Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch is weighing when to bring city council back for in-person meetings. A new member stressed the need to give the public the opportunity to address the council in chambers rather than relying on a live video of council members from their homes and offices.
“It’s time for us to get back to being accountable,” Ward 10 council member Steve Keel said at the council’s livestreamed meeting Tuesday.
Keel said he believes there are enough coronavirus precautions in place — including barriers between council seats and social distancing measures at city hall — to bring the council back safely.
Lynch said the decision is being made month to month based on local COVID-19 numbers. The community has been in a “surge” of new cases following the holidays, he noted.
The health department reported five new coronavirus-related deaths Tuesday, while the number of COVID-19 patients at Jennie Stuart Medical Center increased from 23 on Monday to 29 on Tuesday. A federal report on COVID-19 showed the percentage of occupied ICU beds at Jennie Stuart was higher last week than any other time for which data is available.
Ward 3 representative Alethea West, who is also new to the council, questioned what would happen if several members became infected with the coronavirus at a meeting. That could result in the council not having a quorum for future meetings, she said.
West asked if the city could develop a way for members of the public to be brought into video segments for comments during meetings. City Clerk Crissy Fletcher said she would discuss options with Information Technology Director Joe Grace.
Other members said they are ready to return to in-person meetings but would defer to Lynch’s judgment.
In a related matter, Lynch said he recently spoke to Christian County Emergency Manager Randy Graham and County Health Director Kayla Bebout about additional ways to reach members of the public concerning vaccination updates. He said there are many residents who don’t have access to online updates. The city is working on options to reach those people, and a plan is forthcoming, he said.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
