From:
To: City Council
Subject: Council Meetings - Zoom feedback
Date: Monday, April 1, 2024 3:12:20 PM
Dear Council,
As we all know, Zoom bombing has become very disruptive and problematic for public meetings, including City Council.
In response to solicitation for opinions on what to do, this is what I think.
Keeping Zoom as an option for people is valuable. While it would be beneficial for it to be interactive, the negative actions of a few miserable souls makes this untenable. I support making Zoom access view only. This could be temporary, e.g. 60 days, or permanent until revisited again some day.
Note that it is not a requirement that you provide Zoom access at all. It is a convenience, albeit a very handy one. And it does widen the pool of people that can observe how the Council operates.
If someone, with legitimate issues to raise, wants to raise those issues, they can send comments in ahead of time. Or send them later, though that may be too late if a decision has been made. The other option is to show up in person. For many, many years that was the only option.
It is bad enough when we get speakers in person for public comment droning on about things the Council has no control over. But I doubt that the malicious, hateful people would show up in person, and risk the consequences.
Good luck,
—John Henel