Malden Council Committee Holds First Virtual Meeting, Eyes Public Comment Rules

MALDEN -- May 1, 2020, Malden City Council's Citizen Engagement Committee met virtually for the first time Friday to review the city's Zoom rollout and hash out remote public comment procedures. Communications Director Ron Cochran traced a timeline running from the March 12 senior center closure through the city's first-ever online public meeting, a School Committee session on April 6, to the council's own debut on April 14. Cochran credited Malden's adoption of Zoom's webinar format, which restricts audio and video to designated panelists, with avoiding the disruptions that hit Medford, Revere, and Everett in recent weeks, including an Everett Planning Board meeting derailed by pornographic material. Council President J. Dean Sica said a formal public comment paper would go before the full council the following Tuesday, keeping the existing cap of 30 minutes, 15 speakers, and two minutes per person, after the council received exactly 15 public emails before the prior week's session. Cochran estimated current Zoom costs at "a few hundred dollars a month" and warned that expanding licenses to all city meeting bodies would require a budget discussion and a government pricing arrangement.