Borough allows remote participation in most cases but requires physical quorum for quasi‑judicial hearings

Fairbanks North Star Borough's clerk and legal staff clarified when commissioners may participate remotely and when physical presence is required.

April Tricke, the borough clerk, reviewed the borough's teleconferencing rules adopted after the pandemic and said remote participation is allowed with limits. "Members who cannot be physically attend, they may not exceed 6 consecutive regular scheduled meetings due to illness or injury of the member or immediate family or a death of immediate family member," she said, adding that for other circumstances remote participation may not exceed three consecutive regular meetings.

Tricke and borough attorney Jill Dolan explained special rules for quasi‑judicial hearings (planning board, planning commission, animal control commission): a quorum for those hearings must be physically present in the chambers and remote participation cannot substitute for that physical quorum. Dolan said teleconference votes require roll call so the public record shows how each member voted.

Presenters warned commissioners that remote tools do not change Open Meetings Act obligations: communications on social media, email threads or closed online groups can constitute a meeting under the law if they involve enough members or amount to serial deliberation.

Clerk's staff told members that the borough maintains teleconference procedures to accommodate health and travel exceptions but that public confidence in quasi‑judicial proceedings motivated the physical‑presence rule. Staff encouraged commissioners with questions about specific absences to contact the clerk's office for guidance.