When East Hampton Town Supervisor-elect Kathee Burke-Gonzalez is sworn in next month, one of the first changes that will be seen at Town Hall is a resumption of the town board’s Thursday evening meetings.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the board’s meetings on the first and third Thursday of each month were held in the evening. That schedule was suspended in the early spring of 2020. Last Thursday, the board passed a resolution scheduling its annual organizational meeting on Jan. 2, a Tuesday, at 11 a.m., and its first regular meeting on Jan. 4, a Thursday, at 6 p.m.
“Starting our meetings at 6 p.m. will afford folks who work during the day the ability to participate in public hearings either in person or remotely,” Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said in an email. “As the more voices we hear from, the better and more informed our decision making will be.”
The supervisor-elect also said the incoming town board is pursuing holding one work session per month in Montauk, as it also did until the pandemic, when its meetings migrated to video conference. This would require a venue where the board could hold hybrid meetings in real time, allowing both in-person and remote participation by the public. The hamlet’s library “would be the ideal choice,” she said, “and we are currently working with the library and LTV to assess the equipment necessary to make it work.”
The board’s meetings are broadcast live on LTV and subsequently available for streaming on its website and YouTube channel.
