Zoom meetings the new normal here, too

Conducting day-to-day affairs online is working well for local government and business leaders – with a few exceptions.

The Town Council’s pledge of allegiance, for instance.

When the Council meets at Maple Hall, everyone stands to salute a flag that all can see.

On Zoom, there’s no central flag for the dozen or so participants to salute. And with computer cameras in a fixed position, “if I stand, everybody is looking at my belt buckle or my stomach,” says Town Administrator Scott Thomas.

Town staff, along with staff of Fire District 13, La Conner School District and local businesses, have mastered a challenging and very steep learning curve for a new normal for meetings that launched almost overnight.

Yes, now and then viewers see just the top of someone’s head or glimpse a family member walking behind a meeting participant. At La Conner

Schools, a meeting can “just vaporize” if the “host” leaves early to go to another online meeting, says Andy Wheeler, director of special services. No host, no meeting.

District 13 Battalion Chief Ryan Hiller, also technology director for La Conner Schools, says no local meetings have been “Zoom bombed” – disrupted by hackers randomly searching for unsecured meetings and interrupting them with profanity.

Wheeler acknowledges that the occasional tech-savvy fourth grader sneaks *fart* into a teacher’s Zoom chat box.

Signal strength problems are the most common glitch. A major regional internet outage ended “Poemed and Uplifted.” the Skagit River Poetry Foundation’s online June fundraiser, just moments after it began.

Many people had logged onto the SRPF website to watch as the Foundation blended pre-taped segments with poets like Dublin-based Tony Curtis and live commentary by SRPF board members.

“Four minutes into it, I was getting text message and emails from people saying they couldn’t hear,” said Executive Director Molly McNulty. An internet outage was preventing customers like the Foundation from uploading and playing material.

The Foundation needed 90 gigs of bandwidth to do its show. That night, it could only get four.

“It was our worst nightmare, and there was no way to predict it was going to happen,” said McNulty. Fortunately, SRPF was able to re-record the live segments and post the full event online three nights later.

Personal bandwidth is another concern.

“I like to hug people, and in meetings I like eye contact. That’s all gone,” says District 13 Fire Chief Wood Weiss. “You’ve got these little pictures of people but everything is delayed and weird.”

He soldiers on, through monthly District 13 commissioner meetings, biweekly District officer meetings, District training and county EMS, emergency health, and fire tech meetings.

“My bottom line is, Zoom gets the job done, and it hasn’t screwed things up,” he says. “But I miss being around people and having normal interactions.”

Scott Price, financial advisor for Edward Jones on Morris Street, sympathizes. “We lose about 20 percent of our natural inflection on screen,” he says. "Without the energy we get in a face-to-face conversation, we need to project energy to help engage people on the other side of the screen.”

Online platforms raise questions about equity. Can everyone who would like to participate actually do so, when meeting or learning online requires technical skills, the right equipment and access to a strong, reliable signal?

How many are skipping Town Council meetings – or sitting in their bathroom or hallway seeking a good signal? “Often I’m looking at their medicine cabinet or laundry room cupboards,” says Price. “That’s fine for talking with friends, but not for doing business.”

To ensure equity, the School District will meet with parents via Zoom or a free conference call. A telephone translator is available for Spanish-speaking parents.

Students with no service can borrow internet hotspots from the La Conner Library. The School District loosened security on its wireless signal so families can park outside and log in for instruction. And for special education students who do better with face-to-face instruction, some socially distanced onsite learning is available.

“As a father as well as a mayor, I love it,” Ramon Hayes said about online government meetings and school. “I’m hoping this is a tool we utilize more and more often. I think it’s helping us find ways to incorporate more efficiency into the workplace and the education sector.”

Just make sure you’re fully dressed when you log on, so you can stand up to salute the flag.