Title
Replacing RES 21-547 reaffirming the City Council's regular meeting schedule during the Covid-19 pandemic emergency and setting a date to return to in-person meetings.
Body
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued Executive Order 20-01, “Declaring a Peacetime Emergency and Coordinating Minnesota’s Strategy to Protect Minnesotans from COVID-19,” declaring a peacetime emergency under Minn. Stat. § 12.31, subd. 2, that emergency has been renewed and remains in place; and
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, Mayor Melvin Carter issued an emergency declaration, directing City departments to review operations and legal proceedings to determine whether any such operations or proceedings need adjusted or suspended, among other directions; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the Saint Paul City Council extended the emergency declaration for ninety (90) days until June 15, 2020, that emergency has been renewed and remains in place; and
WHEREAS, the City Council provides critical services to the City, including passing emergency ordinances, and authorizing emergency contracts; and
WHEREAS, presently, and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council conducted regular meetings in-person, pursuant to a regular meeting schedule on file at the Council’s primary office; and
WHEREAS, Minn. Stat. § 13D.021 permits open meetings to be conducted through telephone or other electronic means if (1) the presiding officer for the governing body finds it not practical or prudent to meet in person or hold a meeting conducted under section 13D.02 because of a health pandemic or an emergency declared under Minn. Stat. Ch. 12; (2) all members of the body participating in the meeting, wherever their physical location, can hear one another and hear all testimony and discussion; (3) members of the public present at the regular meeting location can hear all discussion, testimony, and votes of the public body, unless attendance at the meeting is not feasible ...
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