The Augusta Commission voted several weeks ago to attempt to return to meeting in public starting on May 3, unless conditions with the COVID-19 pandemic took a turn for the worst.
Several commissioners met in a strategic work session with City Administrator Odie Donald and Public Health Director for the Southeast District Stephen Goggans on Monday to discuss the ongoing plans.
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Goggans delivered a report on the current status of pandemic in Augusta/Richmond County and reiterated the current CDC guidelines.
According to Goggans, around 65,000 people in Richmond County have received at least one dose of one of the two available vaccines, or about 18% of the population. However, he warned that the figures he presented might not be totally accurate because not all pharmacies have reported their vaccination numbers.
“We also have to remember that some people have come from outside of Richmond County, so it is difficult to get a number pinned down,” Goggans said.
Goggans displayed a graph and noted that total new infections are way down from the peak that occurred over winter, but have inched back up in the weeks since spring break.
“Since then, things have gotten much, much better, but you can begin to see a little bit of an uptick in the last two weeks,” Goggans said.
When pressed, Goggans said he believed it was totally safe for the commissioners and the public for the in-person meetings to commence, as long as CDC guidelines are followed.
The commission chambers have been outfitted with plexiglass “cubicles” on the dias, but Goggans said that the cubicles are not sealed off and commissioners should still wear masks behind the plexiglass, if for nothing else than to set a good example.
Only full commission meetings that occur twice a month will be held in person and public seating will be extremely limited. Committee meetings will remain virtual and both those as well as the full commission meetings will continue to be live-streamed.
10th District Commissioner John Clarke made the suggestion that rather than requiring all department heads to be available in person at the meetings, that the commission limit the required number to only those on the agenda to speak. Clarke also asked that the close circuit television monitors outside of chambers be put back on line for added public access.
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“It is time for us to move forward or we could be doing this (virtual meetings) for the next five years,” Clarke said.
District Six Commissioner Ben Hassan said is happy that the city took a measured approach, but that he is also ready to get out of his living room and back into his seat on the dias.
“Unless something dramatic happens, we’re headed back in,” he said.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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