Agenda 04-05-22; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 1 Commissioner Richards asked if the state of emergency declaration for COVID-19 was 2 done in consultation with the Board. 3 Travis Myren said that he thought it was done by the Board Chair at the time, in 4 consultation with the mayors. 5 Commissioner Richards said that this presented a good opportunity to rethink the 6 process since the standard process seems to be setup for a snowstorm, for example. 7 Commissioner McKee said there was no consultation with the Board because that was 8 the process in the past. He said that some states of emergency need quick action. He said that 9 the Board delegates the authority to the Chair to make these declarations because they need to 10 be able to implement them quickly, in the event of a standard state of emergency. He said that 11 he thinks that it is proper to continue in that fashion. He noted that COVID-19 presented a 12 different scenario, and he has no issue in how the declarations were issued up until now, but 13 that he wants to review how to go forward. He said he would like to allow Board input at some 14 point in time in future, long-term emergency declarations. He asked when the current 15 declaration ends. 16 Chair Price said it has been extended until May 1, 2022. 17 Commissioner McKee said in this case that he favors allowing the Board to weigh in 18 before extending the declaration or requiring masks again. He said it is a unique situation and 19 has no bearing on other states of emergency. He said he thinks they need a policy to determine 20 what is delegated to the Chair. 21 Chair Price asked when federal and state mandates expire. 22 Travis Myren said the federal transportation declaration was extended through April 18th 23 and said he was unsure about medical facilities. 24 Chair Price asked about the deadline for reimbursement for federal funds. 25 Travis Myren said eligible expenditures are ending soon. He said the declaration does 26 not have to be open during the entire expenditures period. 27 Commissioner Hamilton said she agreed about the importance for the Board to have 28 input emergencies like COVID that have a wide impact on the community. She asked how they 29 could put the policy in place. She said her reading of the policy says the chair can put the 30 declaration in place, but changes could be made by the Board. She said it would be helpful to 31 have guidance for Board input. 32 John Roberts said the Board has authority to direct the Chair to amend, rescind, or 33 extend any declaration. He said they could add language that says something along the lines 34 that "any declaration that extends past 10 days shall come back to the Board at a business 35 meeting for determination on how long it should be kept in place." He said that the board does 36 have an authority to direct how the declaration will go forward by directing the chair. 37 Commissioner Greene said she did not know the Board had that power. She said that 38 the County Attorney's suggestion about amending the language for duration and Board review 39 makes sense. She said for something that is beyond a hurricane, or natural disaster, and like 40 the pandemic that is becoming a part of life, maybe 30 days could be the duration that 41 discussion should go to the Board. 42 John Roberts said he can only remember two events in the last 13 years that extended 43 beyond the five days that they are automatically terminated by the ordinance. He said that if 44 they set a 30-day window, that maybe they would never have to use it. 45 Chair Price said that emergencies on the coast can impact communities for a long time. 46 Commissioner Bedford said she is concerned. She said that she does not think it should 47 be automatic that a declaration come back to the board. She said that it might make more sense 48 to ask the manager to work with the emergency services department because they have 49 protocols and that would take the politics out of the decision. She suggested that the County 50 Manager work with staff to determine when and why declarations should be extended, ended, or 51 brought before the Board. She said an emergency should never be political.