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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-18-20 Public Comment - A. Kennedy - Covid-19 Emergency MeetingFrom: Alicia Wilson To: Chris Mehl Cc: Dennis Taylor; Agenda Subject: Re: Public Comment - Emergency Meeting Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 10:18:03 AM I trust you to do what’s right for the community. https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic- takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/? fbclid=IwAR2BxeFK6AYUUQotBFWoyC31vvjNHt3wrJNNjiOeEA0Q4BWtfkdVehcQKVA Thank You, Alicia Sent from my iPhone On Mar 18, 2020, at 9:22 AM, Chris Mehl <CMehl@bozeman.net> wrote: Alicia, Thanks for your heartfelt note and reaching out with your concerns. I appreciate the points you make and I share your concern for the businesses, workers and families that will be impacted in our community. The health of our citizens is our top priority and we are working with the county health department, other local government, businesses and many more during this stressful time. The health recommendations are clear and unequivocal: a temporary suspension of restaurants, bars, and larger public meetings in general in an important and sadly necessary step to ensure the health and safety of our community. No one is happy or pleased with the situation and we are working with local, state and federal officials to get assistance to those families and businesses in this time. Sincerely, Chris Mehl Mayor, City of Bozeman cmehl@bozeman.net 406.581.4992 ________________________________________ From: Alicia Wilson [aawilson84@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 8:42 AM To: Chris Mehl; Dennis Taylor; Agenda Subject: Public Comment - Emergency Meeting Members of the Bozeman City Commission, I am writing to you from afar as I have been watching how Bozeman responds to this pandemic. I am a citizen of Bozeman that is proud of our strong local economy and the spirit of entrepreneurship that is alive and well in our community. We are fortunate to have a city that thrives on these businesses and the services they offer. Many of the individuals I know also rely on these businesses for their family’s income. I just learned of Bozeman’s intent to hold an emergency meeting to vote on an emergency ordinance which will “indefinitely” suspend advisory board meetings and limit people congregating in groups of 50 or more - among other things. This is not the 14-day quarantine that people almost enthusiastically embraced, this is a death sentence to our local economy. As our local businesses are laying off employees, we are learning that amazon is opening up 100,000 jobs. Are we going to fall in line and allow this to happen? With a promise that our state and federal governments will be there to help build us back up? This will decimate our construction industry, food industry, tourism and more. I am writing to you from Moab where code enforcement officers are already patrolling the streets as businesses are forced to close their doors, hotels are forced to cease operations, camp grounds are being emptied and state parks are unstaffed. We can no longer even find “distance” in our public lands as the infrastructure that supports them is being torn apart in a matter of days. Many small businesses can not withstand a 2-week closure, let alone a closure with no foreseeable end. We are responding to this pandemic with a flash of fear and lack of rational thinking. There are ways to limit crowds and encourage distance without shuttering our businesses if we feel this necessary. This ‘pandemic’ is a new issue with mortality numbers that are not conclusive. I urge you to reconsider the implications of this ordinance. -Alicia Kennedy 2791 Fen Way - B Bozeman, MT 59718 302-753-8469 Sent from my iPhone City of Bozeman emails are subject to the Right to Know provisions of Montana’s Constitution (Art. II, Sect. 9) and may be considered a “public record” pursuant to Title 2, Chpt. 6, Montana Code Annotated. As such, this email, its sender and receiver, and the contents may be available for public disclosure and will be retained pursuant to the City’s record retention policies. Emails that contain confidential information such as information related to individual privacy may be protected from disclosure under law.