The Granite County Study Commission approved several logistical steps to improve public access and outreach. The commission voted to purchase a dedicated Zoom account for the commission (annual cost discussed at $159.90) after county staff declined to host the account, and it authorized staff to handle purchase using the county credit card and to submit receipts for county accounting. The group also approved a plan to run a paid 100-word newspaper notice for each monthly meeting (estimated at $13 for the first run and $11 for subsequent insertions) to publicize time, place and a brief agenda sentence.

Because the courthouse elevator is not yet fully operational, the commission voted to meet in the courthouse foyer on an interim basis and to move into a larger meeting room (the jury room) once the elevator is repaired. Commissioners said Zoom and local recordings will improve access: they discussed storing meeting recordings on a county or commission YouTube channel and using social media to notify residents. The commission agreed the chair would write a monthly newspaper column to explain the process and list upcoming meetings, and one commissioner agreed to coordinate paid notices with the newspaper’s advertising contact.

On outreach and outreach platforms, commissioners noted the county posts recordings to the county account and discussed whether to create a Commission-specific YouTube presence linked to the new Zoom account. Staff will follow up on technical and legal questions about hosting recordings and how they should be labeled. The commission directed that the newspaper column will list meeting time and Zoom access instructions once the account is active.

Next steps: staff to buy Zoom, provide credentials to meeting hosts, prepare the first paid notice for the upcoming meeting and coordinate the monthly column draft with commissioners for review prior to publication.