Why is the City of Roseville conducting City Council meetings as virtual meetings? 

The State of Minnesota is in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. During a time of pandemic, State law allows cities and other public entities to conduct meetings entirely by telephone or electronic means, without the normal requirement that the public have access to the physical meeting location. That is ONLY allowed in a time of pandemic. Otherwise, meetings must be physically accessible to the public.

In the interest of protecting the health and safety of the community, we have decided to hold this and other meetings in electronically. But, that does not mean that we want to or intend to exclude the public from participation.

Watching and participating in a virtual City Council meeting

If all you want to do is watch this meeting, you can do so as you always have been able to, by tuning in to Comcast channel 16 or viewing the meeting online at www.cityofroseville.com/webstreaming. As always, we are broadcasting this meeting live as well as recording it for replay later.

For this electronically-conducted meeting, city staff have implemented multiple ways for members of the public to participate, both before and during the live meeting: 

First, if you have provided comment to the City Council prior to the meeting either through email, phone, or with an electronic contact form, be assured that the council members have received those comments. 

Second, for anyone who is interested in providing public comment during this meeting you can sign up to participate by going to www.cityofroseville.com/attendmeeting. 

You can do that before the meeting, or at any time during the meeting as well. 

When you sign up to participate in the meeting, you will receive a web link and telephone numbers to use to access the meeting, as well as a meeting ID and instructions.

This meeting is being conducted using the Zoom platform, and for those who are concerned about the security of that service, please be assured that the city is taking all steps to ensure the meeting is secure. Once again, if you are concerned about security, and all you want to do is watch the meeting, you do not have to use the Zoom platform at all. You can watch on Channel 16 or stream the meeting like always.

Providing public comment during a virtual City Council Meeting

For those interested in providing public comment during the meeting, there are a few housekeeping items to keep in mind help the meeting run as smoothly as if it were being conducted in person in the City Council chambers.

1. Public comment is most easily accomplished via the Zoom platform, either in a computer browser or by app on your computer or device, rather than by telephone call. The interactive features are not available over the phone. We will, nevertheless, do our best to accommodate phone participants. If you only wish to speak during a particular part of the meeting and you can only join the meeting by phone, you may want to watch the meeting on TV or by web stream until that part comes up, then mute or turn off your TV or web stream, and then call in just for that part of the meeting in order to speak via phone.
2. While you are signed in to the meeting, regardless of how you do so, we ask that you please have your microphone or telephone on “mute” until you have been recognized to speak. Most cell phones and some landline phones have the ability to mute and un-mute the microphone. The Zoom interface provides an icon to mute your mic in the lower left corner of the window, and also if you hover your mouse over your own image or icon on your screen. Again, always mute yourself when you are not speaking.
3. Please do not watch the meeting via cable or web stream while you are signed in and participating online. There is a significant signal delay, and if you are recognized to speak there will be loud feedback. If you plan to speak during the meeting, make sure you are in a quiet room and that all background noise such as music or the television is turned off. This helps eliminate feedback and makes the meeting much more pleasant to listen to, and easier to understand, for everyone.
4. If you would like to speak during either Public Comment at the start of the meeting, or during a particular agenda item, please use the “Raise Hand” button to alert city staff that you would like to comment. Similar to regular council meetings, the may will request public comment. 
5. In turn, each speaker with their “Raise Hand” button on will have their microphone un-muted (or telephone participants will be asked to provide a comment) and you will be able to speak. 
6. By council rule, the maximum allotted time to speak is three minutes. Please begin by stating your name and address, and spelling your name to help the record be accurate. It is important that all council members and members of the public be able to hear each other and the discussion – so please speak clearly, and speak directly into your phone or microphone.

This is a new process for us all, and we again thank you for your patience as we work through this unprecedented situation. We are working hard to keep everyone healthy and safe, while making sure everyone’s voices are heard.