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CC 02-21-2024 Item No. 2 Cessation of Hybrid Commission and Committee Meetings_Written CommunicationsCC 2-21-2024 Item No. 2 Cessation of Hybrid Commission and Committee Meetings Written Communications From:Rhoda Fry To:City Clerk; City Council Subject:Agenda Item #2 2/21/24- please reinstate livestreaming and recording of Parks and Rec Commission meetings Date:Tuesday, February 20, 2024 7:43:10 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear City Council, Agenda Item #2 - please reinstate livestreaming and recording of Parks and Rec Commission meetings. I was very upset that the City Manager made a unilateral decision to cease livestreaming and recording of Parks and Rec meetings without Council or public input. The two top goals for our City listed in the budget are TRANSPARENCY and PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. Especially because the minutes for meetings have been thin, it is important that we have an actual record of what happened. Thanks, Rhoda Fry (ps, apologies if livestreaming and recording have already been reinstated. They should never have been taken away) Virus-free.www.avg.com From:Peggy Griffin To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:2024-02-21 City Council Meeting ITEM2-Cessation of Hybrid Mtgs-WHAT WAS DECIDED? Date:Monday, February 19, 2024 9:59:27 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. PLEASE INCLUDE THIS EMAIL AND ALL ATTACHMENTS AS PART OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE ABOVE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM. Dear Mayor Mohan, Council Members and City Clerk, REQUEST: Please provide some material, staff report, etc. to indicate what action the staff is recommending. They were supposed to come back with options. The staff doesn’t like surprises and neither does the public. Thank you, Peggy Griffin From:Peggy Griffin To:City Council Cc:City Clerk Subject:2024-02-21 City Council Meeting ITEM2-Cessation of Hybrid meetings Date:Monday, February 19, 2024 9:50:35 PM Attachments:2024-02-06 ITEM11-Supplemental Reports (Updated 02-06-2024).pdf 2024-02-06 ITEM11-Staff Report.pdf 2024-02-06 ITEM11-Presentations (Updated 02-07-2024).pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. PLEASE INCLUDE THIS EMAIL AND ALL ATTACHMENTS AS PART OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE ABOVE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM. Dear Mayor Mohan, Council Members and City Clerk, During the Feb. 6, 2024 City Council meeting, agenda item 11, the Council instructed the staff to come back with some alternatives to eliminating the hybrid meetings for all commissions and committees due to an enormous pushback from residents. I saw this item as hopeful because it was being addressed early in the upcoming meeting but NO MATERIAL is provided-not even a revised Staff Report indicating what the staff decided! Nothing to indicate anything was done as requested. NOTHING! Due to this lack of response and information I have attached the materials from the 2-6-2024 Council meeting as part of Written Communication for this agenda item. That way, the public will at least see what was planned. This is doing the public a dis-service. We do not have any indication of what is planned to be done, only that the item was continued. From the lack of a revised Staff Report, it appears the staff did not go back and review the item and continues to proceed full speed ahead with cessation of hybrid meetings. Sincerely, Peggy Griffin CC 02-06-2024 #11 Cessation of Hybrid Commission & Committee Meetings Supplemental Report   1    CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT  SUPPLEMENTAL 1  Meeting: February 6, 2024    Agenda Item #11    Subject  Cessation of Hybrid Commission and Committee Meetings    Recommended Action  Conduct City Council and Planning Commission meetings in a hybrid format  while continuing to utilize in‐person only meetings for all other commissions  and committee meetings.    Staff’s responses to questions received from councilmember are shown in italics.      Q1: What other cities still offer hybrid meetings for commission meetings?  (Chao)     A survey was conducted with nine cities, revealing that seven of them, namely Mountain  View, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell, and Saratoga, have  provisions in place to enable remote participation during certain Commission Meetings.  On the contrary, Milpitas and Los Gatos did not have such provisions available.     Q2: Please provide the number of views of commission meeting  recordings. (Chao)     Following past practice, only Council or Commission meetings that are broadcast live on  television are simultaneously streamed on YouTube.  