Madison County Board permits two supervisors to attend remotely and adopts agenda

The Madison County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 3 approved two separate motions permitting remote attendance under Virginia Code §2.2-3708.3 and Madison County bylaws section 2.4(f). The board also adopted the meeting agenda by unanimous voice vote.

Supervisor Buchanan moved to permit Supervisor Jim Jewett to attend the Sept. 3 meeting remotely pursuant to Virginia Code §2.2-3708.3 and the county bylaws. That motion was initially withdrawn to resolve an audio issue, but a subsequent motion to permit Jewett to participate remotely carried after staff confirmed Jewett’s reason and location in the meeting chat: he was attending a funeral in Pennsylvania. Staff noted Jewett could follow the meeting and cast votes via chat while attending remotely.

The board separately moved and approved remote participation for Chairman Clay Jackson. When asked under the statute to state his participation location and the nature of his need to attend remotely, Jackson said he was in Lake Geneva for a family wedding matter and the board approved his remote attendance.

During the remote-participation discussion, county officials asked each remote participant to identify where they were participating from and the nature of the personal commitment or emergency, as required by state law. The board also confirmed that remote participants’ chat responses could be used to register votes when in-person audio communication was not available.

After resolving the remote participation items the board approved the meeting agenda as presented and proceeded with the scheduled business.