HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-01-20 Public Comment - J. Joyce - Mandates from Governor's OfficeFrom:Chris Mehl
To:Agenda
Subject:FW: Mandates from Governor"s Office
Date:Wednesday, April 1, 2020 12:56:21 PM
Chris Mehl
Mayor, City of Bozemancmehl@bozeman.net406.581.4992________________________________________From: Joyce Jill [jilljmt@gmail.com]Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2020 11:20 AMTo: Chris Mehl; Pat FlowersCc: info@mountaintoys.netSubject: Mandates from Governor's Office
Mr Mehl and Mr Flowers,
I am writing to you today to implore you to take a strong position with the Governor’s office on behalf of your locallaw enforcement agencies and county health department.
I applaud Governor Steve Bullock for taking strong and decisive action at the state level to protect public health, ourhealthcare workers and systems, and be proactive to reduce community spread of COVID-19. Our law enforcementand county health departments, however, are ill-equipped to enforce the mandates coming down from the governor'soffice. We need fines and citations (basically consequences!) to ensure the mandates are followed and effective.Currently there are non-essential businesses operating rogue, people going about their day business as usual,restaurants practicing lax take-out protocols. Law enforcement and county health have no capacity to issue citationsor close businesses or bring businesses into compliance.
Imagine a restaurant operating against county health code and not required to come into compliance and remainingin operation? This is the same thing with specific coronavirus protocols. Recently I went to order ‘take-out’ from alocal restaurant. I assumed I would order over the phone and have the food delivered curbside. Instead, I wasinstructed by the restaurant worker on the phone to come inside, stand in line with 10+ people and order my foodand wait inside the restaurant for it to be prepared. This weekend a home in my neighborhood enjoyed our firstspring day by hosting a 30+ person party. I called the police and learned there was no citation to issue and it wasnot against the law to gather.
Businesses are interpreting the ’non-essential’ mandate loosely with some closed entirely, others offering delivery,and others remaining open. It is neither equitable nor effective to have the compliant businesses sufferingfinancially while the rogue businesses capitalize on the situation and become the greatest vector for communityspread. We need consistency and clarity. Can I operate my business curbside? Offer delivery? We need clearguidelines and we need enforcement.
I urge you to write and call the governor's office to provide directives to agencies who are capable of enforcement.We are all in this together and citizens and businesses who are going rogue need something other than their moraland civic duty to get them to comply.
Kind Regards,Jill Joyce2515 Rose StreetBozeman, MT 59718(406) 581.7436
The way of love is not a subtle argument. The door there is devastation. Birds make great sky-circles of their
freedom. How do they learn it? They fall, and falling, they're given wings.--Rumi