At the start of a new year and with a new member, the Jerome Township Trustees are deciding what their future meetings may look like, including whether they will be livestreamed.
Joe Craft returned to the board Tuesday night, alongside trustees Barry Adler and Wezlynn Davis, for an organizational meeting and the first regular meeting of the year.
During the meeting, Adler, who was elected chairperson for 2024, tasked Township Administrator Brandon Standley with researching options to return to livestreaming meetings.
In February 2023, the Board of Trustees voted to suspend livestreaming “until a township administrator is on board and trained.” Adler voted against the measure.
Standley was hired in April, but the trustees have not publicly reconsidered livestreaming since then.
Standley said on Tuesday that he reached out to representatives from a number of other local governments that livestream their meetings.
Of those, he said “100%” use YouTube to do so. In the past, Jerome Township broadcast its meetings on Facebook.
“I don’t think Facebook is the right platform,” Standley said.
He added that he would like to consult with the township’s legal counsel as to how often officials can purge video recordings of meetings from their records. Standley explained that video will “eat up a ton of storage.”
For that reason, Standley said he would like to continue to use the audio recording the township currently relies on.
If legally allowed, having the audio recording of a meeting could serve as a public record once video is purged.
Likewise, Standley said the audio would be a “backup” in the case of issues with video.
The administrator said he would also like to determine whether all township meetings, like those of the Zoning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals, would be livestreamed or just trustees meetings.
Davis agreed with many of his comments.
“I echo Brandon’s concern on some of the ‘hows,’” she said.
Craft also said he wanted to ensure livestreaming could be done without any hiccups.
When he previously served on the board that implemented livestreaming, he said they often encountered issues that led residents to question whether the trustees were intentionally hiding portions of their meetings.
He said livestreaming was done with the goal of being more transparent, but technical issues can detract from that.
“If we decide to do this, make sure we do it right,” Craft said.
Adler emphasized that he does not feel the board needs to make a decision immediately, but he would at least like to further discuss the topic at the next meeting.
He said he feels livestreaming can be another way to help residents become involved in their local government and be informed.
“I think how we do it (livestreaming) is very important,” he said.
Adler also said he feels the board should clarify its meeting times as listed on the posted agendas.
Oftentimes, the board approves a public hearing (usually regarding zoning applications) for the same night as a regular meeting. Board members frequently motion to approve them at 7 p.m. the date of a meeting, which is its normal start time.
Separate agendas are posted for each meeting. While the header for both agendas typically lists the date followed by 7 p.m., the regular meeting agenda has a note that states it will begin following the public hearing.
Still, Adler said he has heard from some residents that they are confused over which meeting will occur at what time.
He mentioned possibly having public hearings on different nights than regular meetings.
Davis said the trustees could flip the order of the meetings and schedule regular meetings at 6 p.m. prior to the public hearings at 7 p.m. She said it is possible there could be downtime between meetings, but feels it would be worth it if it means are more aware of when the meeting they are interested in begins.
Craft said he is in favor of keeping the meetings as they have been, with the agenda noting that regular meetings follow public hearings. However, he said he is open to discussion.
Davis motioned to reschedule the Jan. 16 regular meeting from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m.
A continuation of the public hearing regarding the Innovation II Planned Development District (I2PD) zoning overlay is scheduled for 7 p.m. that night.
The board unanimously approved the time change, but will discuss the policy for future meetings at a later date.
In other business:
– The board unanimously approved resolutions to add Velocys and Kroger to the Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) agreement between the township and the City of Marysville.
Any non-residential development within the district that requests water or sewer services, which are provided by the City of Marysville, must join the JEDD agreement.
The JEDD allows the two governments to collect income taxes from employees of businesses within the designated district, to be used to expand infrastructure.
Through it, a 1.5% income tax will be levied on the income of persons working or residing within the JEDD and on the net profits of businesses located in the district.
– The board unanimously approved Craft to serve as vice chairperson for 2024. In that role, he would lead meetings in Adler’s absence.
The board also voted 3-0 to reappoint Davis as the township’s cemetery sexton. She said she has enjoyed the role so far and would like to remain in that position, especially after the township updated its cemetery software and according practices.
– The board approved the meeting schedule for the 2024 calendar year, which will remain the same with the trustees’ regular meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. in the Township Hall, 9777 Industrial Parkway.
The board also moved two regular meetings in light of upcoming elections.
The March 19 meeting, which falls on the same night as a primary election, will be held on March 12 instead.
Likewise, the Nov. 5 election night meeting will be moved to Nov. 6.
The trustees said they will reschedule the date of the Aug. 6 meeting is a special election is needed on that date.
– The township approved the rates for its outside legal counsel, Brosius, Johnson and Griggs, which Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell said remain the same as 2023.
Caldwell said the township generally begins the year with an allocation of $50,000 from the zoning fund and $10,000 from the general fund for legal counsel. He noted that the amount is not a retainer and does not require the township to spend that full amount on legal services.
In the past several years the township has needed to allocate additional funding toward counsel.
Adler said he would like to discuss at future meetings creating a policy for when the township uses outside legal counsel as opposed to services from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.