The table below displays YouTube  views for Council and Commission Meetings that were streamed on YouTube during the  period from November 2022 to July 2023.       2    Number of YouTube Views   Legislative  Body  Nov‐ 22   Dec‐ 22   Jan‐ 23   Feb‐ 23   Mar‐ 23   Apr‐ 23   May‐ 23   Jun‐ 23   Jul‐ 23   Parks and  Recreation  Commission   49  42  *  87  69  98  60  78  *   Housing  Commission                  91            City Council  857  1364  672  845  989  1164  1736  857  1995   Planning  Commission   71  58  45  80  177  56  138         *No Meeting     Q3: On the 2022‐23 Work Program agenda we had an item titled ʺHybrid  Meeting for City Council and Commission Meetingsʺ with description ʺDevelop  policy and infrastructure to allow hybrid meetings for both City Council,  Commission meetings and future community workshops. This allows seniors,  caretakers, parents with young children to participate and speak.” (Chao)     The 2022‐23 Q4 update shows that the item is ʺcompleted.ʺ         Could you please provide an update on what hybrid meeting options were  considered during the 2022‐23 year?     The City explored hybrid meeting options from Zoom, Microsoft, and Cisco ultimately  opting for Zoom due to its advanced features and user‐friendly interface. Zoom also  seamlessly integrated with our TV broadcast solution. With Zoom chosen, we evaluated  using Zoom meetings or webinars for public meetings. Zoom webinars were preferred for  large audiences, audience control, registration, reporting, panelists, monetization,  security, branding, and practice sessions, while Zoom meetings suited smaller, informal  gatherings.     3    Q4: Could you provide a cost estimate for the requested options? (Chao)    4.1 The minimum option: post audio recordings and retain it for the meeting records.    An additional $50.00/meeting in staff time to trim recording and post audio recording.      4.2 Provide video recording (without call‐in option or any video operation): This could  only need a stationary camera and a microphone to record the meeting. But it is still a  good meeting record.       An additional $70.00/meeting in staff time to setup meeting, trim recording, and post  video recording.    4.3 Provide audio‐only recording and hybrid option to allow call‐in: This would allow the  seniors and families with young children to participate in the meeting.     4.4 Provide audio‐only recording and allow public comments to be read into the meeting  records if submitted in time for an agenda item, this allows the public who cannot  attend in person to participate. (But I am not sure if this might be easier to coordinate  than Option 3)     For questions 4.3 & 4.4 the answer would be the same.   $210 for first hour of the  meeting, plus an additional $105 for each hour thereafter.   Cost increase is due to at least  one Video staff member being present.      4.5 Provide video recording with hybrid option with minimal staff support: Most people  have experiences conducting zoom meetings nowadays. Provide trainings to  Commission members and staff liaison to conduct zoom meetings without additional  support. (We might need disclaimers that in case that hybrid meeting option will be  best effort in case of technology issues.) This way we wonʹt allow rare technology  issues to become roadblocks to regular hybrid video meetings.     An additional $70.00/meeting in staff time to setup meeting, trim recording and post  video recording.   Staff would strongly recommend against this procedure due to  potential Brown Act Violations caused by technical difficulties.      1  CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT  Meeting: February 6, 2024    Subject  Cessation of Hybrid Commission and Committee Meetings     Recommended Action  Conduct City Council and Planning Commission meetings in a hybrid format  while continuing to utilize in‐person only meetings for all other commissions  and committee meetings.      Reasons for Recommendation  In May 2023, the City Manager directed staff to cease hybrid (both remote and in‐ person) meetings for commissions and committees except for the City Council  and Planning Commission, citing resource reallocation, public engagement  metrics, and operational efficiencies. This report explains that decision and  recommends the continuation of this in‐person only practice, ensuring the Cityʹs  commitment to effective governance and fiscal responsibility.     