Warren Township Goes Virtual
Adapting the public meeting process to COVID-19 restrictions
Warren Township – When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan, everything changed almost overnight – including how local governments conduct their everyday business.
Municipality leaders enact policies and ordinances that affect everyone’s daily lives, typically making these decisions during in-person meetings that allow the public a chance to give feedback to elected or appointed officials. Because of safety concerns caused by the pandemic, all in-person meetings were canceled. Local government had to find another way to meet and conduct necessary business while still ensuring their meetings were open to the public.
This change affected counties, cities, villages, and townships across the state – including Warren Township, a community of about 2,000 residents in Midland County.
“We were getting information from the Michigan Township Association, the Governor, our Township lawyer, everyone, recommending what we should be doing in lieu of in-person meetings and we wanted to follow those guidelines,” Denny Allen, the Supervisor for Warren Township, said. “We reached out to Spicer Group for assistance.”
Throughout 2019 and 2020, Spicer Group assisted Warren Township with updating its zoning ordinances. The Township was in the process of finalizing the date of the public hearing on those zoning ordinance amendments when in-person public meetings were put on hold because of the pandemic.
During the pandemic, all in-person meetings typically held at the Warren Township hall (shown) were canceled.
“The Township had been working on this process for a year,” Spicer Group Planner Jeni Stewart, AICP, said. “They didn’t know when the shut down was going to be done, and they wanted to be able to finish the public hearing portion of the process.”
Stewart began working with the Township on the process of holding a virtual meeting using the video conferencing software Zoom. This would allow the Township’s Planning Commission members and Board of Trustees to conduct business legally and safely without meeting in person. Each member would dial into the virtual meeting from their own home or office.
Spicer Group had the software and technology readily available to assist Warren Township with their meeting needs. In August of 2020, Stewart assisted Allen and the Township in conducting the Township’s very first virtual public meeting.
“We had the technology and licenses to host larger meetings on Zoom,” Stewart said. “We can host or co-host the meetings for our clients, allow the public to use virtual waiting rooms, control who can speak, who is muted, and record the meetings for minutes as well.”
Prior to the meeting, Stewart met with commission members individually to help prepare for the virtual meetings and get comfortable with the technology and the process.
Spicer Group assisted Warren Township with holding a virtual public hearing on zoning ordinance amendments in August of 2020.
Allen said that while there was a learning curve, the process was smooth because of the coordination and assistance provided by Spicer Group. Warren Township was able to hold their public hearing virtually on the zoning ordinance amendments on August 11th, 2020.
Members of the public were able to dial in with their comments and afterwards, the members of the planning commission officially voted to approve the amendments. All while being miles apart.
Prior to the pandemic, virtual meetings were rarely used by municipalities. Stewart said this is an option for clients to hold their legally required meetings.
“Without being able to meet like this – virtually – things that make the day-to-day life of local government and business happen in communities wouldn’t be possible. Permits, amendments, plans, and ordinances still had to be processed or approved. Virtual meetings allow these tasks to continue to function and move forward in an efficient manner,” she said. “This is another service we can provide for our clients to give them a sense of confidence and security that they can conduct their meetings safely and legally.”
“Virtual meetings allow these tasks to continue to function and move forward in an efficient manner...This is another service we can provide for our clients to give them a sense of confidence and security that they can conduct their meetings safely and legally.
”