It took more than two hours of debate, but Denton City Council members Tuesday extended the disaster declaration that mandates how some businesses mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
It was not a unanimous vote, however. At times during the work session and special meeting, members could not agree on what language should be removed from the previous order and added to or maintained in the council’s succeeding order.
“There are three options that staff has put together for council,” city spokeswoman Sarah Kuechler said. “Currently, we are on the Ninth Order of council and that is in effect until Sept. 30. There are a number of items still in the order that are no longer in effect. Not all items are still necessary.”
That was a point of contention and confusion among council members, largely because the orders have been extended since March and circumstances have changed as the pandemic worsens and Gov. Greg Abbott lessens capacity restrictions on businesses while he maintains an executive order (GA-29) issued in July requiring residents to wear face coverings “in public spaces in counties with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases, with few exceptions.”
The order also gives mayors and county judges the ability to impose restrictions on some outdoor gatherings of over 10 people … and (they) must maintain six feet of social distancing from others.”
The council’s Tenth Order features one central change from the Ninth Order.
“We no longer have a mandate … that requires a business to require wearing face masks,” Chris Watts said.
But it doesn’t matter, council members argued, because the governor’s order supersedes any ordinance the Denton City Council adopts.
“We haven’t heard from every business in the city of Denton,” council member Jesse Davis said. “But the majority that we’ve heard from … have been thankful that we are looking out for their safety. The more we look out for their health, the more we are looking out for our health.”
What hasn’t changed is the city’s insistence that business owners maintain health and safety plans and that signs are posted on their properties about such plans.
“If our requirement is that a business has a health and safety plan in place, that it requires signage encouraging compliance with that whatever the governor’s order has, that will get us there.”
Kuechler said that staff members developed three options for extending the declaration of disaster. One included maintaining the health and safety plan requirement. Another involved extending the declaration but not adopting a new order, removing language in the existing order that are “no longer in effect and no longer needed, recommending extending the declaration through Dec. 31 and increasing the spending authority to $2.75 million. The final option was removing the order and not extending the declaration.
Council members chose what Mayor Pro Tem Gerard Hudspeth called “one of two bad choices” — extending the declaration to Dec. 31 and increasing the spending authority to $2.75 million.
“I just don’t understand the need to reiterate that you have whatever you have in place,” he said. “I think existing businesses were already under the mandate before.” The health and safety plan for each business “is a legacy document that you’ve already had in place. You don’t forget what you’ve learned.”
That argument eventually evolved into whether Abbott’s order should be expressly stated in each health and safety plan. But that didn’t happen. Instead, the governor’s requirements are referenced in the extension.
“Signs must be posted at entrances,” Kuechler said. “This is simply for staff to be educated and enforce that businesses have proper signage.”
After Hudspeth questioned whether the city’s code enforcement officers could cite those businesses that do not comply with the governor’s orders, Kuechler said they do not have that power.
“Our code enforcement officers are not enforcing the governor’s orders. They do not have that authority. They are not peace officers.”
The council’s Tenth Order “incorporates the face covering and social distancing requirements of gubernatorial order GA-29 as it may be amended, preempted or superseded. The policy may include the implementation of other mitigating measures designed to control and reduce the transmissions of COVID-19 such as temperature checks or health screenings.”
Effectively, the Tenth Order is an extension of Abbott’s order. Denton officials have issued no citations since the council’s first declaration of disaster was issued in March. Kuechler said that is unlikely to change, although the order provides that “in accordance with city ordinance, violations … may be enforced by Denton police officers, building enforcement officers, zoning compliance officers, or community improvement services officers.”
Such enforcement would come through education — not penalties, officials said.
But “I think that’s a fatal flaw,” Hudspeth said. “We’re sticklers for writing things so that everyone is abundantly clear.”
Unlike Abbott’s order, the Tenth Order does not include penalties for civil violations.
“Following a verbal or written warning for a first-time violator of this face-covering requirement, a person’s second violation shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $250. Each subsequent violation shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 per violation.”
Council member Deb Armintor was one of six to vote for the Tenth Order. But like the other elected officials, it came after many questions.
“I want to extend my very strong support of extending the declaration and that … we extend the mask ordinance,” she said. “It is working, even though I have been public in my concern that I don’t feel that it’s being enforced enough. It is being effective beyond my expectations. Wearing a mask is becoming normalized, and things have gotten a lot better.”
Just before council members voted, Watts appeared to have lost patience for the prolonged debate.
“I’ve got to be honest. I think we’ve made this way too complicated. We are saying we are not putting a mask requirement on businesses. I’m probably not going to support this. I just think it makes it too complicated. I think everybody understands we have a state-ordered mandate. I’m just expressing my frustration and sentiment.”
Watts voted against the declaration and order as presented. Along with Armintor, John Ryan, Davis, Hudspeth, Paul Meltzer and Keely Briggs supported it.
The Tenth Order and archived meeting video can be accessed at cityofdenton.com.
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