The Wednesday, March 18 meeting of the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors was canceled over concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
ITID has also canceled all other meetings involving large groups of people, and closed parks and other facilities. The ITID office was also closed on Wednesday due to the pandemic.
“We’re just waiting to hear from the governor if we can have virtual meetings where we can use virtual tools to meet online and have the public attend that way, but we do not have it right now, so until we get that, we’re not going to meet,” ITID President Betty Argue told the Town-Crier.
The district closed its parks last week amid COVID-19 concerns, and the Acreage Athletic League has canceled all games and practice activities until further notice.
The district has canceled all events and use of ITID facilities.
“We essentially shut down that possibility of spread through the community through events and different things like that,” Argue said. “Our staff has taken special steps in terms of making sure that they’re following CDC guidelines at all times.
Staff is being taught the steps that need to be taken to stay safe, and all facilities that are still in use have been sterilized.
“We decided to cancel the board meeting until we have further direction,” Argue said. “We do have other district matters to attend to in order to keep things moving, but they’re not so critical that we need to put anybody at risk of potentially getting sick. We would like to go to a virtual online meeting format, if the governor will approve waiving the statutory requirement of having a quorum physically present at a meeting.”
She noted that there are many internet and teleconference meeting platforms available that public meetings are not allowed to utilize, even under unusual conditions.
“Unfortunately, right now the statute does not contemplate that or allow that,” Argue said. “There is a legal opinion that we could meet under emergency circumstances that way, and we believe that through a virtual environment, we could still get community input, comments and comply with the Sunshine Law, but where we wouldn’t be able to meet it is that if you’re having a completely virtual meeting, you cannot have a quorum physically present at a meeting location.”
She added that virtual meeting platforms can be used for other projects, such as inter-staff meetings, where they don’t have to meet in person, and hosting public workshops to get community input on projects that are underway or planned. “Those are opportunities, provided we get the approval from the governor, so we’re just waiting,” Argue said. “Things are changing minute by minute, hour by hour, so who knows?”
ITID has a comprehensive list of precautions to be taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19 available at www.indiantrail.com/about-us/covid-19-get-educated.
Indian Trail is closing its facilities to public entry. Residents will still be able to call (561) 793-0874, e-mail info@indiantrail.com or visit www.indiantrail.com for information, questions, permits and other requests.
District operations and construction projects will continue as long as staff remains healthy. Anyone interacting with a district employee is requested to keep at least a 6-foot distance. Anyone who has questions regarding a project or maintenance work is asked to call or e-mail the main office.
All special events, athletics and rentals have been postponed or canceled until further notice. All ITID parks and the Hamlin House community center are closed to public entry.
