Due to Gov. Roy Cooper's executive order, mass gatherings of persons in groups of more than 10 people are still prohibited.

With this regulation in place, Macon County will not allow more than 10 people in the commission boardroom at any one time during the meeting. However, as the meeting agenda contains the board's normal monthly public comment period, the county has established a telephone call-in method to receive public comment between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

Those who wish to make comments to the board during the public comment period may do so by following these steps:

(1) At the appropriate time, dial 349-2602, and this will connect you to a county switchboard operator. Calls should not be placed until at least 6 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

(2) The operator will keep a list of calls in the order in which they were received, and will collect information from the caller including the caller's first and last name, address and telephone number.

(3) The operator will monitor the telephone line to the boardroom, and will transfer the call when appropriate.

(4) Due to potential call volume, the operator may need to return a call to the person wishing to speak when their turn becomes available.

(5) For those who desire to do so, a telephone will be available in the hallway outside the commission boardroom for those who wish to physically come to the courthouse. Calls made from this phone will be handled in the same order in which all calls coming into the meeting are received, as there will be no preferential treatment for calls made from this location, nor will these calls go directly to the boardroom.

(6) As noted, the board has established a period of 30 minutes to accept public comment at this meeting, and this period will be lengthened only at the chairman's discretion.