Council has Zoom fatigue

Town of Oliver council is feeling fed up with meeting over Zoom and is itching to get back to in-person meetings, and staff will be looking at ways to make that happen while still allowing public access.

With the Province of BC announcing a gradual re-opening plan last week, council turned their minds at Monday's meeting to a plan for local services.

A staff recommendation that council open Town Hall and other facilities to the public with barriers and protocols in place starting June 1, but that council meetings continue to happen over Zoom, did not sit well with some councillors. 

Coun. Dave Mattes was blunt in his displeasure with the online meet-ups. 

"They're not very effective. I think we need to move as quickly as possible to get back in the same room, to meet as a council," Mattes said. 

He pointed to the latest COVID-19 numbers as of Monday that showed just one person in hospital in the Interior Health region, and speculated that it was unlikely that person was anywhere near Oliver. 

"If there were more cases in the South Okanagan we would have a testing station down here in our hospital," he added, in his opinion. "I hate to think we're making all these rules just for one sick person, and in actual fact that one person doesn't even exist in our area."

Coun. Larry Schwartzenberger agreed that the online meetings were less than ideal, but pointed out 

"The main guideline from Interior Health and the provincial health officer is to maintain a two metre distance, and if we can't maintain a two metre distance in council chambers ... we have to continue with Zoom," he said. 

Coun. Petra Veintimilla agreed.

"While this virus still exists, and sure there may be only one or two cases that we know of in our are right now, we have to remember we are not in a bubble," she said, citing the upcoming tourist season and seasonal agriculture workers that continue to arrive. 

"We need to be an example by following the provincial health recommendations." 

Coun. Rick Machial wondered why they could not meet somewhere larger, like the community hall, but CAO Cathy Cowan explained staff does not have technology to move their broadcast ability to a news spot to maintain a meeting open to the public. 

Machial then wondered why they couldn't just close the meetings to the public.

"I think this is ridiculous, is my opinion,"  Machial said. 

Mayor Martin Johansen said council needs to accept that the virus is not going away anytime soon, and start looking at other options. 

"For me, I can't imagine doing this for a year. At some point we have to look for a contingency plan to be able to meet in person somewhere. Without a vaccine I don't see the social distancing disappearing, and I don't think meeting like this for a year makes any sense either," Johansen said. 

Ultimately, council voted to direct staff to look into options for public viewing of council meetings, and ways for the council to reconvene in person, which they will hear about at a future meeting.