HANCOCK — People will soon be able to watch Hancock City Council meetings over Zoom again, with the potential for public comment to return in future months.

Longtime radio broadcaster and Hancock resident Richard Tuisku had sent a letter to the city asking for the council to resume livestreaming meetings. Six or seven other people had asked for the same thing, said Mayor Paul LaBine.

“I’m in favor of doing it as long as it’s not too burdensome,” Councilor John Haeussler said.

“That’s pretty much my position,” LaBine said.

City manager Mary Babcock said allowing public comment over Zoom would require additional staff time to monitor.

“(Clerk) Linda (Kalenic) and I are already trying to make sure we’re engaged, and it’s pretty tough to do all of that and make sure everybody’s heard if we have very many participants,” she said.

If Zoom meetings return, council members will also need to make sure to speak into microphones. One Planning Commission meeting ran into problems when residents had difficulty hearing members speaking, she said.

Babcock said it would be easier for the city to use Zoom rather than a view-only mode like Facebook Live, as the city is already set up for it. Using Zoom allows the city to manually let people in and to set a password.

LaBine facetiously suggested some unlikelier livestreaming sites, such as Twitch or OnlyFans.

Babcock said she had talked to Tuisku, who said he would be fine with an online stream even if it didn’t allow comments.

“He would get what he’s looking for out of the meeting just being able to hear everybody talk and listen in,” he said.

Councilor Richard Freeman Jr. suggested streaming the meetings first, then further down the line, figure out a way to allow comments without burdening staff.

“Once we get up and running, if we start getting a lot of people watching on Zoom and requests to participate in public comment that way, we can address that later,” Haeussler said.

The Zoom feed will not be used for an upcoming joint meeting taking place outside city hall. The City Council will host a meeting with the Downtown Development Authority, Planning Commission at 6 p.m. March 7 at the former chapel in the Jutila Center. At the meeting they will honor Phi Kappa Tau, which won first place in the Winter Carnival snow statue competition for the fourth consecutive year and the 13th time in the past 15 years.

The city could also continue its partnership with Arlens, which has been testing snow removal machines this winter. City Manager Mary Babcock said the city is working to extend the relationship with the Brillion, Wisconsin-based company over the next several years.

“That’s good news for us because the sidewalks, for the most part, are better this year than they’ve been for a long time,” Babcock said.

Arlens is also trying smaller models at the beach and campground, Babcock said. Arlens’ owner has also come up to tour the area.

Hancock declared a let-run on Feb. 11 after numerous reports of problems with frozen pipes. City policy allows for up to 11,000 gallons. The let-run orders typically last about six weeks, Babcock said.

There has been one applicant for the council seat formerly held by Will Lytle, with several other people expressing interest, Babcock said. Applications are due Feb. 25; the council will consider the appointment at its March 2 meeting.

Babcock said the city has received about 30 submissions for a contest to submit photos that will be put on banners downtown.

In other action, the council:

— Approved a Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) grant for $12,000 with a local match of $2,500. The grant, for a Level 2 electric vehicle charger, was required to be approved before Hancock could upgrade its request to Level 3. The charger will be at Franklin and Tezcuco streets.

— Tabled the approval of the Zoning Board of Appeals rules of procedures. Councilor John Haeussler suggested adding something in the rules regarding alternate members.

— Approved the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance annual membership dues of $3,500. The city had initially budgeted $3,000, which had been KEDA’s membership rate for the three previous years. Babcock said KEDA had helped with the city’s business and technology park and helped new people coming into the city find grant opportunities. LaBine also appreciated KEDA’s work on trying to add additional flights out of Houghton.

— Approved applying for Rural Development grants for a pickup truck and a vacuum tanker truck. The pickup truck will cost $38,000, while the vacuum truck will cost $256,000. The city’s only vacuum tanker truck is a 1997 model.

— Approved revisions to the Hancock City Council rules of procedure. The changes would allow a council member on military duty to participate remotely.