The regular meeting of the Barton Hills Village Board of Trustees scheduled for Monday, January 10, 2022, has been cancelled due to lack of a quorum.
In written emails to the full board, five of the nine Trustees indicated they would not attend the meeting. One Trustee would be out of town, one Trustee had just learned of COVID exposure, and three Trustees stated they were not willing to meet in person, considering the risk level currently posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Four Trustees stated they were willing to meet in person.
In April 2020 the regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting was cancelled due to the Governor’s orders regarding COVID-19. Beginning with the May 2020 regular meeting, the Trustees have met virtually under the provisions of the state, which temporarily suspended the requirement of the Open Meetings Act that municipal boards must meet in person. BHV has followed the necessary guidelines to provide meetings online that allowed the Trustees and the public to participate in open, transparent, yet safe ways.
However, the temporary suspension expired on December 31, 2021 and has not been renewed. This requires that the Trustees and members of the public must again meet in person. Given that the infection and hospitalization rates of the pandemic are at all-time highs, this becomes a challenging situation of how to provide a safe environment for the Trustees, staff/appointees, and the general public.
Given the circumstances, the BHV Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Tuesday January 11, 2022 has also been cancelled. Both boards have the option to call a special meeting at any time. Resources and options will be explored in order to work within the legal options to provide for the needs of our community.
The Michigan Legislature is the group that has the authority to extend the Open Meetings Act pandemic-related provisions. Barton Hills Village is served by:
State Senator (District 18) The Honorable Jeff Irwin
517-373 2406 senjirwin@senate.michigan.gov
State Representative (District 55) The Honorable Felicia Brabec
517-373-1792 FeliciaBrabec@house.mi.gov