HUNTINGTON — For the first time in over a year, the Huntington City Council members went maskless for their meeting Monday night.
“It’s great just to be able to see faces and not (have to) figure out (who’s) behind the mask,” said Huntington Mayor Steve Williams. “This is absolutely wonderful.”
It was the first full council meeting that members and city officials have attended without masks, as they follow new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that states individuals who are fully vaccinated can forgo wearing a mask in most instances.
Williams’ sentiments were echoed by a viewer watching the meeting via Facebook Live.
“Love to see faces instead of masks,” commented Linda Sweeney on the live video.
Last week, the city released new guidelines for its employees regarding masks and social distancing.
According to these new guidelines, employees who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear a mask in municipal buildings or in any city vehicles as long as they are not within close proximity to either an unvaccinated employee or a member of the public for whom the vaccination status is unknown.
While council members and city officials were not wearing masks, it appeared as if everyone in attendance was still practicing social distancing. Council members were spread out and no members of the public were allowed into Monday’s meeting.
Council meetings have been closed to the public since March 2020. It will be up to council members — not the city — to decide whether to reopen meetings to the public.
She added that, as the council has done since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will seek the advice of local, state and federal health officials before making any new decisions.
In other business, council members approved a resolution to give the Cabell County Library Board a grant for $45,000 in order to maintain the Western Counties Regional Library System for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
The funds for the grant were previously approved by council during a recent budget session; however, Williams told council that, in accordance with state law, in order for the city to provide the grant money to the library, there must be a written agreement authorizing the transfer of money and it must also be approved by council.
“We’ve already had the budget approved but now this makes this real,” Williams said.
