photo by: City of Lawrence

The Lawrence City Commission discusses the recommended budget as part of its study session July 13, 2021.

After operating largely online throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the Lawrence City Commission is planning to return to in-person meetings while retaining a remote option for the public.

The City of Lawrence announced Thursday that the commission will begin holding the hybrid meetings on Tuesday. Tuesday will be the first meeting of the new commission, which includes the swearing-in ceremony for newly elected commissioners Bart Littlejohn, Amber Sellers and Lisa Larsen.

Under the new format, the public can choose to attend in person at City Hall or virtually via the Zoom platform, which allows people to participate online or via phone, according to a city news release. In line with existing city policy and public health recommendations, unvaccinated people attending meetings in person will be required to wear a mask. Masks will be optional for vaccinated people and may be removed when a person is standing at the podium to make public comment.

The city updated its mask guidance on Thursday.

The release states that the layout of the City Commission meeting room has been adapted to accommodate the new format. Audience chairs within the commission’s meeting room will be separated by 6 feet and the adjacent City Hall lobby, which looks into the meeting room and provides a live feed of the meeting, will also have a limited number of chairs set up for the public.

City staff members will also have the option of participating in the meetings in person or virtually, and, along with commissioners, some staff will be present at City Hall for the meetings.

The commission moved its meetings to a virtual format in the spring 2020 and has largely continued to conduct its meetings online for the past 20 months while retaining the option for the public to comment in person at City Hall. The commission returned to in-person meetings for about a month over the summer, but returned to the virtual format in August after recommendations called for vaccinated people to wear masks indoors while virus transmission in their community was high.

The City Commission’s next meeting will take place at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.