The Greenwood City Center is closed to the public until next month, but an in-person meeting last weekend drew widespread backlash.
Reps. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, and John Young, R-Franklin, and Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, hosted two town halls Saturday. They provided updates about the legislative session set to end later this month, and met with constituents in Greenwood, at the city center, and in Franklin.
Most of the seats inside the Greenwood City Council chambers were filled for that meeting.
Mayor Mark Myers said a week prior that all city buildings, including the city center, would remain closed to the public until May 3, as a safety precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Public meetings are available on WebEx or Zoom, and residents can attend virtually. Greenwood is the only local government in Johnson County that does not allow the public to attend meetings in person.
After the in-person town hall over the weekend, Myers received backlash, mostly on social media, for allowing the meeting but not opening up the building for city meetings.
Myers takes the blame, he said. Davis’s chief of staff reached out to him nearly two months ago asking to hold the town hall in April at the city center, and he agreed to it at the time. He forgot about the event up until two days before it was set to happen, after he had already decided to keep the city buildings closed. At that point, the town hall had already been publicized, so it was too late to call it off, he said.
“I regret forgetting about that and allowing the meeting to go on. I made a mistake,” Myers said Tuesday.
Despite the backlash, city buildings will remain closed to the public until May 3. Members of the city council and other boards can meet inside the city center in person, as long as they wear masks, but the public cannot physically attend those meetings, he said.
“Looking at the numbers that are rising again, I’m concerned about the safety and welfare of my employees and our elected officials,” Myers said.
There were 1,231 newly reported COVID-19 cases on Tuesday in the state, and 23 in Johnson County, according to the Indiana Department of Health. Cases have steadily increased since last month, when newly reported cases ranged from 500 to 900 daily.
The decision to close the city center to the public is not to shut them out or violate open door laws, Myers said. They still have access through web links that are included on all meeting agendas, and the city council and boards allow time for public comment at every meeting.
More than 570 people called into the Zoom meeting for the last city council meeting April 5, Myers said. That many people would not have fit inside the building if the meeting was held in person, he said.
“People have just as much accessibility, if not more, by getting on Zoom and participating that way,” Myers said.
