HOUGHTON — People will again be able to watch Houghton County board meetings over Zoom.

The Houghton County board approved the change following a letter from Hancock resident Faith Morrison. She pointed to the high rates of COVID-19 in the community and the small-size of the board’s meeting room.

Commissioner Gretchen Janssen said remote meetings would also help residents from outlying parts of the county, especially during winter weather.

“I think we all should be present, but I think people in our county should be able to Zoom in,” she said.

Commissioner Roy Britz, whose district includes the southernmost part of the county, agreed.

“Especially in my district, we’re not talking 40 minutes, we’re talking an hour-plus in the south of the county to have to get up here,” he said.

Several people with health issues have requested it as well, Clerk Jennifer Kelly said.

When Zoom meetings were available earlier in the pandemic, 30 to 40 people would routinely attend virtually, Commissioner Glenn Anderson said.

The board also approved a settlement regarding a mass-action opioids suit at its meeting Tuesday.

The federal suit against four opioid distributors will result in settlement money coming to 4,000 municipalities across the country.

County Administrator Elizabeth Bjorn said the county’s money will have to be spent on rehabilitation and treatment for opioids.

By default, the money going to a particular state would be split with 70% going to an opioid abatement fund, 15% to the state and 15% to local governments. Houghton County’s resolution calls for an alternate division in which funds go solely to the state and to participating local governments.

Bjorn said she would try to have an estimate of how much the county would receive at the February board meeting.

The board also denied a Freedom of Information Act appeal from Joshua Vissers of the Copper Beacon. Vissers sought to have more documents included in the meeting packets provided online to the public and to have greater detail included in the meeting minutes.

The board also approved two-year contracts with Local No. 226 AFSCME and the airport union.

For its reorganizational meeting, the board reappointed Tom Tikkanen as vice-chair. Chair Al Koskela was also reappointed to the county mental health board, as Janssen, Britz and Anderson to the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department board.