WHEREAS on April 9th, 2022, the governor of the state of New York signed into effect chapter 59 of the laws of 2022, in part amending the Open Meetings Law to enable public bodies to meet, under certain circumstances, via videoconference; and
WHEREAS, the board of the Morrisville Public Library has duly considered the benefit of this law to its routine operations, and determined that meeting via videoconferencing per the Open Meetings Law with further the operations and mission of the library;
BE IT RESOLVED that consistent with its bylaws and Charter, the board of trustees hereby authorizes the use of videoconferencing for its meetings; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the board of trustees hereby adopts the attached written procedure governing member and public attendance at trustee meetings, and confirms each element of that written procedure in this resolution; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the board of trustees are required to be physically present at any duly noticed meeting unless such member is unable to be physically present due to extraordinary circumstances (including disability, illness, caregiving responsibilities, or any other significant or unexpected factor or event which precludes the member’s physical attendance at such meeting); and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that except in the case of executive sessions conducted pursuant to section one hundred five of the Open Meetings Law, and consistent with the requirements of the Not-for-Profit Corporation law, the trustees shall ensure that members of the public body can be heard, seen and identified, while the meeting is being conducted, including but not limited to any motions, proposals, resolutions, and any other matter formally discussed or voted upon; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings involving videoconferencing shall include which, if any, members participated remotely and shall be available to the public pursuant to section one hundred six of the Open Meetings Law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if videoconferencing is used to conduct a meeting, the public notice for the meeting shall inform the public that videoconferencing will be used, where the public can view and/or participate in such meeting, where required documents and records will be posted or available, and identify the physical location for the meeting where the public can attend; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the board of trustees shall provide that each meeting conducted using videoconferencing shall be recorded and such recordings posted or linked on the library’s website within five business days following the meeting, and shall remain so available for a minimum of five years thereafter, and such recordings shall be transcribed upon request; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED if videoconferencing is used to conduct a meeting, the library shall provide the opportunity for members of the public to view such meeting via video, and to participate in proceedings via videoconference in real time where public comment or participation is authorized and shall ensure that videoconferencing authorizes the same public participation or testimony as in person participation or testimony; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that for so long as the board of trustees elects to utilize videoconferencing to conduct its meetings, the library will maintain an official website (morrisvillepubliclibrary.org); and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, consistent with the library’s mission to serve its community, the trustees’ use of videoconferencing shall utilize technology to permit access by members of the public with disabilities consistent with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Adopted by the Library Board of Trustees on May 19, 2022
