As mentioned in Part One, local activist Greg Giehl took the opportunity — during the ‘public comment’ portion of the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday — to introduce a ‘Resolution’ that would repeal the BOCC’s ‘Declaration of Public Emergency’ put in place last March. Mr. Giehl justified his proposed resolution by suggesting that we are not actually in the midst of an pandemic at all, and thus the “Declaration of Public Emergency’ is fraudulent.
BOCC chair Ronnie Maez allowed Mr. Giehl to read the full resolution aloud, even though it went beyond the normal three-minute limit.
Typically, when the BOCC invites ‘public comment’ at the start of their regular Tuesday meetings, there are no takers from the public… or possibly, one or two rabble-rousers. But on Tuesday, a large crowd was waiting outside the Administration Building, eager to address the BOCC in hopes of convincing the commissioners to change direction and embrace a full re-opening of the community.
Before we get into those citizen appeals, however, I’d like to share a few comments offered by Commissioner Steve Wadley during a BOCC work session, a few hours earlier that same Tuesday.
“I’m fearful of catching it. I’m fearful of bringing it home. I think everyone has got to be as vigilant as they can with, you know, the masks, the hand-washing. Stay away from the crowds, stay away from the big gatherings.
“We’ve got a tough winter to get through, and there’s not going to be a vaccine this winter — it may come along, but it’s going to take a while…”
Commissioner Ronnie Maez suggested that any vaccine would likely be distributed to big cities along the Front Range, where infection rates have been much higher than in most rural counties.
“I can guarantee you that,” agreed Commissioner Wadley. “And we’ve all got to hunker down and get through this winter. Once springtime comes around, and we can get back outside, it might drop off a little bit, and maybe a vaccine will be available.
“But we’re on our own, and we’ve got us a problem. Try and keep our businesses open and people working. Because if it shuts down again, there’s no more PPP money waiting. And most folks can’t sit there for ten weeks at home, and not pay the rent of anything else.”
“Most people live paycheck to paycheck,” offered Commissioner Maez. “Especially here in Archuleta County.”
During the morning work session, this commissioner conversation was followed by an explanation from County Attorney Todd Weaver of the new Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment restrictions going into effect tomorrow across the state.
I’m not sure how many of the angry taxpayers waiting outside the Administration Office at 1:30pm, waiting for a chance to address the BOCC, were aware that the Archuleta BOCC — in spite of their obvious concerns about what might happen this winter — have not actually put any restrictions in place. None.
I don’t know how many understood that the mask-wearing, social-distancing, closed-businesses, and restricted-occupancy regulations were coming, not from the County government, but from the state government. It would appear from the public comments, that many local citizens — especially, many of the most irate citizens — are confused about that particular distinction.
Here is one of the concerned local residents, speaking on Tuesday:
“I am in favor of the resolution that was read [by Mr. Giehl]. I believe that closing down our community is detrimental and dangerous to all of us. That we, in this small town, cannot afford something like that. It’s taking away the power of the people. Based on everything that I have been reading and learning about this, we are going about it in a fear-based way.
“The more that I see people, who are taking control and closing things down, the more I realize that they are not looking at the whole story. I have evidence, I have papers, you can go online and look at the benefits of wearing masks. Why and why not. The disease. We need to empower ourselves, instead of keeping to fear…
“This is not right. We do not have free access any longer to literature being online. Things are being taken down. When I cannot walk freely, as a healthy human being in my community, without fear of being injured or hurt by somebody who’s scared that they are going to get a virus. Who is not educated. We have to do something to change this.
“You have the ability to help create a healthy, vibrant community. Please, take some action…”
During the half hour or so of public comment, we heard from a dozen business owners, retirees, healthcare professionals, and others. The overwhelming message to the BOCC was, “Get rid of the mask requirements and re-open the economy.”
Unfortunately, these public health orders have come from Governor Polis and the CDPHE, in collaboration with local public health districts, and our Archuleta County BOCC has very little influence, it would seem, over what orders get handed down.
But even if they did have influence… would our commissioners choose to re-open the community, at this stage of the pandemic?
Here’s Rhonda Webb, Pagosa Springs Medical Center CEO, also speaking during Tuesday’s public comments:
“We recently transferred two COVID patients; one we flew to an ICU in Colorado Springs, and one was sent to Mercy Regional [in Durango]. Currently, Mercy has no ICU beds that are staffed. Hospitals always determine how many beds they have, by how many staff they have to take care of the beds. We don’t have an ICU here.
“Denver is getting overwhelmed with patients…
“So I appeal to everyone, to — please — do your part to refrain from spreading this. Yes, the majority won’t get sick from it, but for those people who do get sick, or who die from it, it matters.
“And it matters to me. I have numerous employees who are in quarantine now, who can’t work. I’m going to have trouble having ambulances staffed, because they’ve been exposed. Yes, you can still get it, even if you’re wearing a mask, but you’re less likely to get super sick from it.
“And all I ask is that people try… We’ve got about two weeks, that maybe we can get control of this, or we could end up like what’s happening in other states.
“This is not a hoax.
“I just felt like I had to say that… Thank you, Commissioners, for all that you’ve done…”