The Barrington Town Council is going on a retreat — a virtual retreat.

At the Jan. 10 meeting, members of the town council voted 5-0 to authorize spending up to $1,500 for a virtual retreat. Likely to fill a three-hour session at some point next month, the online retreat will be led by facilitator Emily Morash. Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey said Ms. Morash came highly recommended by another town official who had attended a pair of communication programs offered by Ms. Morash.

During the Jan. 10 council meeting, Mr. Hervey said the virtual retreat would offer council members an opportunity to discuss goal-setting and other objectives. Barrington Town Council President Michael Carroll said he thought the retreat was a great idea and wanted to schedule it to take place in the next month or so. He said he was prepared to move money from the council contingency fund to pay for the retreat.

Mr. Hervey said the virtual retreats typically cost around $1,200, and that the maximum price would be $2,000.

Mr. Carroll made a motion to authorize spending up to $1,500 from the council contingency fund to pay for the retreat. Annelise Conway seconded the motion, which carried 5-0. 

According to her website, Ms. Morash serves as a professional coach and leadership consultant. The site listed various focuses, including mindful leader development workshops and coaching, organizational effectiveness planning, and customer service essentials. 

“The impact of the work we will do together is immediate, profound, and shifting,” stated her site. “The work we do together seeks to quickly discover and effectively explore the underlying attributes that motivate and disrupt leaders and teams.”