Background  In 2020, responding to the COVID‐19 pandemic, the City initiated remote  teleconference meetings for the Council, commissions, and committees, aiming to  ensure the continuity of city governance while prioritizing public health. With  the diminishing impact of the pandemic and the Cityʹs adaptation to the  changing health scenario, a transition was made to hybrid meetings,  accommodating both remote and in‐person participation for all legislative  bodies. However, following Governor Newsomʹs declaration in February 2023,  marking the end of California’s COVID‐19 State of Emergency, the City began  moving to in‐person only meeting for meetings with low remote attendee  participation. To ensure consistency, the City Manager, in May 2023, directed the  cessation of hybrid meetings for all commission and committee meetings, except  for those of the City Council and Planning Commission. This decision was  reinforced by the observation that the average remote attendance for the City  2    Council and Planning Commission meetings was significantly higher than for  other meetings. Additionally, these two meetings are the only meetings  broadcast on television, which meant their continuation in a hybrid format  required no additional staff resources or time.     Analysis  Our evaluation has revealed the following key points:    Resource Intensiveness: Each hybrid meeting necessitates extensive preparatory  and follow‐up actions, including technological setup, active coordination, and  subsequent video processing, which cumulatively demand a minimum  commitment of two hours per meeting.    Overtime Implications:  The execution of these tasks often extends beyond  conventional work hours, leading to additional overtime remuneration for the  staff involved. Minimum Cost = $210 / Meeting    Operational Challenge:  In compliance with the Brown Act, the uninterrupted  presence of video staff at hybrid meetings is vital. Their role is to ensure a stable  Zoom connection to avoid potential meeting cancellations or postponements,  thereby guaranteeing real‐time public access. A failure of the link requires  immediate resolution to uphold the integrity of the meeting proceedings and legal  compliance.    Low Public Engagement: The below data denotes the number of virtual attendees  per meeting per month as well as when meetings transitioned to in‐person only.     Average Number Zoom Attendee by Month   Nov‐ 22  Dec‐ 22  Jan‐ 23  Feb‐ 23  Mar‐23  Apr‐23  May‐ 23  Jun‐ 23  Jul‐23  In‐ Person  Arts and Culture  Commission   2  *  3  *  In‐ Person              Mar‐23  Public Safety  0  *  1  *  In‐ Person              Mar‐23  Sustainability  Commission  *  *  1  *  In‐ Person              Mar‐23  Technology,  Information &  Communication  Commission  0  1  0  *  In‐ Person              Mar‐23  Teen Commission  0  0  1  0  In‐ Person              Mar‐23  Administrative  Hearing Meeting  *  *  *  6  *  In‐ Person           Apr‐23  3    Library Commission  2  2  *  1  *  In‐ Person           Apr‐23  Audit Committee   2  *  8  3  4  3  2  *  In‐ Person  Jul‐23  Bicycle Pedestrian  Commission  4  4  5  6  7  2  9  1  0  Aug‐23  Parks and Recreation  Commission  4  0  *  11  11  3  1  4  *  Aug‐23  Housing Commission  *  1  2  *  5  *  1  *  *  Sep‐23  City Council  62  49  43  27  113  56  74  48  253  N/A  Planning Commission  17  5  3  9  17  6  9  *  *  N/A   No Meeting     The following chart illustrates the average number of remote participants per meeting  during the period from November 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023.       Cost‐Benefit Assessment: The cost and staff time expended on facilitating Hybrid  meetings are disproportionate to the level of public engagement observed.    Recommendation  Staff recommends the continued practice of conducting City Council and Planning  Commission meetings in a hybrid format while continuing to utilize in‐person only  meetings for all other commissions and committee meetings.    Sustainability Impact  No impact.    Fiscal Impact   No impact.  4      California Environmental Quality Act  Not applicable.    ____________________________________  Prepared by:   Bill Mitchell, Chief Technology Officer  Reviewed by:  Chris Jensen, City Attorney  Approved by: Matt Morley, Assistant City Manager      CC 2-6-2024 #11 Cessation Hybrid Commission & Committee Meetings Presentation Innovation & Technology Cessation Hybrid Commission & Committee Meetings CC 02-06-2024 Item No. 11 Introduction •Background •Evaluation Criteria •Recommendation Background •COVID-19 •Prioritize Health •Uninterrupted City Governance •Rescind Emergency Order •Reevaluate •Phased Transition •Current Status Background (cont'd) •Resources •Overtime Implications •Operational Challenge •Low Public Engagement Evaluation Criteria Evaluation Criteria (cont'd) Recommendation Conduct City Council and Planning Commission meetings in a hybrid format while continuing to utilize in-person only meetings for all other commissions and committee meetings. Questions?