ASC Reopening Task Force – Notes from Meeting September 24, 2020

ToDo’s

Leslie – ping Robin Sweetapple to ask contractors to sign in and out on the register for contract tracing

We have not scheduled the next meeting, opting to wait until we actually need to meet. In the meantime, we do need to research how others are handling the in-person/remote accessibility issue, and figure out what would work for ASC.

Attendees: George Carvill, Peter Gibbons, Jamie Gibson, Leslie Kinney, Steve Squires

We formally agreed to amend the Phase II document to allow ASC usage of the chapel on weekends. Leslie noted that the contract with Miss Martha’s calls for them to clear the space at the end of each day, for potential use by other parties on nights and weekends.

Miss Martha’s expanded use of the building seems to be going well, as is the setup in the Main Hall where the Holiday Bazaar crafters have begun their work.

Contractors have been working in the building (painters, at least). They have apparently been good about wearing masks, but not in signing themselves in and out on the log being kept for potential contact tracing. Leslie will relay issue to Robin Sweetapple, who is managing most of the contractor relations.

Much of the time was spent discussing the technical challenges of mixed in-person and Zoom meetings.  Inclusivity has been an explicit goal all along, but it’s hard to push for it without concrete and practical recommendations and/or equipment on how to achieve it.

George experimented with a WiFi extender in hopes it would provide coverage as far as the parking lot, but did not work very well.  He has other ideas, but the season for outdoor meetings will close soon anyway, so this effort will likely be shelved for the winter.

Having live attendees also use Zoom, so they can see and be seen by remote attendees, is one approach.  Jamie notes that feedback is a big issue. If multiple Zoom clients are in close proximity, most (ideally all but one) need to join without Audio. (Mute’ing is inadequate; the microphone is still actually on, which is how Zoom can pop up the “you are muted” message).

Steve has sniffed around on the internet, finding University sites that discuss how they are doing remote teaching, and seeing references to a Zoom feature where the camera can be “taken over” from another device, essentially making it possible for someone to act as a camera operator. The downside is that whoever is doing all the tech work is too busy to be fully present in the gathering itself.

George notes that there is a UU Tech group on Facebook where relevant topics are being discussed.

There is a lot of information out there. Our task is to find the parts most useful to us.