HOULTON, Maine — In light of the latest lifting of mask requirements and capacity limits in the Maine, the Houlton Town Council announced that the May 24 meeting was the last one to be held over Zoom only.
“We’ll see faces we haven’t actually seen for awhile, and breathe a sigh of relief to welcome those who want to come back, to attend the meetings and participate and give their comments,” Council Chairman Chris Robinson said. “Not knocking Zoom, but you can see it’s more difficult to have a real interaction.”
For the town council, the move is likely not a moment too soon.
At the meeting on May 24, discussions regarding the proposed expansion of the Riverfront Park trail were disrupted when an anonymous user entered the zoom meeting, disrupting the discussion by playing various sound clips of people screaming and shouting expletives.
“Obviously we have some people that aren’t quite familiar with decorum for public meetings,” remarked Councilor Dennis Harmon during the discussion.
The next town council meeting, scheduled for June 7, will be the first one held in person for more than a year. Council members, along with Town Manager Marian Anderson, were holding meetings together at the town office, but public participation had been limited to Zoom since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When council is first held in person, it will also be without Councilor Nate Bodenstab, who announced he would be leaving the town council because he is moving to southern Maine for his job.
“I just want to thank everyone for the short time you allowed me to be a councilor here,” Bodenstab said. “Houlton’s a really great town, and the department heads do a great job.”
