How the COVID-19 pandemic changed how Centre County governments, school boards are meeting
Harris Township Supervisor Bruce Lord called it “delightful.”
For the first time in about 15 months, Lord was able to meet with the public and his fellow supervisors last Monday. They chatted, they laughed — they felt normal, even if they were meeting at the Boalsburg Fire Hall, instead of the municipal building, to better maintain social-distancing.
It’s been a long year for many local governments in Centre County. Online meetings provided their own set of challenges early on, before they became the “new” normal. But, now that COVID-19 cases are decreasing and municipalities are starting to meet in-person again, many local officials still aren’t ready to give up on Zoom meetings. They want both, in-person and virtual options.
Count Lord among the majority. He’s seen the increased accessibility of online meetings nearly triple attendance, and he doesn’t want to sacrifice that. Harris Township hopes to host hybrid meetings by July, when the public can also choose to join on Zoom.
“The greater access has been invaluable,” Lord added. “We’ve had a much larger increase in public attendance and, personally, I welcome that. It’s fantastic.”
The Centre Daily Times reached out to more than a dozen councils and boards to gauge their current and future meeting plans. Of the 11 that responded, 10 said they were either seriously considering or already implementing hybrid meetings, either permanently or as short-term fixes until the pandemic becomes a distant memory.
(The lone holdout, the Centre County Commissioners, said they intend to return to solely in-person July 6. But they didn’t experience a significant boost in online attendance, 10 a.m. Tuesday meetings are already live on C-Net, and Commissioner Michael Pipe acknowledged it’s still something that could be revisited in the future.)
Increased attendance online?
College Township’s Eric Bernier, the council president, shared a similar experience to Harris Township: Online attendance easily tripled compared to the normal in-person showing.
Like most boroughs, townships and school boards, however, Bernier couldn’t lay that increase wholly at the feet of meeting online. While that’s obviously part of it, increased participation in local government this past year has a multitude of reasons — with less to do, people were more inclined to attend; with the heated political climate, general interest naturally increased; important issues (such as mask-related ordinances) would’ve drawn large crowds, even in-person; etc.
But there’s no doubt, even if the evidence is only anecdotal, that increased accessibility allowed some members of the public to attend who normally wouldn’t have been able to.
“I’ve told a number of College Township residents that our plan is to take what we’ve learned and use it,” said Bernier, whose township will meet virtually through July and is currently exploring a hybrid option. “If this is more convenient for people, then I think it’s incumbent upon us to work on a solution that allows us to maintain this convenience going forward.”
Not all boards and councils noticed an increase in attendance. In fact, only four of nine groups — two didn’t respond to that particular question — told the CDT that public attendance increased significantly.
Penns Valley’s school board went from 1-2 attendees at meetings without heated topics to about 5-7, Superintendent Brian Griffith said. In Ferguson Township, manager David Pribulka acknowledged he went from seeing “few, if any” in-person attendees to anywhere from 5-15, or more.
At the Centre Region Council of Governments, attendance has increased — but only slightly. “What has increased is the participation,” COG executive director Eric Norenberg said. “Previously, some of the public meeting in person might not get up to speak. By comparison, recently, we’ve had a lot more people take the opportunity to speak, some more than once.”
Still, even where attendance flatlined, numerous officials told the CDT having a hybrid option was clearly valuable.
Why attendance isn’t everything
State College Borough spokesperson Doug Shontz hesitated to label virtual attendance at council meetings this past year as an “increase.” After all, he’s seen overflow in-person crowds before for important issues.
Still, when the borough council meets in-person for the first time at 7 p.m. Monday, it’ll still offer a Zoom option for the public. And it’s even exploring Zoom-related upgrades, such as improved audio in council chambers, to improve the online experience.
“There’s no way I could say it’s increased or not, just because I don’t have the numbers,” Shontz said. “But you can kind of conclude the increased accessibility has made government more accessible to people. We’re having people call in from other townships and boroughs regularly, so it’s nice to see people are so invested in the community — whether they live, visit or work here.”
Another benefit, Shontz added, has been the added convenience for borough consultants and out-of-town experts. When the National Police Services Survey was presented to council earlier this year, the vice president for a national research center reviewed the report via Zoom and answered council’s questions. Had it been a few years prior, she likely would’ve had to travel from west of the Mississippi to the borough for an in-person presentation — which the borough would’ve had to pay for.
Lord, of Harris Township, also cited convenience. He said Zoom also allowed him to participate in a COG committee meeting where two members were more than 100 miles away from Centre County. That’s obviously an impossibility with in-person-only meetings.
Other boroughs and school boards see the positives, even without an attendance increase.
Bellefonte’s borough council, which said attendance remained consistent, will return to in-person meetings starting Monday. It won’t offer the hybrid option right away, but it’s hoping to once it upgrades the related technology. Bald Eagle Area’s school board, which is meeting in-person, also didn’t note a bump in attendance but is still offering a virtual option for those who prefer it; State College Area’s school board is also exploring the possibility of a hybrid structure.
Challenges/moving forward
Holding an in-person meeting is pretty straightforward. Hosting an online meeting has become second nature. But doing both at the same time? Due to audio issues and other factors, it can be tricky depending on the space.
Cost is also a factor. The COG, which wanted to upgrade its audio even before the pandemic, anticipates upgrades to offer hybrid meetings the right way would cost about $55,000. State College Borough’s Shontz said a very preliminary estimate would see costs between $20,000 and $50,000.
Even if money wasn’t a factor, there are other things to consider. Virtually all municipalities across the U.S. are currently in a similar position — which means the necessary tools and supplies, such as microchips, are in short supply.
“Everyone is trying to do this, so vendors are few and far between,” Shontz said. “We’re working on some proposals.”
Bellefonte Council President Joanne Tosti-Vasey said they’ve started the review process to upgrade the appropriate technology for a hybrid option. But assistant borough manager Don Holderman said it could be a few months — “and perhaps longer” — until that becomes a reality.
Still, the pandemic has allowed local governments to see the value in increased accessibility to the general public — and, out of necessity, it’s shown them how to do that. Zoom seemed to happen overnight and, while a hybrid approach will likely take much longer for most, it’s also changing some governments for the better in the long run.
“The pandemic really taught us some great lessons about how to reach our residents through virtual platforms,” Harris Township Manager Amy Farkas said. “We are really interested in continuing to find new ways to engage with our residents.”
