Hopkinsville City Council will meet at 6 tonight, April 7, in its first videoconference since state officials authorized an emergency coronavirus measure that ensures public officials meet from a distance to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Council members, Mayor Wendell Lynch and other city officials who usually attend council meetings at the Hopkinsville Municipal Center will be connected virtually through videoconferencing technology. Most of them will be at their homes or a private office.
Members of the public will be able to view the video through a live stream on the city’s website or on the city’s Facebook page.
The meeting agenda is available here.
The agenda includes several routine matters, including a rezoning ordinance and a municipal order to approve a Kentucky Infrastructure Authority loan to Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority.
The agenda does not list any department reports or matters directly related to the city’s response to the coronavirus. However, comments by the mayor and council members are included on the agenda, and some of them will likely address issues related to the pandemic and its affect on the city.
Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 150, which enacted emergency measures for open meeting and open records requests, on March 30. The measures are temporary and are set to expire when Kentucky’s state of emergency is lifted.
(Jennifer P. Brown is the editor and founder of Hoptown Chronicle. Reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org.)
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
