COVID Is No Longer A Threat! No More "Attending" Meetings Virtually!! No More Driving While Voting!!!

Getting it done!

Something else of note occurred prior to the 6 minutes of bickering at the end of last month's regular common council meeting, though you really had to be paying attention to a computer screen to notice it. 

Of the ten ward representatives on the council, three of them -- Shershah Mizan of the third ward, and Mohammed Rony and Dewan Sarowar of the second ward -- were the only ones who "attended" the meeting without being physically present with the others.  The seven others were sitting in the same room, the way human interact and communicate best.   You know, the way things have been done since the dawn of man.

Even though meetings went hybrid a few years ago because of the covid pandemic, council members and department heads can still opt to "attend" council meetings remotely from wherever they like and as often as they like.  Some take it to an extreme, like DPW Superintendent Robert Perry and, to a lesser extent, Treasurer Heather Campbell.   They haven't (or barely have) showed their faces in the room for years -- not physically nor on a screen.  Just their voice makes it into the room, as if that were sufficient.  The option to stay away is still available every month even though covid is no longer a threat or concern to the council or department heads (none of those who do show up in person, including Tom Depietro, wear a mask). Mizan, Rony and Sarowar can sometimes be seen in person at meetings, also never wearing masks.

While the council was voting on proposals last month, I noticed that Shershah Mizan was not looking in the direction of the screen and he seemed to be distracted, looking to his left, then to his right.  It turns out that he couldn't look at his phone or other mobile device he was using because HE WAS DRIVING A VEHICLE.  He wasn't just sitting in his parked car "attending" the common council meeting, but he had his seat belt on and his hands on a steering wheel driving his car somewhere.  This is absurd. 

In the video of the meeting you can see the buildings "passing by" in the background outside of his driver's side window.  Of course, the car is moving, not the buildings.  Shershsah was negotiating turns, stopping at lights and stop signs, trying not to get into an accident or run anyone over.  And all while, for about fifteen minutes, he called out AYE 4 or 5 times after his name was called out to vote on proposals he was completely disengaged from.  Then he suddenly disappeared from the meeting and was no longer "attending," missing out on voting for at least one proposal.  "Shershah, are you there?" someone calls out.  "No, he's gone," another remote "attendee" says.  Is it any wonder that, per usual, Shershah had nothing of import to offer to, or ask of, the council during the short time he "attended" the meeting?

Why does Tom Depietro continue to allow this nonsense at Hudson council meetings?  For the past several months, if not a year or more, supervisors who fail to show up in person to Columbia County Supervisors meetings are considered absent from meetings. There is no longer an option for them to "attend" virtually, and for good reason: COVID IS NO LONGER AN EXCUSE TO STAY AWAY FROM A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE.  ANYONE STILL CONCERNED WITH COVID CAN SHOW UP WITH A MASK AND PARTICIPATE LIKE A HUMAN OR STAY HOME AND BE ABSENT.

It's really difficult to believe that Tom Depietro is serious about getting things done properly, efficiently and effectively at the common council level while still allowing members and department heads to "attend" meetings virtually.  Would he be okay if every council member (including himself) and every department head were to "attend" every meeting from somewhere else, no one being in the same room?  Apparently, the answer is yes since he allowed three members to do it last month and continues to allow Robert Perry and Heather Campbell to "attend" virtually every month as well.  Would Tom be okay if everyone were to "attend" meetings while driving an automobile?  Apparently, the answer is yes since he allowed one member to do it last month.  How is this approach to conducting council meetings helping get things accomplished and get Hudson moving in the right direction?  How is this virtual crap justified or of any help to anyone anymore?  Enough with the remoteness -- this world needs less of it, not more.

Do these three council members appear
to be engaged in the meeting, especially the
one on the bottom left?

 What if half of America's founding fathers opted to "attend" virtually to the meetings leading up to, and including, the signing of the Declaration of Independence?  Perhaps even while on horseback!

"Hey, Benjamin and Thomas, are you still with us out there? We need some help here."

"No, George, they're gone, they lost their signal.  And John fell off his horse trying to save his laptop after he dropped it.  He's in the hospital in pretty rough shape.  Scratch him from the list." 

There would never have been a Declaration of Independence or America as we know it.  There never would have been one City of Hudson Common Council meeting.  We would all have bad teeth, love the game of soccer and worship the royal family. 

Isn't there a large picture of George Washington's hanging on the wall behind the Common Council chairman's chair in the Hudson City Hall chambers?  He probably gets a good laugh at the absurdity of how our council meetings are run and "attended."  Or maybe he sheds a tear or two during every meeting, directly onto Tom Depietro's head.