OCR Text |
Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, March 18-20, 2020 The Park Record A-7 County makes changes to counter pandemic Top officials have broad powers to address COVID-19 ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record The coronavirus pandemic has significantly altered how local governments are functioning, with public meetings being canceled and postponed, staff working remotely and resources being shifted to mitigate the effects of a public health crisis unparalleled in the county’s modern history. In the wake of emergency measures declared last week, County Manager Tom Fisher and Health Director Rich Bullough have sweeping powers that are not subject to oversight from the County Council, authority perhaps most visibly demonstrated by Bullough’s order Sunday mandating the closure of restaurants and bars except for takeout food service. Bullough is exercising the authority of his position as the local health officer, powers that include closing schools or mandating quarantine, for example. Those powers belong to the office by law and have not been expanded, County Attorney Margaret Olson said. Officials have said that declaring a state of emergency as they did last Thursday allowed the governments to access some federal and state aid and other local municipalities have followed suit, including Park City, Francis and Kamas. Fisher is now empowered to redirect personnel and millions of dollars of county funds to fight the epidemic. On Monday, he re- ported to the County Council that some librarians are now working in the Emergency Operations Center and being trained to answer questions from the public, for example. County Councilor Kim Carson said the emergency powers are broad but necessary for the county to respond to the quickly evolving situation. “I fully support it in this instance” Carson said. “They also don’t do anything without consulting with us. It’s not — we don’t have any ability to approve it, but I think if we told them they were totally off the rails, they’d — I don’t think they’d probably act.” The Emergency Operations Center is set up in the basement of the Health Department facility in Quinn’s Junction under the command of Deputy County Manager Janna Young, Fisher said Monday. She is working alongside Summit County Emergency Manager and Sheriff’s Lt. Alan Siddoway and Park City Emergency Program Manager Mike McComb. The center serves to handle requests for county support in an effort to allow the Health Department to focus on its responsibilities, which include tracking local cases of the coronavirus. “Every other issue associated with this comes to the EOC for triage,” Fisher said, “whether that’s from businesses asking questions about how do I comply with the order … (or) just a general citizen if they have questions.” Fisher said the center is akin to incident command during a search-and-rescue effort or a natural disaster, and Carson said the last time the county set one up was in 2013 for the Rockport Fire. The county is following the advice it’s given to local businesses, Fisher said, encouraging employees to work remotely and canceling meetings or other public gatherings. County Clerk Kent Jones reported that his office isn’t processing passport applications or marriage licenses, but it is keeping the filing window for people seeking public office open until Thursday as scheduled. Other governments around the county are delaying normal operations, as well, with some East Side municipalities canceling public meetings, the South Summit School Board limiting attendance at its board meetings to 25 people with the rest encouraged to stream the meeting on Facebook Live and the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission canceling its Thursday meeting. The county is looking at how to host meetings virtually, Fisher said. “(With) the average age of the East Side Planning Commission, I don’t want them all in the same room at the same time and so we’ve got to come up with something different,” he said. Postponing or canceling public meetings will start to affect the functioning of county government, Council Chair Doug Clyde said. “There’s not much on our agenda but there are items such as plats, etc., that are coming up in Planning Commission that are obviously crucially important (to the landowners),” he said. And with the massive financial effects mounting daily, Clyde said the county government should focus on how to return to normalcy. “Something we need to think about every day: How are we going to reverse this?” Clyde said. officials are encouraging people with business with the municipal government to contact staffers via email or over the phone. “The closure of non-essential municipal services and facilities has been coordinated with our partners from Summit County and the Park City School District in order to provide clarity and consistency for the public. While I understand that some of the precautionary measures may be an inconvenience, they are being implemented out of an abundance of caution. Once again, we appreciate the community’s patience, understanding, and support,” Park City Manager Matt Dias said in a prepared statement released by the municipal government. City Hall said the move to close the buildings and reduce public services align with the efforts at the state, county and school district levels. The full closure of the Municipal Athletic & Recreation Center was announced shortly after an official said it would remain open but not offer some of the normal programs, an indication that the talks within the City Hall ranks became more urgent on Friday. Summit County, meanwhile, took similar measures, closing its recreational facilities, the county library branches and the Summit County Historical Museum to public services on Friday evening. The closures will remain in place until further notice. County officials said the decision was made in light of Gov. Gary Herbert’s announcement earlier in the day that public schools throughout the state be dismissed for two weeks, a closure that started Monday. send out one-time checks to help families meet their own shortterm needs and bolster the economy, similar to actions Congress took during recessions in 2001 and 2008, he said in a statement. He’ll push that and other proposals, like temporary required coverage of remote telehealth services, as discussions continue about additional coronavirus relief, he said. The proposals come after the closure of ski resorts and the announcement that a bartender in Park City tested positive for coronavirus, marking the first community spread in the state. That case and the fact that Park City is a major tourist destination played into the closure decision, said Summit County Health Officer Rich Bullough. That raises the risk of transmission from people bringing it in as well as tourists potentially leaving and spreading elsewhere. Health officials in three neigh- boring counties — Uintah, Daggett and Duchesne — asked people to avoid all non-essential travel outside of the area on Monday. The closure is in place until April 16, Summit County health officials said. Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Washington state and New York City are among other places that have ordered bars to close and restaurants to stop dine-in service. In Utah, 28 people had tested positive for coronavirus as of Sunday night, according to state health officials. There have been no deaths. The coronavirus, deemed a pandemic by the World Health Organization, infected more than 150,000 people and killed over 5,700. The disease for most people causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness. The vast majority recover. City, county restrict services Libraries, other buildings closed due to outbreak JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record Park City officials on Friday closed the Park City Ice Arena, the Park City Library and the Park City Municipal Athletic & Recreation Center, a dramatic step to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. City Hall also said it planned to reduce the public’s access to services at the Marsac Building, the Police Department and the Public Works Building. It said there will be limited staffing at the public buildings that remain open and Romney has $1,000 idea Senator wants feds to give a check to all Americans BRADY MCCOMBS LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated PRess SALT LAKE CITY — Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is proposing $1,000 checks for every American. This comes amid the shutdown of bars, restaurants and resorts in many places in the country, including some of Utah’s most popular areas. Salt Lake County restaurants will close to diners late Monday, though takeout and food delivery will still be available, according to officials who declared a public-health emergency. Grocery stores will remain open, though any seating areas will close. Romney, meanwhile, wants to LL Bean shuts down stores Associated Press FREEPORT, Maine — L.L. Bean is closing all of its retail stores across the country, including its flagship store in Freeport, Maine, to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. CEO Steve Smith said the closings will begin at midnight and continue through March 29. It’ll be the first time the 24hour flagship store in Freeport has closed for more than 24 hours, and only the fifth time the store has closed, Smith said. All store employees will receive pay and benefits during the closure, he said. “By making this decision now, we can better ensure the safety of our employees and customers, as we all continue to navi- gate a rapidly evolving situation and follow the CDC’s guidelines around the importance of social distancing,” he wrote. The company’s warehouse and shipping operations remain open, so customers can place orders online or call a toll-free number, he said. The outdoors retailer has more than 5,000 workers in Maine and at locations around the world. Studies show that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned business, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community. |