Amid coronavirus, why is Lexington County Council meeting in-person?

Lexington County Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday. But unlike other local governments, which have hosted virtual meetings to avoid unnecessary physical interaction during the coronavirus pandemic, Lexington County leaders will meet in person.

The meeting, scheduled to run from at least 2:30 p.m. to after 4:30 p.m. March 24, will be hosted at the county’s administrative building in Lexington. It will almost surely violate federal and state guidelines instructing people to avoid groups of more than 10 people — the council has nine members — and Gov. Henry McMaster’s March 23 order that groups of three or more people be dispersed.

But it’s not that county officials want to ignore public health guidance. There is an “archaic” county bylaw standing in their way, according to councilman Darrell Hudson.

A longtime law does not let Lexington County leaders meet via telephone conference or any other remote measure; it demands that council members meet face-to-face to discuss county business, according to Hudson. He said he learned about the rule several years ago, when he was sick with the flu but wanted to take part in a county council meeting over the phone. Hudson was told he couldn’t take part without being present.

As coronavirus cases ballooned across South Carolina, “multiple” council members wanted to have a virtual meeting, and county attorney Jeff Anderson was assigned to comb through the bylaw to find any loophole they could use in order to do so. He came up empty, Hudson said. Anderson could not be reached for comment.

On Monday, county leaders decided to go forward with a scaled-back, in-person meeting, which must happen because of pressing economic development agenda items, Hudson said. The meeting will be closed to the public but will be livestreamed on lex-co.sc.gov and aired on Spectrum channel 1302, county spokesperson Harrison Cahill said.

As a precaution, council members will have their temperature taken upon entering the county administrative building, council member Erin Long-Bergeson said. And they will sit with a separation between them, according to Hudson.

“We have been assured there will be as few people present as possible,” Long-Bergeson said.

Several council members told The State they had already been practicing “social distancing” and taking other health precautions for days.

Council member Beth Carrigg said she would only attend the meeting remotely, which would not affect the council’s ability to take action since a majority of members would be present. Hudson, who was one of the council members to ask for a telephone meeting instead, said he would attend in person — in part, because he was “bored” at home, he said.

The county council plans to pass a measure on Tuesday that would allow the council to meet remotely “for up to 61 days,” council member Erin Long-Bergeson said.

Across the Midlands, South Carolina and the country, people have been creating “social distance” between themselves and others. Major national companies have instructed employees to work from home. Dine-in service at restaurants has been suspended. Hospitals and nursing homes have severely restricted the number of visitors they allow in. Events large and small have been canceled — again, to limit transmission of the novel coronavirus, which has sickened at least 298 people in South Carolina.

Counties, cities and towns have closed their buildings and facilities and changed law enforcement operations to help limit the spread of the virus. Lexington County was one of the counties that closed its doors to non-employees. On Monday, it elevated its level of operations in order to activate certain emergency management personnel.

This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 9:09 AM.