Westport selectmen go remote — it mostly works!

First decision — a unanimous yes for beach trailer permit

By Bruce Burdett
Posted 3/21/20

WESTPORT — With Chairwoman Shana Shufelt at the helm, the Westport Board of Selectmen ventured into the brave new world of remote meetings Monday.

And it worked, sort of.

“This is …

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Westport selectmen go remote — it mostly works!

First decision — a unanimous yes for beach trailer permit

Posted

WESTPORT — With Chairwoman Shana Shufelt at the helm, the Westport Board of Selectmen ventured into the brave new world of remote meetings Monday.

And it worked, sort of.

“This is our first remote participation meeting,” Ms. Shufelt announced. She was not in the selectmen’s meeting room — nobody was there in fact — but standing, as she prefers, alone in her “improvised office” at home.

“I was using a laptop that did have a camera but I turned that off,” she said later. “I didn't have time to ensure a good background view and was dressed very casually.  I also prefer to stand which means I would have been fidgeting a lot.  I will probably turn that on next time as others did.”

The other board members, assistant Lucy Tabit, Town Administrator Tim King and others, were all at their own homes, linked by their phones and computers.

Home viewers, accustomed perhaps to the high quality audio and video feed normally provided for all town board and committee meetings, got something decidedly different.

The left two thirds of the screen focused on the agenda; a small box to the right showed the occasional participant — Town Administrator Tim King appeared sometimes along with others. It wasn’t always clear that they were aware they were making a video appearance.

The board had received guidance from its attorney on how things should be done, Ms. Shufelt said.

Reading from a “suggested statement,” she spoke of the fact that there are strict limits on the number of people who can gather at meetings — “No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted” but every effort will be made to enable public participation using remote methods.

‘Mute yourselves’ please

She was occasionally interrupted by muffled background chatter, apparently as people logged in — Ms. Shufelt reminded them of the need to “mute themselves” and told them how.

“I really appreciate your patience as we work on how best to do this,” she told the audience.

Next came a successful group effort as the remote board members joined in for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Honored as first up in the remote age were Leonel and Vilma Rodrigues — their request for a six-month license to park a trailer at East Beach topped the public hearing agenda.

Asked if he was present, Mr. Rodrigues could be heard answering yes.

Ms. Shufelt asked if anyone wanted to comment — hit the dialogue box in the upper right hand of your computer screen, she said. Or if you are on the telephone, hit Star 6 to unmute yourself.

To board member Steven Ouellette, Ms. Shufelt said, “You usually have something to say about these requests.”

Mr. Ouellette did. By phone, the screen indicated, Mr. Ouellette reminded the applicants that East Beach is an environmentally sensitive area and that there are a number of restrictions.

Mr. Rodrigues said he is aware of those rules.

Board member Richard Brewer (on video, seated in his kitchen) asked if this was a first time application or renewal.

First-timer, he was told.

Whereupon the selectmen took their first remote vote — by roll call, each providing his or her name.

Trailer permit approved — unanimous.

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.