On July 8, the council had returned to in-person regular meetings at City Hall (supplementing that with video streaming to create a hybrid model) after holding only remote meetings since mid-March. That course was reversed on a 5-1 vote Tuesday, with Councilor Kathryn Leonard absent and Councilor Justin McLaughlin the dissenting vote.
"[T]he technological integration of the hybrid model has been difficult to implement restricting the public's engagement in Council meetings," Councilor Lynn Underwood Ceglie's resolution says.
City Council meetings will return to Zoom-only (plus phone-ins), beginning Aug. 12, "until the public can fully contribute or until the COVID-19 epidemic numbers lower to satisfactory levels," the resolution says.
Mayor Jamie Bova said at Tuesday's meeting she believes there's a way to improve the in-person meetings, "I just don't think we're there yet." She said the city manager and IT department are working hard to improve the situation, but until it's resolved, the council should shift back to Zoom-only meetings.
Bova pointed to two in-person meetings in which there were technological issues like the inability of some listeners to hear the councilors.
McLaughlin said with a multi-million dollar budget, he'd think a technology problem could be remedied so in-person meetings could continue and run smoothly.
City Manager Joseph Nicholson said later in the meeting that the technological issues that sprung up at prior, in-person meetings were 98% resolved.
The council passed another resolution Tuesday which would extend the emergency powers of Nicholson an additional 60 days. The resolution passed 4-1, with McLaughlin dissenting and Councilor Jeanne-Marie Napolitano presumably experiencing technical difficulties, as her voice could not be heard when the vote was cast.
The council can revoke Nicholson's emergency powers at any time.
McLaughlin asked Nicholson what he's done with his emergency powers that the council could not have handled in an expeditious way.
Nicholson said the only example he could think of would pertain to aberrations in restaurant procedures. "I don't think the council would have done that in an expeditious manner," he said.
McLaughlin said Gov. Gina Raimondo's executive orders influence municipal action; if the pandemic explodes, she's the one ordering restaurant shut-downs, he noted. He said, in regards to dining on Broadway, the council could have adopted a resolution or ordinance.
"We are the government, and I really feel uncomfortable about shifting our responsibility," McLaughlin said.
Councilor Susan Taylor noted the governor's mask instructions earlier this summer were subject to multiple interpretations, and the city needed to make a clear stand.
Nicholson provided a COVID-19 update. He said 80 Rhode Island residents are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, citing Rhode Island Department of Health data.
"That number 80 has me concerned so we'll just have to keep an eye on it as we go forward," Nicholson said.
Local numbers are updated every Wednesday, he said. As of last Wednesday, Newport had 119 people who tested positive with 14% of Newport's population having been tested, according to the latest information from the Department of Health.
Turning to the topic of masks, Nicholson said the city would continue to pursue a program that would encourage people to wear masks in public, particularly downtown. The state inquired last week of Newport's need; Nicholson said he's picking up 4,000 cloth masks on Friday and the state guaranteed an additional reserve for Newport between now and September. The state will also provide additional, supplemental signage.
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