SUBJECT:
Title
A Resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Erie Regarding Face Coverings in the Town of Erie
Body
DEPARTMENT: Administration
PRESENTERS: Malcolm Fleming, Town Administrator
Kendra Carberry, Town Attorney
TIME ESTIMATE: 60 minutes
only required for non-consent items
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Discuss current Covid trends and requirements regarding face coverings indoors, consider testimony from Public Health agency and Hospital representatives, and decide whether to rescind the Town’s current policy extending Boulder County Public Health’s Order on facial coverings throughout the Town of Erie, in both Boulder County and Weld County.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The latest surge of Covid cases is on the decline and some counties and municipalities in Colorado are relaxing Covid-related requirements. Members of the Boar of Trustees have asked for a discussion on whether the Town should follow suit, even though Boulder County has yet to consider rescinding its order requiring masks indoors in public places.
To assist the Board in making an informed decision on this matter, staff has asked representatives from Boulder County Public Health, Weld County Health Department, Boulder Community Health and Avista Hospitals to attend the meeting, share their perspectives and answer questions from the Board. The Town Attorney is also preparing a Resolution for the Board to consider at this meeting should the Board wish to change the Town’s current policy requiring masks indoors in public places throughout Erie.
Details
Since September 3, 2021 that portion of Erie within Boulder County has been subject to Public Health Order 2021-08 <https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/bcph_pho_2021-08.pdf>. The order, approved by the Boulder County Board of Health on September 2, 2021 requires mask wearing in all indoor public spaces for all individuals 2 years and older regardless of vaccination status. Weld County took no action similar to Boulder County’s Order requiring masks indoors. Consequently, businesses in Erie were subject to very different requirements depending on their location in Town, and patrons of those businesses were subject to very different conditions that could expose them to conditions potentially hazardous to their health.
A similar situation occurred in May and July of 2020. At that time, Boulder County adopted a Facial Covering Order on May 2, 2020, and on May 4, 2020 Mayor Carroll extended the Boulder County Order to all parts of Erie. On May 26, 2020 the Board of Trustees ratified the Mayor’s Order. Then, because its earlier Order was set to expire, on June 29, 2020 Boulder County extended its Facial Covering Order until it is rescinded. On July 1, 2020 and to continue the Board of Trustee’s policy of consistent application of the Boulder County Order throughout all of Erie, as the Town’s Emergency Manager, Town Administrator Fleming signed an Order extending the Boulder County Order to all of Erie. On July 14, 2020, the Board of Trustees approved a resolution ratifying the Town Administrator's July 1, 2020 Order.
The policy requiring face coverings indoors throughout Erie was effective through April 2021 when the state and counties relaxed indoor masking requirements as Covid cases began to decline.
Then, in September 2, 2021, as Covid cases associated with the Delta variant of the Covid virus began to surge, Boulder County issued Public Health Order 2021-08 <https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/bcph_pho_2021-08.pdf>. To maintain the Board of Trustee’s previous policy extending the Boulder County masking Orders to all of Erie, on September 8, 2021 Town Administrator Fleming signed an Order extending the Boulder County Order to all parts of Erie with the Order effective September 11, 2021 and remaining in effect until the Boulder County Order is rescinded. On September 14, 2021, the Board of Trustees adopted Resolution No. 21-124 <https://erie.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=9805090&GUID=AACFE55F-0CD6-4FB9-B3D2-A9CDDF7F4AD6> ratifying the Town Administrator’s Order to maintain the requirements of the Boulder County Order throughout the Town of Erie, in both Boulder County and Weld County. Boulder County has yet to rescind its order requiring indoor facial coverings and thus the Board’s of Trustee’s action to maintain the requirement for indoor facial coverings throughout the Town remains.
Emergency Management
Emergency management is governed by Chapter 8 of Title 1 of the Erie Municipal Code and the Town's emergency operations plan, as well as C.R.S. § 24-33.5-701, et seq. By law, the Town must have an appointed emergency manager, who must be authorized to take all necessary actions during an emergency. Pursuant to Section 8-1-3 of the Code, the Town has appointed the Town Administrator as its emergency manager. Pursuant to Section 1-8-6 of the Code, the Town's emergency manager has a number of enumerated powers to protect the public health, safety and welfare. Pursuant to Section 1-8-6.A.3 of the Code, the Town emergency manager may promulgate such regulations as necessary to protect life and property and preserve critical resources, which regulations shall be confirmed at the earliest practical time by the Board of Trustees.
As noted above, to continue the Board of Trustee’s policy of consistent application of the Boulder County Order throughout all of Erie, Town Administrator Fleming in his capacity as Emergency Manager issued emergency orders on July 1, 2020 and on September 11, 2021 extending the Boulder County Order to all parts of Erie. In both instances, the Board of Trustees ratified those orders within 7 days.
The other emergency actions Town Administrator Fleming has taken consist of the following:
1. Authorizing the Town Clerk to administratively approve temporary modifications of liquor-licensed premises (to allow for temporary outdoor patios for restaurants)
2. For a one year period waiving the local fees for liquor licenses to provide relief to restaurants and other liquor-licensed establishments negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
3. During the early days of the pandemic Administrator Fleming also adopted a:
a. Teleworking Policy
b. Remote Meeting Policy
c. Emergency Leave and Attendance Policy (revision to previous policy)
d. State of Emergency Leave Policy
These last 4 policies (1) clarified the terms under which Town employees may be asked to work from home or another location; (2) specified the circumstances under which meetings of the Board of Trustees and Town advisory boards, committees and commissions may be held without the physical presence of the members, Town staff or the public at a designated meeting location; (3) updated the Town’s Emergency Leave Policy to delete provisions providing for FLSA non-exempt emergency personnel to be paid time and one-half for all hours worked during an official State of Emergency, and instead provide for paid State of Emergency Leave (SEL), which is paid at straight time; and (4) ensured Town employees do not suffer economic hardship due to quarantine issues and/or facility closure issues. Without SEL, employees could suffer significant economic hardship that could influence them to not be available when the Town needs them and potentially be less likely to adhere to strict social distancing guidelines and perhaps come into work when they might be contagious. All of these emergency policies were ratified by the Board of Trustees.
Additional Background.
Governor Polis recognized the COVID-19 pandemic and on March 10, 2020 declared a disaster emergency. Concurrently, on March 14, 2020, Mayor Jennifer Carroll declared a local disaster emergency in and for the Town of Erie. On March 24, 2020, the Board of Trustees approved a Resolution ratifying the Mayor’s declarations.
The Town Administrator may only issue emergency orders if there is an existing emergency declaration. Here, the COVID emergency declaration remains in effect until repealed by the Board of Trustees. If the Board were to repeal the emergency declaration, then the Town Administrator would no longer be authorized to issue emergency orders such as the mask order. However, if the emergency declaration is repealed, this could affect the Town's ability to receive emergency funding.
Board Priority(s) Addressed:
ü Prosperous Economy
ü Safe and Healthy Community
ü Effective Governance
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution 22-31