Hybrid in-person Elk Grove City Council meetings to resume on July 28

Following 15 months of teleconferences, the Elk Grove City Council will resume hybrid in-person meetings at their next session on July 28. Recently, state guidelines were changed and the modified government meeting formats during the COVID pandemic will end on September 30.  

Following a report from Elk Grove City Clerk Jason Lindgren during the Wednesday, June 23 city council meeting, the five council members unanimously decided on the resumption. Even though the decision was unanimous, the five council members expressed varying degrees of support for the return to in-person meetings.

Leading the pursuit of in-person meetings were District 2 Councilmember Pat Hume and Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen. Vice Mayor Stephanie Nguyen and District 1 Councilmember Darren Suen voted in favor of the item but expressed some concerns.

"My position hasn't changed - I'm in favor of getting back to in-person as soon as possible," Hume said opening council deliberation. 

In her comments, Singh-Allen noted other agencies like the Elk Grove Unified School District has resumed open meetings. 

"It's time, the time is now," she said. 

Suen implied he would participate at the July 28 meeting via Zoom rather than be on the city council dais. Nguyen, the executive director at Sacramento-based Asian Resources, said their agency offers COVID vaccinations and testing and indicated she would attend meetings via Zoom until the September 30 deadline.

"Every single week there are people who are positive, that are walking into our office," Nguyen said. "I want to be transparent and make sure that if any way I catch anything, I don't want to give anything to anybody, especially to those who have family members who have underlying conditions or young kids that are not able to get vaccinated."

Under the new meeting standards, the public can participate, including public comment, in person at city hall or via Zoom. Masking at city hall is not required, and there will be no mandatory social spacing.  

As noted, the city council members can attend in person or via Zoom until September 30 in accordance with state mandates. Additionally, the meetings will continue to be on Zoom and online formats via the city's website until the deadline.  

Under current guidelines from the state, which Lindgren described as fluid, government meetings after September 30 will be conducted as they were pre-COVID.  

    

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