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<p class="MsoNormal">Hi Colleen,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We use Zoom Webinar for our meetings. For executive sessions, we schedule a Zoom Meeting and provide the link to just the Board and Staff. After opening the public meeting on Zoom Webinar, we all leave the Webinar and head onto the Zoom
Meeting. After the executive session, we all then head back onto the Zoom Webinar. My understanding is that attendees on the Webinar just need to enter the Webinar again and wait for the host to start the meeting back up. We haven’t had any major issues with
this process so far.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#262626">Kaila Sauer, AICP Candidate<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#262626">Assistant Planner II<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#262626">Town of Acton<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#262626">978-929-6631<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#262626"><a href="mailto:ksauer@actonma.gov"><span style="color:#0563C1">ksauer@actonma.gov</span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#262626"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img border="0" width="96" height="35" style="width:1.0in;height:.3645in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D9C5FA.EFED6A30" alt="cid:image011.jpg@01D81CF5.02E559A0"><span style="color:#262626"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#262626"><a href="https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/powder-mill-road-corridor-initiative/"><span style="color:#0563C1">Powder Mill Road Corridor Initiative</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#262626"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces@masscptc.org>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Colleen Canning via MassPlanners<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, August 3, 2023 10:46 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> massplanners@masscptc.org<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Massplanners] Virtual Executive Session<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#FF3333">EXTERNAL EMAIL</span></strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">
* Caution is Advised *</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Re: Virtual Executive Session </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Hi Planners, </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">I would like to hear about successful experiences holding fully virtual executive session.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">As I understand, to satisfy the letter of the law, a board must enter a ‘regular’ meeting and then the chair calls the meeting into executive session. This
appears to pose a challenge with the limitations of hosting a zoom webinar/meeting.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">For our typical meetings we have had success with zoom
<i>webinar</i> as ‘panelists’ (board members, staff and applicants) are in view and ‘attendees’ (members of the public) are not in view and can only speak after ‘raising hand’ and being called upon by the chair to be promoted to ‘panelist’. I imagine this is
how many planning boards use Zoom. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">In my ideal version of a virtual executive session, we'd host a zoom webinar as typical and then I’d manually remove all attendees when we enter executive
session. During executive session, new attendees would be in a virtual ‘ waiting room’ until a point at which executive session has ended and then I’d authorize all attendees to join. Unfortunately, it appears that zoom<i> meeting
</i>(not zoom webinar) is the platform which allows for a ‘waiting room’. Zoom<i> meeting</i> is great for informal meetings but invites a level of chaos when hosting a public meeting. Zoom meeting does not allow for a separate ‘attendee’ category as all who
join can be seen on camera and can speak without prior authorization.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Thank you for your responses!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Colleen Canning<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Planning/Conservation Coordinator <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:7.5pt">(413)-538-5030 X6127</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:ccanning@southhadleyma.gov" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size:7.5pt">ccanning@southhadleyma.gov</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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*Do not print this email unless necessary<o:p></o:p></p>
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