STRAFFORD — Citing frustrations with technological and communication issues, the Strafford Selectboard will no longer provide an online option for residents to attend or participate remotely in the board’s meetings.

On Thursday, the Strafford Selectboard held its first board meeting since early 2020 without the use of the virtual platform Zoom, following a board vote of 3-1 on June 29 to end the use of Zoom at board meetings.

“Our board members want to get back to business as usual, conducting our town matters in person, without the complications (of hosting a Zoom platform),” Chairwoman Toni Pippy explained.

Board members said they were sometimes frustrated by technical difficulties involving Zoom, such as issues with the video or audio feed or being unable to record a meeting for the public archive.

“We sometimes couldn’t see them (online), though they could see us,” Pippy said. “Our board felt that the meeting goes better when we are sitting face-to-face with the people in the conversation.”

While Vermont law under Act 78 permits municipal or school boards to meet fully remotely under specific guidelines until January 2023, the law does not require boards to provide a remote attendance option.

Strafford, a town of 1,094 residents according to the 2020 census, has “varying” public attendance at town Selectboard meetings depending on the agenda items, anywhere from two to over 25 people, according to Selectboard members. The Zoom platform averaged an additional attendance of two to 10 people.

Selectman David Paganelli cast the minority vote against ending the use of Zoom.

“Zoom expands public access to town government,” Paganelli told the Valley News. “And the more access the public has to their government, the better.”

Paganelli noted that Zoom has enabled Selectboard members to still participate in meetings when out of town and enabled people to still attend meetings during the winter when storms or temperatures compromised road safety conditions.

Because Selectman Brian Johnson was absent from the June 29 vote, Paganelli asked board members on Thursday about a possible revote with the board at full attendance. However, the board’s majority said they did not wish to change their previous vote.

Lia Ernst, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, said she strongly advocates for the use of virtual meeting platforms to continue in Vermont communities regardless of the pandemic and hopes the Vermont Legislature would even consider amending the state’s open meeting law to require communities to provide a remote meeting access should communities not voluntarily provide it.

“There is simply no good reason to take away this democracy-enhancing tool, especially while we are still in a pandemic that makes in-person participation impossible for many,” Ernst said. “But even if the pandemic were a thing of the past, we’d still urge all public bodies to embrace these changes rather than retreating to a less participatory past.”

Ernst praised the benefit of remote platforms like Zoom to increase public access to local meetings, calling it one of the few good changes to result from the pandemic.

“We’ve seen far greater participation in public meetings and vastly enhanced government transparency and oversight,” Ernst said. “This has been a boon for the public’s engagement in and understanding of their government.”

In Fairlee, a town with a population of 988 people as well as seasonal residents, all town meetings host remote access using Zoom, Selectboard Chairman Peter Berger said.

Berger said that many Fairlee taxpayers are seasonal residents who wish to stay informed with public affairs in the community. Providing access through Zoom can require “a robust effort” by towns to provide a strong visual and aural product and to minimize the technical complications, but Berger said that investment has benefited the Fairlee community.

“It has increased the number of people in attendance at our meetings and also gives us the ability to record meetings (for the public to watch at a later time),” Berger said.

In Strafford, Pippy said that residents with health concerns may wear masks, and the meeting hall is spacious enough to accommodate social distancing for the average public attendance. Meetings with a larger anticipated turnout would be relocated to a larger venue.

“We are not trying to keep people from attending meetings,” Pippy said, adding that the board wishes the average public turnout would be higher, as many important discussions, including budgetary, draw little or zero attendance from residents.

Strafford Town Clerk Lisa Bragg said she believes several town boards still host a Zoom option, including the Planning Commission, the Conservation Commission and the Energy and Climate Committee.

Strafford appears to be one of the few known examples in the Upper Valley of a municipal board discontinuing its use of an online meeting option.

The Claremont City Council, last October, voted, 6-3, to cease the use of Zoom to participate in council meetings, with an exception for out-of-town presenters or consultants. People may still watch the council meetings live on the city of Claremont’s Facebook page or on Claremont Community Television.

Some Upper Valley selectboards, such as those Cornish and Unity in New Hampshire, remained fully in person throughout the pandemic and did not have an online meeting access. A Unity town employee said that the board meetings, which are held weekly, followed federal and state health and safety recommendations such as social distancing.

Patrick Adrian can be reached at pfadrian25@gmail.com.