In response to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s announcement Friday that all courts (including municipal) will be closed through the month of April as a precautionary measure to minimize the spread of the COVID-19, City leadership has decided to limit seating at this Monday night’s BOMA meeting at City Hall. Live-streaming of the meeting will be available on the City website and residents are encouraged to watch from home.
“Regarding public meetings, there haven’t been many guidelines other than ‘social distancing’… to prevent coughs or sneezes from traveling to one another,” said Victor Lay, City Administrator. Mr. Lay also noted that “none of us want to be ‘fear mongers’, but then none of us want to be considered negligent” in this matter.
As defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), social distancing means remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding large gatherings, and keeping a distance of approximately 6 feet from others when possible. Congregate settings are crowded public places where close contact with others may occur, such as shopping centers, movie theaters, and other public gatherings.
Consequently, limited seating will allow approximately 30 individuals into the courtroom and meet the CDC guidelines. Citizen voices wishing to address the BOMA will be heard at the beginning of the meeting. Additionally, parties with a vested interest in an agenda item will be contacted about limiting their number of attendees.
The City will live-stream the BOMA meeting on Monday night, March 16, 2020 beginning at 7:00 p.m. on the City website, https://www.springhilltn.org/574/VIDEO. Public meetings are indexed and available the following day on demand as well.
For more information on COVID-19, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
