<div dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-09c0ebc9-7fff-189a-a79b-46cce0579a6f"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Re: Virtual Executive Session </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Hi Planners, </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">I would like to hear about successful experiences holding fully virtual executive session.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">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></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">For our typical meetings we have had success with zoom </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">webinar</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> 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></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">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</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> meeting </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">(not zoom webinar) is the platform which allows for a ‘waiting room’. Zoom</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> meeting</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> 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></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Thank you for your responses!</span></p></span><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">Colleen Canning</div><div dir="ltr">Planning/Conservation Coordinator </div><div dir="ltr"><b><br></b></div><div><font size="1"><b>(413)-538-5030 X6127</b></font></div><div><a href="mailto:ccanning@southhadleyma.gov" target="_blank"><font size="1"><b>ccanning@southhadleyma.gov</b></font></a></div><div dir="ltr"><img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcScmGKZFOq1ebJv9HLI4UhOOp8WhbBQltrVmO5-dqwkC2bs_GxnDQ" width="96" height="96"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div>

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