WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. -- During the town meeting on Monday, West Siloam Springs approved to hold its next meeting on Zoom while still allowing people to attend in person if they choose to.
The dual scheduling will accommodate people and board members who attend in person, but also those who can only attend virtually, according to Jot Hartley, town attorney.
Part of the need arose because Carolyn Butts, town clerk/treasurer and Kris Kirk, CPA for West Siloam Springs, were unable to attend this meeting in person but asked if there was a way to do so virtually, according to Elaine Carr, mayor.
Butts is currently quarantined in California and Kirk is recuperating from an illness, Carr said. The city was unable to accommodate Butts and Kirk because the meeting was not set up to be a virtual meeting.
Hartley told the board to schedule everybody to appear by teleconference, even if they plan to attend in person, because if something comes up and they can't physically show up they can still call in and the public can also call in.
"There is no penalty in setting it up this way," Hartley said. "It will be nice to have that option."
Hartley recommended Zoom because everyone that was on the video conference would have their own little cell where they could be seen by the public and communicate with them. Board member Sam Byers asked if it could go on West Siloam Springs' new website. Hartley told him it could, but it was more important for the board to put the Zoom information on the meeting's agenda.
Hartley said the statutory requirement for the meeting remotely was to have the Zoom information placed on the agenda. Hartley also said the minutes need to list who showed up physically and who showed up by phone and online.
The way the law is, if someone attends by video conference, everyone at the meeting has to be able to see which board members attended by video, so the board would have to set up a monitor, Hartley said.
The law Hartley referenced is Oklahoma Senate Bill 661, which temporarily amends the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act in order to allow boards, commissions and other groups the flexibility to conduct meetings by teleconference or video conference in order to comply with the CDC recommendation of not having more than 10 people gather at one time, according to ok.gov.
"The way the law is written says (to) set (the meeting) up like (a) video conference and you set it up and say 'Everybody's going to attend remotely,'" Hartley said. "Anybody that wants to attend in person can do so."
The motion to have the next meeting via Zoom was approved by the Board of Trustees and the Municipal Authority.
Other business discussed and voted on by the Board of Trustees included:
• Approving the spring financial reports for the town of West Siloam Springs for April 20, 2020.
• Approving the amendment to the lease agreement between West Siloam Springs and the South Delaware County Regional Water Authority (SDCRWA).
• Denying compensation for Butts who wrote the proposal for the Tset grant the city received for Cedar Park.
• Approving moving city paydays to Wednesdays.
• Discussing the evaluation for Waylon Chandler, code enforcement, and approving a raise for Chandler to $46,000 per year.
• Discussing the evaluation for Tony Stewart, police officer, and approving a raise for $16 per hour.
• Approving a motion for a fourth signatory for city checks in case the first three were unavailable.
• Hearing reports from town officials Larry Barnett, police chief; Chandler, code enforcement; Carr, mayor; Rhonda Wise, vice mayor; and Hartley, town attorney.
The West Siloam Springs Municipal Authority also met on Monday night and discussed and voted on the following business:
• Approving the municipal authority financial reports of April 2020.
• Approving the amendment of the SDCRWA lease agreement.
• Approving moving city paydays to Wednesday.
• Approving a motion for a fourth signatory for city checks in case the first three were unavailable.
• Hearing from town officials Keith Morgan, director of public works; Carr, municipal authority chairman; Wise, vice chairman; and Hartley, municipal authority attorney.
General News on 05/24/2020