RESOLUTION NO. 2022-53
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES
AUTHORIZING THE USE OF REMOTE TELECONFERENCED MEETINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL PURSUANT TO ASSEMBLY BILL 361
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency in the State of California, as defined under the California Emergency Services Act, due to the COVID19 pandemic; and WHEREAS, on March 6, 2020, the Monterey County Administrative Officer issued a similar declaration of “local health emergency” regarding COVID-19 for Monterey County, which was subsequently ratified by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on March 10, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, due to the threats posed by COVID-19, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-29-20, which suspended certain requirements of Government Code Section 54950 et seq., the Ralph M. Brown Act (“Brown Act”), in order to allow local legislative bodies to conduct meetings telephonically or electronically without a physical meeting place; and
WHEREAS, on June 11, 2021, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-08-21, which stated that the provisions suspending requirements of the Brown Act in Executive Order N-29-20 would remain in effect through September 30, 2021, at which point the suspensions would expire; and
WHEREAS, on September 16, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 361 into law, an urgency measure effective upon adoption, amending the Brown Act to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet remotely during a proclaimed State of Emergency, when either state or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing, or the legislative body determines that meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of attendees; and
WHEREAS, the State of Emergency proclaimed by the Governor on March 4, 2020, and local health emergency declarations remain in effect; and WHEREAS, on September 28, 2021, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance requiring the use of face coverings indoors for all persons over the age of two regardless of vaccination status, the requirements of which while triggered in the latter part of 2021, have since been suspended although the ordinance remains in place to address potential future COVID-19 surges; and
WHEREAS, the previous California Department of Public Health mandate that masks be worn in all indoor public settings in the State has been suspended for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals (with exceptions), although the State still continues to recommend the use of masks in a variety of settings for all persons regardless of vaccination status; and WHEREAS, in the latter part of 2021 and first part of 2022, the COVID-19 Delta Variant and the highly contagious Omicron Variant emerged, causing an increase in positive cases and hospitalizations locally and throughout the State of California, the Unites States and other parts of the world; and
WHEREAS, after a substantial decrease in reported COVID-19 cases, during which the CDC’s “Community Transmission” metric, which provides a four-tiered system that measures the level of community transmission in each county, indicated a “Low” COVID-19 Community Transmission rate for Monterey County, there has been a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, including cases involving the highly contagious and now dominant BA.5 subvariant, with the current Monterey County COVID-19 Transmission rate standing at “High” and WHEREAS, in light of the proliferation of BA.5 variant cases, counties throughout the State are considering reinitiating measures to control the spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, due to the continued significant impact of the Delta and Omicron variants, and a recent surge in BA.5 variant cases, the City is concerned about the health and safety of officials, staff and public attendees at public meetings should they be held in person and in a shared indoor public meeting space, and
WHEREAS, in light of the foregoing, after a period in which the City discontinued holding remote meetings pursuant to AB 361, the Council now desires to take action necessary to comply with AB 361 to allow the Council to once again permit remote meeting participation or entirely remote meetings, and providing authority and direction to all other City-related boards and committees to conduct meetings so as to allow remote participation; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e )(3), in order to conduct teleconferenced meetings the Council must make specific findings approved by a majority vote justifying the use of remote meeting procedures and repeat this process every thirty (30) days thereafter.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Gonzales as follows:
1. All of the recitals set forth above are true and correct to the best of its knowledge and by this reference are incorporated herein as findings.
2. The Council hereby acknowledges that the Governor’s State of Emergency proclamation issued on March 4, 2020, remains in effect.
3. After considering the current circumstances of the above-referenced emergency, the Council finds that due to the emergence of the Delta and Omicron Variants, and the highly contagious BA.5 Variant, that there is a continued threat of COVID-19 and holding wholly inperson Council meetings could present an imminent risk to the health and safety of attendees.
4. Based on the foregoing, rhe Council is hereby authorized and directed to take all actions necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this Resolution, including conducting open and public meetings in accordance with Government Code Section 54953(e) and other applicable provisions of the Brown Act to allow teleconferenced meetings and remote meeting participation.
5. In order to maintain internal consistency in meeting procedures throughout the City, the Council finds that holding wholly in-person meetings of City-related legislative bodies subject to the Brown Act would also present imminent COVID-19 related risks to the health and safety of attendees, and that as such, said bodies are directed and authorized to implement the actions taken by the Council pursuant to this resolution to allow teleconferenced meetings and remote meeting participation. This finding and directive shall apply to all City-related legislative bodies subject to the Brown Act, including but not limited to the Gonzales Planning Commission, the Gonzales Recreation Commission, the Measure K Advisory Committee, and the Measure X Subcommittee.
6. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption and shall be effective until the earlier of thirty days from the adoption of this Resolution or such time the Council adopts a subsequent resolution in accordance with Government Code Section 54953(e)(3) to extend the time during which the Council may continue teleconferencing without compliance with the Brown Act’s prior rules regarding teleconferencing.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Gonzales, County of Monterey, State of California, this 18
th day of July, 2022, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
______________________________
Jose L. Rios, The Honorable Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Mary Villegas, Deputy City Clerk