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CASSOPOLIS — After nearly a year of only talking to each other over a computer screen, Cass County commissioners will soon be able to see each other in-person.

During Thursday’s Cass County Board of Commissioners meeting, commissioners voted to return to in-person meetings. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, commissioners had been meeting via virtual platform Zoom.

According to the resolution passed, starting Friday, county meetings will be held in-person, with virtual participation from the public and any commissioners who are unable or unwilling to participate in person.

According to commissioners, the decision to revert to the in-person meetings is due to inconsistent practice among county public boards. Some county boards had been meeting in-person, while others hosting a virtual or hybrid option.

The resolution was introduced by District One Commissioner Ryan Laylin, and seconded by District Four Commissioner Roseann Marchetti. The resolution passed unanimously, with Commissioner Robert Benjamin absent.

Virtual meeting information for the public can be found on the county’s website, casscountymi.org.

In other business:

• The board approved a resolution to continue services with ICS Solutions for inmate communications at the Cass County Jail. In addition to the continuing services with the company, the resolution expanded services to include optional video communications for inmates.
• In his public safety report, Cass County Sheriff Richard Behnke reported that his office had received several calls of people going through the ice over the past week. He reminded residents that as the weather warms, the ice on Cass County lakes and ponds thins, increasing the danger of activities such as ice fishing. He urged residents to use caution.