Im getting a lot on inquiry on all this ADA lawsuit mess here in Montesano and thought I would go ahead and post some formal informal information for us unwashed masses out here trying to make sense of things. First for the official pucky, go HERE and see it for yourself and make up your own mind as to if we have a problem here or not.
Here are some screen shot highlights. For details on the lawsuit just see earlier postings. You and I are going to have to pay for this mess, we might as well try and find out what is going on. I might have to go see for myself.
AND WHAT ABOUT PROCLAMATIONS FROM THE GRAND ALL POWERFUL INSLEE?
It looks like public agencies are only allowed to host in-person meetings once the below listed requirements are met for a set up for a remote meeting. Is the city violating the law? Stay tuned fellow observers of the horrific.
THE PROCLAMATION: SNIP…..
FURTHERMORE, based on the above situation and under the provisions of RCW 43.06.220(1)(h), I find that RCW 42.30, as applied to all public agencies statewide, involves the conduct of state business, and to help preserve and maintain life, health, property or the public peace, and I hereby amend Proclamation 20-05, and 20-28 et seq., to prohibit public agencies as follows: Prohibition: Any public agency subject to RCW 42.30 is prohibited from conducting a public meeting subject to RCW 42.30 unless (a) the meeting is not conducted in-person and instead provides an option(s) for the public to attend the proceedings through, at minimum, telephonic access, and may also include other electronic, internet or other means of remote access, and (b) provides the ability for all persons attending the meeting to hear each other at the same time. Exemption from Prohibition: As an exception to the above prohibition, public agencies holding public meetings may, at their option and in addition to hosting the remote meeting elements described above, include an in-person component to a public meeting if all of the following requirements are met: 1. The open public meeting complies with the guidelines for “business meetings”, found in the “Miscellaneous Venues” guidance here, as incorporated into the Proclamation 20-25 et seq., Stay Safe – Stay Healthy – Rollback of County-ByCounty Phased Reopening Responding to a COVID-19 Outbreak Surge; and 2. Any person wishing to attend in person a public meeting with an in-person component must be able to do so at a physical location meeting the requirements herein, either in a primary meeting location or an overflow physical location that provides the ability for all persons attending the meeting to hear each other at the same time; and 3. If at any time during a public meeting the in-person component cannot comply with each of the requirements herein, the public meeting (to include the telephonic/remote access portions) must be recessed until compliance is restored or if compliance cannot be restored then adjourned, continued, or otherwise terminated; and 4. The public agency holding an in-person public meeting shall accommodate, to the extent practicable, those wishing to participate in and/or attend the public meeting (to include the press) by allowing persons to attend the meeting by listening and speaking through operable telecommunications devices (examples include using an attendee’s cell phone with service to connect to a conference calling service, or allowing persons to call in using an attendee’s cell phone with service); and4 5. County and other local election canvassing boards performing operations related to the 2020 general election are exempt from the prohibitions set forth in this Proclamation to allow them to perform their operations openly and transparently, provided that such boards must (a) permit all persons entitled by law to observe such operations access sufficient to conduct such observation, and (b) follow Department of Health and Department of Labor and Industries guidelines related to facial coverings, social distancing, sanitizing, and other protective measures enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Montesano Today 