Agenda - Council - 04/13/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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gravity. He asked if decisions are being made based on the truth and asked the effectiveness of wearing a mask to prevent the spread of COVID. He stated that in the absence of hard facts and truth it becomes difficult. He stated that if masks work, how many masks are needed. He asked if the COVID statistics are accurate or whether those were altered or manipulated. He asked if the COVID testing is accurate. He referenced the youth sports requirements noting that participants are required to wear a mask and not required to wear masks at certain times but cannot shake hands. He stated that in America there is liberty and what makes the country great is the liberty to make choices for your own life. He stated that people should make the choice as to whether they feel it is safe to leave their home, whether they feel masks work to prevent the spread of COVID, and make their choices appropriately. He stated that if masks work, people that wear them should be protected even if others choose not to wear them. He stated that liberty is the only fair solution in difficult times such as these. He stated that everyone has the liberty to take the precautions they feel necessary to protect themselves and their family and the government taking away those liberties is not the right solution. He stated that he supports the resolution to not enforce the mask mandate. Bill Erhart stated that good arguments were made related to masks, whether they were right or wrong. He commented that the amount of time being spent on this is taking away from other City business. He stated that he was struck on how clear the City Attorney referenced the law as it relates to the adopted resolution. He stated that the City Attorney was hired by the City and should be given respect on his position. He recognized that it is fun to get up and tip the government and get people going. He recognized that there are a lot of people here that support getting rid of masks. He stated that if the ramifications are unknown it can cause a lot of problems. He wondered if the City Attorney is right and there are ramifications for this action, who would be responsible for those costs; and whether it would be those that voted in favor. He stated that there are a lot of people here that do not like government or taxes. He stated that Councilmember Specht is the representative of his Ward and asked if he would be making a contribution if there are legal fees or whether the residents would be asked to pay for that. He believed that there were better things for the City to focus on, noting the focus should be police, fire and roads rather than spending this time on masks. He commented that he does not like masks but asked people to think about the costs that would be incurred. He commented that this is not the right forum for that discussion. Jonathon Kent, 14513 Moonlight Hill Road in Minnetonka, commented that like many others he is present to speak of the resolution related to the mask mandate. He commented on the discord and disrespect of some of the people in attendance tonight. He stated that he finds it striking, remarkable, and disrespectful that there was someone that lived through an atrocity and shared her experiences and rather than being in a mode of listening people were rolling their eyes and scoffing. He commented that regardless of how you feel about an issue, you should have respect for someone especially when speaking about an experience of that nature. He spoke to Councilmember Howell and commented that he was hoping to hear remorse from her given her comments at the last meeting. He stated that it seems that she has learned very little from the comments of someone that lived through an internment camp and urged her to ponder that and work on listening rather than speaking of a history that she does not have working knowledge of. He stated that the analogy that he would offer in similarity would be likening the seatbelt law to shadow slavery. He stated that is essentially what Councilmember Howell has done. He stated that basic fact checking and Google search can show that Dr. Fauci has stated that mask wearing City Council / March 23, 2021 Page 6 of 24