Commission prepares to resume in-person meetings

The town  is planning to resume in-person public meetings — at least on a partial basis — starting in November.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order has allowed Florida municipalities to meet virtually through the month of October. However, DeSantis’ communications director, Fredrick Piccolo Jr., said local governments should prepare to meet in person in November.

The Longboat Key Town Commission is planning a hybrid format for its Nov. 2 meeting.

“We’ll have a series of precautions in place,” Town Manager Tom Harmer said.

They include social distancing, masks in common areas, limited capacity inside Town Hall, a questionnaire in-person attendees must answer, a temperature check and transparent barriers to provide separation.

The hybrid format will require at least four of the seven commissioners to be physically present inside the chambers at Town Hall. The commissioners not present will still be able to participate remotely and vote.

“We’ll work with commissioners over the plans for the upcoming Nov. 2 meeting,” Harmer said.

It’s unclear which of the four commissioners are planning to meet at Town Hall to fulfill the quorum.

“The town manager and I have had multiple discussions about utilizing this hybrid model rather than fully going back to in-person meetings because we can,” Town Attorney Maggie Mooney said. “There’s nothing in the law that prohibits us from embracing a hybrid model, and that’s what a lot of local governments are evaluating.”

The Sarasota City Commission is also planning to meet in-person in November. The Sarasota County Commission did not stop meeting in-person, but did add a virtual component for people to watch.

Mooney acknowledged the possibility of completely virtual meetings continuing if DeSantis decides to extend his executive order.

“If the governor retreats on that executive order, my impression from the town manager and the town commission is that if we can, we will continue to be in this [virtual] format for as long as possible,” Mooney said. “But, obviously, it’s a wait-and-see kind of scenario.”

The Longboat Key Town Commission has not held an in-person meeting since March 23 because of concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The town’s Planning and Zoning Board is scheduled to hold some sort of in-person meeting on Nov. 17. The Zoning Board of Adjustment is also set to have a physical quorum on Nov. 19.

“The town is taking every step it can within the confines of the law to protect every board member, whether it’s the town commission, the Planning and Zoning Board, the ZBA, our special magistrate and keep you safe while you perform these duties for the town, which we recognize as a public service,” Mooney said. “We certainly want to keep everybody safe, and enforce, as much as we can, to protect our residents and our elected and appointed board members.”

Next month, Longboat Key commissioners will also consider whether to extend the town’s mandatory mask policy, which runs through November.

While DeSantis has suspended individual fines and penalties related to local mask ordinances as part of Executive Order 20-244, the town can still enforce its mask policy at it pertains to private businesses.

The town’s ordinance requires businesses to post notice of face-covering requirements for the public and employees to wear. Businesses are also supposed to advise employees and customers of the town requirements.

Any Longboat Key business not in compliance with the mask mandate is subject to a citation from the town’s code enforcement officer.

Harmer has told the Longboat Observer and said repeatedly in public meetings that the town has seen “excellent compliance” with its mask policy.

Anyone with complaints about compliance to COVID-19 in Longboat Key or about its mask ordinance can call the town’s non-emergency number at 941-316-1201.

Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to reflect how the Sarasota County Commission has continued to meet in-person. The Sarasota County Commission did add a virtual component to allow people to watch its meetings.