In response to Gov. Ralph Northam’s order limiting public and private in-person gatherings to 25 individuals, Gloucester County and various local agencies and commissions will again convert upcoming meetings to an online, virtual platform, effective immediately, the county announced Tuesday.
The Dec. 1 regular meeting of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors will take place via electronic means. The board will discuss extending the ability to hold electronic meetings into the next calendar year. The Gloucester Planning Commission meeting, scheduled for Dec. 3, will also take place via electronic means.
Where noted, meetings will be broadcast live on Cox Channel 48 and on the county’s meeting portal at www.gloucesterva.info/640/Meeting-Portal. Although the meetings will not be available for the physical presence of the public, several methods are being provided for public input.
Citizen comments may be submitted prior to the public hearing via three different methods, including: online form, phone or mail.
Comments may be submitted via an online form by visiting www.gloucesterva.info/citizencomment until 4:30 p.m. of the day prior to the meeting selected. Comments will be read aloud during that section of the meetings up to the set time limit of three minutes. Comments submitted anonymously or with fictitious names will not be read.
Comments can also be submitted via phone, at 804-824-2760. Callers can listen to the recorded menu. Instructions will be provided on selections to make in order to leave a recorded comment. Comments submitted via this method will be played during the appropriate comment or public hearing period, up to the set time limit. This method will also be open for comments to be submitted during public hearings, on the date and time such public hearings are held by the board (as advertised), until the chair closes the hearing for submissions.
Finally, to submit comments via mail, send to: County Administration ATTN: Citizen/Public Hearing Comment, 6489 Main Street, Gloucester, Va. 23061. Any mailed comments must include your name, your magisterial district, and the specific meeting and item you are commenting on clearly printed at the top. All such comments must be received by the scheduled date of the meeting or public hearing. The submissions must be typed or printed legibly. Comments submitted via this method will be read aloud during the appropriate period, up to the set time limit.
It is also important to note that in keeping with the format for public meetings, comments may only be submitted once per person for each comment period/public hearing selected. If more than one comment is submitted per selection, only the last comment submission will be read.
For more information or assistance in submitting a comment contact the Gloucester County Administrator’s office at 804-693-4042 or county.administrator@gloucesterva.info.