Due to Governor Mike DeWine’s orders of 10 people or less per gathering, the Washington Court House City Council meetings are temporarily closed to in-person public attendance although online attendance is encouraged.

Because of the spread of COVID-19, the only people who will be present in the council chambers during the meetings will be city manager Joe Denen, recording secretary Kelley Ford, the city law director and the seven council members.

According to Denen, although members of the public and staff are being reduced during the council meetings, “the agenda of council will proceed in the normal fashion.”

The online option for attending meetings is watching videos that are streamed live to YouTube. According to officials, there is no way to stream past videos unless the user was subscribed at the time the videos were streamed.

“Subscribing to the Youtube Channel is an excellent way to view the meeting but not attend the meeting,” explained Denen in an email.

The channel on YouTube is “City of Washington Court House, Ohio” and the link is www.youtube.com/channel/UCRwMxUBn8XIQTjnSvFaGDgA. The link can also be found under “popular pages” on the city’s website, www.cityofwch.com/.

According to Denen, in order to help protect those present at the meeting, seating arrangements will be altered to maintain social distancing.

Community members who wish to address the city with any concerns, remarks, etc. “are welcome to call or email” Denen or any of the seven council members — Jim Chrisman, Dale Lynch, Kendra Redd-Hernandez, Ted Hawk, Caleb Johnson, Steve Schiltz and Jim Blair.

Denen’s email is [email protected].

Washington Court House City Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month at 7:30 p.m. They are located in the second floor council chambers of the City Administration Building, 105 N. Main Street.

Reach Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355 or on Twitter @JennMWoods.