Delco council resumes in-person meetings
MEDIA » The chairs were set appropriately distanced apart and enormous glass panes sat between members on the dais as Delaware County Council opened its doors and welcomed the public to its first in-person meeting after COVID-19 relegated everything to digital screens 14 months ago.
“This really is quite a milestone,” county Councilman Kevin Madden noted as he thanked various county staff for the implementation of a system providing more accessibility to the public - even in the midst of a pandemic. “It’s really incredible how the in-person experience has changed dramatically since 14 months ago.”
Compared to four years ago when he and fellow council Chairman Brian Zidek joined council, Madden said the difference is even more startling.
“Where the idea of recording a meeting was blasphemy, the idea of providing the agenda in advance of the meeting was similarly blasphemy,” he said. “The fact that you can now access all of the documents that we are considering to take votes without having to put in a Right-to-Know request, it’s really a monumental step for transparency.”
Madden was speaking to the Granicus system that was instituted in the agenda viewing online, unveiled Wednesday at council’s first meeting since the pandemic forced meetings and county business to Zoom-like video encounters.
On March 6, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 presented in Delaware County and in Pennsylvania - and the response was rapid. At first, press conferences were attended by council and other county officials and any and all press members. Then, within days, only a couple county council members attended and kept distance among themselves and the audience as the spread continued.
Eventually, everything, including county council meetings, were relegated to live streaming on the county webpage and council’s Facebook page with questions being submitted via email and through a phone line.
But, on Wednesday, so much changed. The partitions were removed from the Delaware County Council meeting room on the first floor of the Government Center in Media to allow for more seats to be place 6 feet apart from each other. Public comment was taken - but the questioner had to be physically present at the meeting.
And, a new Granicus system had been installed on the county website to be more user-friendly for the public.
What remained of the COVID-era governing was the live streaming on the county website at delcopa.gov.
After the call to order by Zidek and the rise for the Pledge of Allegiance, he looked to the 15-member audience.
“Welcome back, everybody,” he said. “It’s good to see some faces ... in person. We are rolling out for the first time our new Granicus system ... We think it’s going to prove useful for all the residents who are interested in what we do.”
The system allows the public to look into the minutes and see the same attachments and documents that council is given for specific motions. The meeting videos will be separated so if someone wants to look at something in particular, they can automatically go to that segment of the meeting without having to watch the entire proceeding.
“We think it’ll prove more useful for residents who are trying to keep track of what’s going on with their tax dollars,” Zidek said, as he thanked county Clerk Anne M. Coogan, the county IT staff and county Public Relations Director Adrienne Marofsky for their work in getting the system up and running.