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Split Floyd County board quickly turns down mask mandate proposal

Split Floyd County board quickly turns down mask mandate proposal
The Floyd County Board of Supervisors meets in a workshop session Monday, Dec. 7, at the courthouse. The meetings moved to the ground floor assembly room several months ago when the group resumed in-person meetings, so attendees can maintain 6-foot social distancing. From left are County Auditor Gloria Carr and supervisors Linda Tjaden, current Chairman Roy Schwickerath and Doug Kamm. The meetings are also streamed live on WebEx and by telephone. Press photo by Bob Steenson
By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A proposal to require facemasks in the Floyd County courthouse died Tuesday morning almost as quickly as it was introduced, as neither of two other county supervisors supported the motion.

That wasn’t the end of discussion on the issue, however, including whether the motion was even legal to make since it wasn’t specifically on the agenda, but rather was taken up under a regular agenda item called “Review/Action regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) issues as applicable.”

The board has regularly discussed masks and other COVID-19 issues, and its current policy is that it recommends mask use in the courthouse.

On Monday, at the supervisors’ workshop meeting, current Chairman Roy Schwickerath said the time had come to make mask use a requirement in common areas of the courthouse, because of increasing rates of COVID-19 cases and because of the announcement last Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending “universal mask use” in public.

The discussion at Monday’s workshop meeting dealt mostly with how or if a mask requirement would be enforced, with concerns expressed over potential physical confrontations and whether or not the Sheriff’s Office would or should be involved.

When the COVID-19 agenda item came up Tuesday morning, Supervisor Linda Tjaden said she had spoken with Floyd County Public Health Administrator Gail Arjes Monday after the meeting and Supervisor Doug Kamm said he had spoken to Arjes Tuesday before the meeting.

“She said we’re doing everything that has been directed to us based on the governor,” Tjaden said. “She still thinks that every department is doing fine. It’s not like we have been recognized as an outbreak. She really felt that the biggest thing is the 6-foot social distancing and the departments are doing their part. …”

Schwickerath said, “I stated my position yesterday. I’m not going to reiterate it, because you all heard it. I still believe in masks, and I’m going to make the motion.

“I’m going to make a motion that we place “Masks required in all common areas.” That’s the motion,” he said.

When neither Tjaden nor Kamm seconded the motion, Schwickerath quickly said, “OK. Without a second that motion has died.”

At Monday’s workshop meeting, former Supervisor Mark Kuhn — who has pleaded with the board in recent meetings to enact a mask mandate — had questioned whether the board could legally take up a mask motion on Tuesday under the generic coronavirus agenda item, saying it didn’t give people interested in the topic notice that it was being discussed.

According to the Iowa Open Meetings Law and subsequent Iowa court decisions, an agenda to a public meeting must provide notice that is sufficient to inform the public of the specific actions to be taken and matters to be discussed at the meeting.

County Auditor Gloria Carr said she had talked with Assistant County Attorney Randall Tilton after Monday’s meeting and his opinion was that a question of a mask mandate was something that should be specifically listed on the agenda, “because it affects a fair number of people in the county who would have interest in that.”

Open meeting agendas must be posted at least 24 hours in advance, so after the Monday meeting there would not have been enough time to change Tuesday’s already posted agenda to specifically list discussion of a mask requirement.

Schwickerath said he wanted to point out that the board had just approved $75,000 in spending items for the law enforcement center project under the generic agenda item “Review/Action regarding LEC/Courthouse project, contracts and change orders as applicable.”

Schwickerath said he wasn’t suggesting changing anything that would slow down the progress of the law enforcement center and courthouse update project, but of the two, the COVID-19 situation was one that required more flexibility.

“I really think COVID items could rise to the level of things we should be able to address at a meeting as they come up,” he said, noting the new CDC recommendation had been made Friday after the Monday and Tuesday agendas had been posted.

“I think the three of us need to decide, are we comfortable with this or not,” Schwickerath said. “I appreciate input. I appreciate input from the (assistant) county attorney. He is only an opinion. He is not the law. But we need us three to be online with this.”

Tjaden and Kamm both indicated they were comfortable with listing the law enforcement center project and COVID-19 topics as is on the weekly agendas.

Kuhn asked for a minute to speak at Tuesday’s meeting, and questioned why he or members of the public who were listening to the board meeting online or on the phone were not allowed to provide input before Schwickerath ruled the motion on the mask mandate dead.

Schwickerath said the topic had already been discussed at several meetings.

In one meeting last week, the board had spent more than an hour discussing COVID-19 topics with Kuhn.

According to the Iowa Open Meetings Law, government bodies do not have to allow public comment during meetings.

Kuhn also asked why Public Health Administrator Arjes was not at the meeting in person to present her views.

Schwickerath said Arjes “has very clearly made her position to each one of us how she feels about a mask mandate. We could have her here and say the same exact thing but it wouldn’t change anything.”

Schwickerath said he appreciated the job Arjes does, but he doesn’t necessarily agree with her on masks.

Regarding statements made by Tjaden that the board was following the policies set by Gov. Kim Reynolds, Schwickerath said, “I absolutely disagree with how our governor’s done things, and I’ll go on record as saying that. I do not believe our governor has been forceful enough in this issue, and that’s my opinion.”

He continued in that vein for a little while longer until Kamm interrupted, saying, “Are we in a meeting or are you just on a soap box? … I don’t need a lecture on politics.”

Although partisan politics very rarely play a role in the Board of Supervisors’ actions or discussions, Schwickerath did run for his seat as a Democrat and Tjaden and Kamm both ran as Republicans.

Also at the meeting Monday, the board:

• Approved an agreement with the city of Charles City on a new Communications Board as part of a transition eventually bringing the radio dispatch staff from City Hall into the new law enforcement center, and changing the staff from city employees to county employees.

Although the physical move will likely not take place for several months, the goal is to make the dispatch staff county employees effective Jan. 1. The county already reimburses the city for the dispatchers’ pay and benefits, and covers the rest of dispatch costs as well.

As part of the process, the board approved posting the new position of dispatch administrator for 10 days. The plan is to hire that person — likely a member of the current dispatch staff — quickly so the new administrator can help with the rest of the transition.

• Agreed to give county employees the full day off and close the courthouse on Christmas Eve. In recent years the courthouse has closed in the afternoon on Christmas Eve.

Supervisors said they weren’t making the full day off a policy, but agreed that it had been “a rough year.”

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