Hillsborough Mayor Jenn Weaver gave her first-ever State of the Town Address live online Monday night.
The public was invited before the event to send questions they wanted the mayor to answer in her address. This was to help the public engage with the Town and “lower some of the barriers to providing input,” according to a Town press release.
It was live-streamed from an empty town board meeting room and not in-person, as it usually is, in order to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Weaver said in an email that it was really strange to give a speech to an empty room.
“Normally, the State of the Town is a celebratory event, in a room full of people from the community, highlighting accomplishments from the past year and looking toward the future,” Weaver said.
The content of her address also deviated from the norm due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It would have been foolhardy to try to get folks to focus on recent accomplishments and what's next when COVID-19 is dominating all of our thoughts and actions,” Weaver said. “I felt a clear need to connect with the community, help bring us together so that we have the highest chance of the best outcome on the other side of this.”
The State of the Town started off with the mayor reassuring everyone that essential town functions are still running and that the staff is working to help the community get through the pandemic and all of its challenges.
Weaver said the community should approach the pandemic with an expedition mentality, which she learned from her wilderness leadership training.
