Minutes - Council - 03/09/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

businesses. She stated that she and her children have been yelled at, threatened, and refused service because they do not have masks on. She supports that the City not spend its resources to enforce the mandate. She stated that she would like to visit businesses locally and feel safe doing so. She explained that the alternative to going to the grocery store would be to have those goods delivered, which has an additional fee. She noted that many residents are struggling financially during this time or using EBT for groceries and therefore would not be eligible to use those delivery sources. Jennifer Leistico, 15790 Neon Street NW, commented that originally, she planned to watch and attend the meeting as a member of the Park and Recreation Commission specific to the next agenda item. She stated that she noticed this agenda item, as well as the next, and was interested in the Council discussion. She asked the problem the City is attempting to solve, as this is phrased in a way that suggests the City is expending resources enforcing the mandate. She asked the number of hours City staff has spent on enforcement and the resources that have been used. She asked the number of citizens and employees of the City that have provided input to the members of the Council in support and opposition. She asked if the City looked into liability if this does pass. She stated that it sounds like people do not like the law and therefore are challenging it, but it seems that the City would expend many more resources to legally challenge this above what would be spent on enforcement. She commented that she does not support this action unless there are numbers and data showing that the City is financially suffering because of the mandate. st Jane Covart, 5621 121 Lane NW, stated that she disagrees with the resolution as she does not believe it undermines basic human rights. She also did not believe City resources are wasted on this. She recognized that everyone is tired of this situation but commented that this is not the right venue for this challenge. She stated that she does not want the City Council to lead this challenge and believed that City funds could be better used in different ways. She stated that the CDC has statistics that support that mask use is beneficial in preventing the spread of illness. She stated that Minnesota has experienced 6,000 deaths and that this pandemic is a marathon, and they are near the end and did not want to see precautions lifted this close to the end. She referenced the next proposed resolution on the agenda and read a statement from the draft resolution. She then read that same language replacing the City with the State which would make it seem that the City would be hypocritical in not following the State but then in its next potential action direct residents and Commissions to follow the Council. Councilmember Woestehoff asked about the resources that the City has been spending on the mask mandate. Police Chief Katers replied that resources were a concern from the beginning. He commented that law enforcement plays a role but recognize that they will not be able to police the health pandemic. He stated that the number of complaints to the Police Department were high in March, April, and May with a total in the past year of 43 complaints related to masks and/or social distancing. He stated that there was one complaint which required follow up with a State regulatory agency. He stated that these were calls for service and noted that law enforcement has asked that the calls not be reported through the 911 system and citizens have been great about that. He did not have a dollar amount or hours spent on those 43 calls. He stated that law enforcement uses education rather than enforcement. He noted that it is always a concern with use of resources as the Ramsey City Council / March 9, 2021 Page 12 of 21