At the December 12, 2022 council meeting, the Town Council tabled a vote on whether to extend or rescind the Order Declaring Limited Emergency for Remote Meetings.  The Order was first approved on August 30, 2021, and has been extended five different times as a result of the pandemic.  The Order, which is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2022, allows the council, boards, and committees to meet remotely during the limited emergency period.

The reason for the tabling is based on the council's interest in potentially revising the Remote Participation Policy.  The policy, which was also approved by the council on August 30, 2021, currently permits the council, Planning Board, and Board of Zoning Appeals to conduct hybrid meetings once the technology is made available.  However, the policy does not explicitly state that hybrid meetings may be conducted by committees, such as the Energy Committee.  Councilor Nicole Boucher said that, "As part of the Appointments Committee, we often get questions about remote meetings for the subcommittees and I wonder if we need to have rules around that?"  During the height of the pandemic, Boucher added, "We said to follow our limited emergency."  With the future status of the Limited Emergency uncertain, Boucher suggested that a revised Remote Participation Policy would enable committees to continue meeting using hybrid technology if the council were to amend the policy.  "I know that recently the Housing Diversity Study Committee has brought this up as a way of getting additional input from the community," she said. 

Chair Jeremy Gabrielson said that he would want to have the Town attorney verify that including committees within the Remote Participation Policy is a possibility.  With the Limited Emergency order set to expire at the end of this month, Gabrielson asked Town Manager Matthew Sturgis if legal counsel could be received in time for the council's next  meeting January 4, 2023.  Sturgis confirmed that input from the Town attorney could be received within that timeframe.  At that point, the council could potentially vote to amend the Remote Participation Policy and hold a vote on whether to extend or rescind the Limited Emergency order.  

The hybrid technology is now available within the council chambers; this makes possible a hybrid meeting in which one or more meeting attendees could participate virtually when being physically present is not practicable.