A Franklin Township resident has taken issue with changes made to the board of supervisors' public meetings.

“It's got bad optics, and it lacks transparency,” said resident Nathan Wulff. “I'm pretty sure they could make changes right now and solve the problem. They're choosing not to.”

Township supervisors advertised in December a change to their meeting format because of the coronavirus pandemic. The board typically meets on the third Monday of every month.

“During this time period, the meetings will be held by telephone and will not be open for public attendance,” said the advertisement. “Anyone desiring to comment publicly may do so before the meeting.”

For the months of December, January and February, there was no opportunity for the public to watch or listen to the meetings as they occurred, and public comment was done through submission. In March, the supervisors began using a teleconference call to allow residents to listen to live meetings through a one-way connection.

According to Supervisor Chairman Herman Bauer Jr., residents are encouraged to share their comments before the meeting, but there will not be an opportunity for them to speak on the phone.

“We have the public agenda up by the Thursday previous, so people could either comment about what's on the agenda by email, or if they called, our township secretary took the calls down, subject and content for the public comment portion of the meeting,” he said.

Ten residents submitted comments at the December meeting, but no public comments were read into the record at the January or February meetings, according to meeting minutes. The minutes are available upon request and are not posted on the township website.

Also serving on the board of supervisors are Janet Gray and Robert Thompson.

Bauer said the meeting was structured based on the latest COVID-19 guidance from the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors.According to that guidance, township governments are allowed to conduct in-person, remote or a hybrid style of meeting.“If your township does not offer remote public access to meetings, it must, to the extent practicable, permit comments to be submitted by mail or email,” the guidance said.Wulff said this may meet the legal minimum, but the current format doesn't establish a dialogue between the board members and community members.“Regardless of what the law says, it doesn't seem right to me,” he said.The association suggested many avenues for holding public meetings, including livestream, teleconference and Zoom call options.The association also suggested sharing a recording of the meeting or, “at a minimum,” a draft of the meeting's minutes within 48 hours of the meeting. This is also a major piece of the guidance issued by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).“Further, the Office of Open Records strongly recommends that any agency holding such a meeting record the meeting and proactively make the recording available, preferably online, so that a full and complete record of the meeting is available to the public,” said the DCED guidance.

The format of Franklin Township's meetings changed after a public hearing in October on a potential new ordinance drew about 30 people to the meeting. The ordinance would have imposed new standards for property maintenance.“It looks like they were fine with having meetings until people wanted to start coming to them,” Wulff said.Bauer said the ordinance has since been tabled until the board can have another public hearing in-person. He said the excessive attendance at the public hearing was only part of the reason for shifting the meeting format.Gov. Tom Wolf in November and December ordered more “statewide shutdowns” because of the ongoing pandemic.“I would just say it's short-term,” Bauer said. “We want to make sure everyone is safe.”

Bauer said Wulff has been alone in his complaints about the township's meetings. He said during a normal, less contested meeting, average attendance is between four and five residents.Bauer said he believes the current meeting structure is as transparent as it can be.“The agenda is not varied from,” he said. “We're open to public comment. We listen to people. We all get calls or talk with people out in the community when we have the opportunity.”Wulff said he does not believe many people are aware the meetings are being conducted this way. He said he was informed about it the day he submitted his paperwork to become a candidate for township supervisor in the upcoming election.“Regardless of my intentions of running for supervisor, I would be making the same deal about this,” he said.Bauer said the meeting format will change when the pandemic comes to an end.“At this point, it's not a perfect world, but people have a vehicle to listen to the meetings and understand what's going on,” he said.