South Orange Village Council left the “Hollywood Squares” of their virtual meeting space on Monday and came back to the dais at The Baird for its first in-person regular council meeting in years.
Mayor Sheena Collum and council members agreed that it was good to see people face-to-face at a meeting again. And Collum thanked the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the technology team for getting the space and the technology ready for a hybrid meeting.
“It looks beautiful. It’s very dignified. I think people are comfortable here. I wish it was just a little bit cooler. But, you know, we’re also trying to keep our energy costs low,” she said.
“So for everybody involved with getting our room up and running and the technology involved, the hybrid integration. Where previously it was probably never thought about that you could have a meeting and also have people attend virtually if they’re traveling,” she said. “From a member of the council or members of the public who can’t always be here in person, but their voices are incredibly important to every conversation we have. So we know that it took a lot of work and effort to get to this place. And thank you all very, very much. It’s a wonderful first meeting.”
