Board of Aldermen 03-16-2020 Page 29
Attorney Bolton
Get some waivers of some of the deadlines. Planning Boards have 90 days to take action on
applications that can be waived by the applicant so we can ask applicants to waive time. They may or
they may not. So we will have to deal with those issues, but there is no easy answer presently.
President Wilshire
So do we know if other communities or other cities have done anything with their Aldermanic
meetings?
Attorney Bolton
There is only one other City in the State that has Aldermen as we have discussed recently.
President Wilshire
Yes, we have.
Attorney Bolton
There are communities all over the country that are dealing with similar issues and some of them,
Massachusetts for example, the Governor down there has made several orders which waive certain
aspects of their State Laws that impose certain requirements. Whether our Governor or any other
State Official has similar powers, is not entirely clear to me that that exists. These are issues that will
have to be dealt with as they come up. | think having one or two meetings a month where you have a
chance of having 50 people in the audience is a lot better than having 10 meetings a month where you
have 20 or 30 or 50 people in the audience. But the Go To Meeting solution is not the whole solution.
As | say it is the audience, the gallery, the public that presents the biggest problem because those 50
people are all sitting close together in these chairs. They will all go home, they all have families, but as
| say, 1 or 2 or 3 meetings a month is better than 10 or 15.
President Wilshire
Thank you.
Alderman O’Brien
Madam President, | do have a question for Corporate Counsel if | may.
President Wilshire
You can.
