Government buildings in each of Kitsap’s four cities and the county are closed to the public to prevent the spread of COVID-19, forcing local officials to adapt public meetings for an era of social-distancing.

Specifically, local leaders are trying to square Gov. Jay Inslee’s order banning gatherings of 50 or more people with the state's Open Public Meetings Act, which requires that all people be allowed to attend any meeting of a public agency.

Most municipalities have the technology to hold meetings remotely or stream proceedings to the public, but what happens if a controversial topic brings a large crowd to the door?

“We can’t legally tell someone to go home, we can’t really stop people from coming into a public meeting,” Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler said. “If they exceed 50, which takes on a different set of rules, we have no way of screening folks.”

It’s not as simple as canceling meetings until the crisis is over. In addition to public hearings on important issues, governing bodies approve expenditures and payroll for employees, accept grant funding for projects and OK contracts with vendors or consultants for projects. City planning commissions recommend zoning changes and review development permits.

“Some actions we take have clocks ticking on them,” Port Orchard Mayor Rob Putaansuu said.

The Washington State Attorney General’s office suggested that public agencies consider meeting remotely and accept public comment electronically, according to a guidance letter sent to local governments earlier this month. In the letter, the Attorney General’s Office asked agencies to consider meeting only for essential items and to reschedule other matters for a future meeting.

The Bremerton City Council and planning commission meetings have been canceled indefinitely while staff research options that would allow the public to participate remotely. Council meetings are already broadcast live on BKAT, and public comment can be submitted electronically.

Wheeler acknowledged that some citizens don’t like using computers and prefer to attend meetings and speak during public comment periods. The city is still working on a way to let those who want to comment in person do so safely.

“We’re in this for the long haul,” Wheeler said.

Port Orchard’s city council passed an ordinance last week allowing council members to attend remotely. Moving forward, Putaansuu and the city clerk will be present at the meetings while council members join via Zoom, a video-conferencing platform. People who do show up in person will find seats spread out at least 6 feet from one another and ample sanitation supplies.

The city is also trying to avoid tackling any controversial issues during the outbreak and will focus on essential business.

“We’re not pushing forward with things that might draw a big crowd,” Putaansuu said.

Poulsbo is taking a similar approach, grouping all the agenda items that need immediate decisions at one meeting, Mayor Becky Erickson said. Meetings might be held less frequently and on different days than people are used to, which the city will notify ahead of time.

“We want to have as much public openness to our process as we can, that’s the bottom line,” Erickson said. “Yet we have hard guidelines coming down from the governor for very good reasons.”

Erickson said she was concerned about a large group of people wanting to speak at a single meeting, something Poulsbo’s city council experienced earlier this month when a large number of citizens gathered to discuss the future of the city’s annual Third of July fireworks show.

“I became very concerned about how are we going to manage this,” Erickson said.

Meetings will be held as necessary, but the city is implementing social-distancing features in the council chambers, Erickson said. Members of the public are being encouraged to submit comments electronically, but people who choose to attend the meeting will be asked at the door if they feel sick before being admitted. Meetings are broadcast on BKAT and streamed live from the city’s website.

Bainbridge Island is focusing on city council meetings because most of the city’s advisory group meetings are canceled through the end of April, spokeswoman Kristen Drew wrote in an email to the Kitsap Sun. Public comment is limited to written comments except in the case of public hearings while the city researches remote options.

“For now, we are problem-solving through a phased approach and strongly encouraging members of the public to submit any public comment in written form,” Drew wrote.

Kitsap County is implementing similar measures for commissioner meetings, including social-distancing and hand-sanitizer stations. All public meetings have been moved to the commissioner’s chambers to improve social-distancing, policy manager Eric Baker wrote in an email to the Kitsap Sun.

Commissioners will consider extending public comment for some issues that require public hearings, and written public comment is encouraged. All county planning commission and hearing examiner meetings are canceled for the rest of March.

In the event of a large group of people, Commissioner Rob Gelder said it might be possible to use the foyer of the Kitsap County Administration Building to cycle out members of the public who want to comment while still maintaining safe social-distancing practices.

“I think this is kind of a new experience for all of us and we’re trying to figure it out and looking to other jurisdictions for kind of what are some of those best practices that we could incorporate and try to make that work,” Gelder said.

The Port of Bremerton rarely sees attendance in the range of 50 people, CEO Jim Rothlin said, but if necessary, the port will split up meeting attendants into several rooms and provide an audio connection, so they can listen. For its Tuesday meeting, the public can tune in via conference call, but Rothlin said port staff is also researching teleconference options like Zoom. The Port of Poulsbo is arranging meetings via Zoom and will include instructions on its agenda for how the public can connect remotely.

Technology will be an increasingly important tool for ensuring public transparency to government officials if more restrictions are implemented to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public comment at meetings isn’t required by state law, but anyone who wants to must be allowed to attend.

“Local government is trying very, very hard to do the best we can and we certainly do not want to appear like somehow we’re dissuading people from being involved in their government,” Erickson said.