Commissioners’ meeting draws an audience of two — only to learn session postponed to Friday

By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/ Lincoln Chronicle

NEWPORT – Lincoln County commission chambers were opened Wednesday so the public could watch commissioners meet virtually – but an audience of two only got a blue screen without knowing the meeting was rescheduled to Friday.

The twice-monthly meetings went remote March 18 after the county’s human resources director ordered them online because employees and others no longer felt safe attending in-person sessions. Meetings have been chaotic for over a year, as staff levied complaints during the public comment period, members of the public have been rowdy, commissioners have cut meetings short and in one case attempted to ban a commenter from speaking.

On Wednesday, two people and a Lincoln Chronicle reporter sat in a sea of empty chairs to watch the virtual meeting. Red tape divided the dais from the audience with posters that read “staff only from this point.” Zoom was set up on the computer and displayed on the screen at the front of the room. But before the meeting started, the screen went blue.

But the audience sat for several minutes wondering if there were technical difficulties before connecting with Lincoln County staff to find out the meeting had been cancelled due to a lack of a quorum. Because there are only two commissioners in office – Casey Miller and Walter Chuck and the third seat has not been filled – it only takes one commissioner’s absence to cancel a meeting.

Miller told the Chronicle he could not make the meeting due to a family medical emergency. Miller said he had initially planned to attend the meeting in-person rather than virtually and previously said he did not feel unsafe.

“My intention is to always be present in person,” he said. “All the previous attempts and current conditioning to make our meetings virtual has only been confusing to me and our community.”

For the last commission meeting the county rented a room at Oregon Coast Community College in Newport where a handful of people watched the proceedings. Miller showed up there as well but was in a separate room.

The commissioners meeting has been rescheduled to 11:15 a.m. Friday. The meeting will be virtually streamed and people who want to watch in person can again sit in commission chambers.

• Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, Newport, education, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]