Because of the coronavirus outbreak among employees at City Hall and public employment facilities, Encinitas City Council will be terribly back into virtual meetings for the foreseeable future, council members decided during a special meeting Wednesday, May 18th.
The vote was 4-0 with Mayor Catherine Blakespear not present, and that’s after City Administrator Pamela Antilles informed the council that if it doesn’t do now, the city could become an “epidemic” to become a “major epidemic,” as defined. by state health regulations. If this happens, Antil added, city facilities will be forced to close under state health guidelines.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly known as Cal / OSHA, defines an “outbreak” as three or more cases of coronavirus in an “exposed group” of employees within a 14 -day period. Encinitas now has that status for City Hall and its public employment facility on Calle Magdalena, but the city’s senior center facility has no reported cases, Antil said.
A “major outbreak” was defined by the state as 20 or more employees of COVID-19 cases in the “exposed group” within 30 days.
The council’s decision to go to a virtual general meeting held at Zoom became effective Wednesday, May 18, leading the council to reschedule items that need to be heard at 6 p.m. Wednesday meeting. The items, including the election of a new town planning commissioner, have been moved to a meeting next week, which will be held remotely at Zoom.
When emergency orders prohibit private public meetings for the next 30 days, city buildings will remain open to people who wish to obtain permits or other city services.
Council members said Wednesday afternoon, May 18, that they don’t want virtual, but later they should do it.
“The last thing I want is not personally,” said Council Member Joy Lyndes, adding that although he doesn’t want virtual, he feels the council should take “responsible” decisions and follow state guidelines.
Councilor Tony Kranz noted that the number of regional coronavirus cases has increased exponentially recently and the decision to avoid it was good because City Hall is a renovated mall building that does not have good air circulation.
“As of now, it seems to me that what is really done is for the virtual,” he said.
Council member Kellie Shay Hinze, who is seven months pregnant, said that it’s not a preference for virtual, but after she found it rather scary lately at a city meeting because the number of coronavirus cases in the area is rising.
Council member Joe Mosca said that it was not desirable to go back to some coronavirus bans in advance, but after that the wise decision showed that two city facilities already have an outbreak now.
Before the vote, council members heard from two people who strongly opposed the move.
Bruce Ehlers, who is nominating the New Encinitas / Olivenhain District 4 City Council seat, and Cindy Cremona, who is nominating for mayor, said council members are trying to silence their opponents by going to a virtual meeting.
Ehlers called the council’s move an “extreme step” and said that the city should hold hybrid meetings where city employees participate almost with the general public present in person. He stated that Lyndes and Kranz recently attended a room mixer and said that if they attend another general meeting they don’t need to be virtual for a City Council meeting.
His comments led Kranz to say that the room event was an outdoor meeting, not indoors.
Cremona said that virtual is not the same as personal, especially when controversial topics are on the board’s agenda. He mentions how many angry people showed up for a recent meeting where the board voted to remove Ehlers from the Planning Commission’s leadership point.
“You won’t feel very hot,” if the meeting was held almost, he thought.
