What makes special, special? or Don't come to City Hall tonight!

Hello Dear Readers!

Do you know what today is?  Yes, March 31 is the anniversary of the Eiffel Tower as well as Cesar Chavez Day and also National Tater Day (baked, fried, mashed and of course, tots!)

Well those are all special in their own way, but its also very special here in Monrovia because there is a Special Meeting of the Monrovia City Council tonight!  So what makes it "special"?  Truly, any time our elected leaders come together to make decisions regarding the future of our town is special and important!  

Not to get too deep into the weeds (as our long time readers know all too well we could), but most public agencies in California are governed by the Brown Act.  Essentially, the main point of the Brown Act is that public agencies exist to conduct public business and that the public has the right to know when and how these decisions are being made...where were we going with this?...oh yes...

So the Brown Act requires that City Councils across California hold "regular meetings" at a regularly established time.  The Monrovia City Council holds its regular meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month.  But sometimes there is a need to hold a meeting in the interim...hence the term, "special meeting".  The meetings still have to be open to the public.  And so finally we come to the point of this whole blog post.

Tonight, the Monrovia City Council will be holding a Special Meeting (same link as above) to receive an update and to discuss potential future response to the COVID-19 crisis.  The Governor's Executive Order has made some emergency modifications to the Brown Act and how public meetings are conducted.

What makes this meeting even more special and certainly unique is that all public participation will be electronic.  The City Council be participating remotely and City Hall will be closed.  We don't recall this ever happening, but drastic times call for drastic measures.  

But this doesn't mean that you can't watch or participate.  There are several ways to participate:

• If you have cable, watch on KGEM (Spectrum Channel 99 or Giggle Fiber Channel 87-2)  
• Live stream online at the Foothill Media website.
• Participate by sending an email to the City Clerk at cityclerk@ci.monrovia.ca.us before 7 PM tonight.  (Sorry, the blog wouldn't allow a direct link).

So, all of that to let you know, don't come to City Hall tonight!  But please, watch your City government in action tonight at 7:30.

And the title?  Some of you old school cartoon fans may get the gentle nod to The Bullwinkle Show...until next time.