Franklin County Commissioners are still working on a plan to open their meetings to the public beginning early next year.
The public has been kept out of meetings for most of this year because of the coronavirus, though the public has been allowed to take part in meetings virtually through ZOOM.
People who just want to watch the meeting have been able to do that in real-time through the Forgotten Coast TV facebook page.
Many county commissions in Florida have already re-opened their meetings to the public, and each one has adopted its own rules to maintain safety.
Franklin County plans to require a mix of requiring temperature checks before entering the meeting room, requiring masks unless the person is speaking in front of a microphone and continuing the use of Zoom and Live-stream to allow as many people to attend the meetings without being there is person.
There will also be a hand sanitizing station at the entrance to the meeting room.
Once the public is invited back in, the county will use the current allowed seating locations which were designated by the 2nd Circuit Court Trial Marshal – the benches in the commission meeting room have been marked to insure people are safely distanced.
That would allow 17 people to sit in the audience and that includes county staff – though the county may require staff to attend the meetings through ZOOM, especially if they don't have any issues that requires board action.
That would free up more space for the public.
If there is an overcrowding issue based on limited available seating, people who want to comment during the Public Comments or during a public hearing will be rotated with anyone waiting at an outside location to speak.
The county coordinator will continue working on the re-opening plan and will hopefully have something finalzied for the board to vote on at the next meeting.
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