Wednesday afternoons can sometimes drudge on for hours as the Summit County Council works through its agenda. But the meeting this week lasted 1 minute and 36 seconds.
Just two members of the panel were present at the County Courthouse in Coalville for the meeting, leading County Council Chair Roger Armstrong to cancel it just before 1:30 p.m. over an absence of a quorum.
“It was unforeseen. We thought we were in pretty good shape. We always are a little off kilter when we have people traveling because we do have the risk of someone getting ill and rendering short,” he said. “In the 11 years that I’ve been on Council, we’ve not had to cancel a Council meeting so this is a first.”
Vice Chair Malena Stevens was present. However, County Councilor Tonja Hanson fell ill in the middle of the night. County Councilors Canice Harte and Chris Robinson were away on trips. Officials were unable to find a third member — the requirement for a quorum — to fill in for the meeting on Wednesday afternoon, according to Armstrong.
His first canceled meeting over attendance almost came a few weeks ago when another commitment caused him to be late, but one of the traveling county councilors was able to briefly stand in.
With around 50 County Council meetings a year, or about 550 over Armstrong’s tenure, this week was just the luck of the draw. The panel never canceled a meeting for attendance during the coronavirus pandemic, and they regularly convened five times a week, according to Armstrong.
Still, the chair said officials will work harder to coordinate and tighten down their schedules in the future.
Budget season also makes this time of year particularly important for the County Courthouse. Armstrong recognized the value of having elected officials attend the discussions in person. There are often additional meetings scheduled on Monday to make time for each department to present its budget needs and wants.
The County Council could revisit the items scheduled on the Wednesday agenda, which included child care, winter trash services and a 2023 work plan update, on Nov. 13. The date had not been finalized.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect which county councilors were traveling.