to be read into the minutes.

To listen to live council meeting, residents can download the online agenda or agenda packet at https://www.cityofbuckley.com/council and follow the call-in instructions.

BLACK DIAMOND

Like Buckley, Black Diamond’s April 23 agenda was short and sweet; Mayor Carol Benson proclaimed April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the council approved payroll and claim checks, meeting minutes, and to reaffirmed the mayor’s previous emergency declaration and office closure orders. The only piece of new business was the reading of an ordinance granting Tacoma a non-exclusive franchise to construct and maintain a water system within Black Diamond’s right-of-way.

Unlike Buckley, Black Diamond’s council meeting was able to be watched or listened to; instructions to watch future meetings or to dial in using a phone are provided on council agendas and packets at http://www.ci.blackdiamond.wa.us/Depts/Clerk/Agendas/2020_agendas.html.

The public will not be able to comment during the live meeting — written comments should be submitted to City Clerk Brenda Martinez at bmartinez@blackdiamondwa.gov by 5 p.m on the Wednesdays before council meetings; please include in the subject line of the email “Public Comment 4/23/20” and include your name.

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