City Council

MINUTES OF THE CITY OF BRISTOL,TENNESSEE CALLED CITY COUNCIL MEETING April 24, 2020 CALL TO ORDER: The City of Bristol, Tennessee Called City Council Meeting was called to order by Mayor Margaret Feierabend at 10:05 a.m. on April 24, 2020. The meeting was held electronically via Zoom. ROLL CALL: Present were Mayor Margaret Feierabend, Vice Mayor Mahlon Luttrell, Councilman Chad Keen, Councilwoman Lea Powers, and Councilman Vince Turner. Others present were City Manager William L. Sorah, City Attorney Danielle Smith, and City Recorder Tara Musick. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: A. Discussion of Necessity for Conducting Electronic Meeting: City Attorney Danielle Smith explained the changes to the open meeting laws. Mayor Feierabend asked if anyone on Council objected to holding an electronic meeting. No one objected since the electronic meeting is necessary to protect public safety, health, and welfare due to the Coronavirus pandemic. B. Sullivan County Regional Health Department Update: Mr. Gary Mayes, Sullivan County Regional Health Department Executive Director, thanked Council for inviting him to the meeting. He said that working with City Manager Sorah and staff has been wonderful. The Governor announced on Monday his intent to lift the Safer at Home Order. Governor Lee said he would work with the Sullivan County Regional Health Department on a reopening plan. Mr. Mayes stated they would work with the Governor and the Governor's standards would be adhered to as a minimum. He thinks the Sullivan County plan will closely mirror the Governor's plan with some enhancements for our community. Testing and follow-up capacity is being increased. The most important element of moving forward is keeping the number of cases trended down logarithmically over a fourteen-day period. Influenza like symptoms (ILI) are being monitored and are at a baseline right now. Dr. Stephen May, Sullivan County Regional Health Department Medical Director, stated the State of Tennessee continues to have rises of new cases. Most of those cases are being identified in central and west Tennessee. There is an overall death rate of about 2% in Tennessee whereas the national death rate is over 5%. The Health Department is testing about a hundred people per day. Testing will be held at the Slater Center on April 30^^. They have seen no positives in asymptomatic individuals. Social distancing has worked. They are now trying to focus on contact tracing. The level of personal protective equipment(PPE) has increased. We are at a much different place than  Called City Council Meeting April 24, 2020 Page 2 of 5 where we were four weeks ago. Moving forward, we will see more cases as people interact and social distancing and disease control measures must still be used and kept in place. The disease is not going away. Councilman Vince Turner asked other than mirroring the State, what differences might be planned for this area and then referenced the Governor's order about restaurants and retail stores opening at half capacity. Mr. Mayes said the health order that Dr. May is currently working on would include these standards at minimum. They know the region very well and there could be some nuances where other businesses may be able to open. We are clearly in phase one of the federal guidelines of'Opening Up America Again'. At a minimum, we will be where the Governor is, but there may be nuances in their order that would allow more businesses to open. They are handicapped at the moment because they do not know the Governor's plans yet and are looking at the federal government scorecard which cannot be exceeded. Mayor Feierabend said that guidelines should be coming from the State task force. Hopefully, standards for industry will roll out today. Councilwoman Lea Powers asked when we should start counting the days for a decrease in the number of cases and percentages. Mr. Mayes said he does not know,but he assumes the Governor's count could begin when he lifts the order which could be on April 27^'\ The logarithmic trend line for new cases in Sullivan County meets those requirements going back to mid-March. We should see an increase in the number of cases because we are testing more every day in addition to more people moving about. The goal is that even with increased cases, to keep the logarithmic trend line down. Councilwoman Powers asked if not renewing the State order was the same thing as lifting the order. Mr. Mayes said that was his understanding as well. Sullivan County will release an order that will be closely aligned with the Governor. They have to work within the federal guidelines, utilizing their metrics in order to be able to move through the phases and this is how Sullivan County will be monitored and move forward. It is important to note that where we were in February is drastically different than where we are today. The lockdown,citizens doing what they are supposed to, and the local governments working well together gave them time to gather resources and become better prepared. We have had a huge amount of success that has put us in this position. Flopefully, we can control the situation and move into phase two expeditiously. Locally, we are working as though we are in phase one and the Governor has announced that Tennessee is in phase one and the President has spoken to that as well. Councilman Chad Keen asked if Ballad Health was involved in testing in Sullivan County. Dr. May explained where their labs are being sent and they are seeing a 48-hour turnaround. Ballad Health is working with the Health Department in testing emergency cases to obtain quicker results. Dr. May said that the statistical numbers released by the state health department include data from all tests at all facilities, but there may be a slight delay due to the daily cutoff. The information can be viewed at in.gov/hcalth. Councilman Turner asked if someone in Bristol, Virginia can come to one of the testing sites to be tested. Dr. May said they will test anyone that presents symptoms and information for any positive cases will be forwarded to the appropriate state health department / epidemiologist for the contact tracing. Councilman Turner asked where the nearest testing site is in Virginia. Dr. May said that  Called City Council Meeting April 24, 2020 Page 3 of 5 southwest Virginia is way behind testing and not as far along as the testing capability in Tennessee. Mr. Mayes clarified that this is not their fault. Virginia has not received the supplies like Tennessee has received. Mayor Feierabend talked about the City's order and what should be done. Councilwoman Powers asked Mr. Mayes to clarify if what Sullivan County will do will be more or less stringent than the State. He said that he cannot really answer without more guidance on what the Governor is doing. He said the governments in Northeast Tennessee have really been working well with Ballad Flealth. The Mayor said that the public is still scared. We should continue to promote our pride as Appalachians and be a shining star for our state. This is very much dependent on our citizens continuing social distancing measures. Mr. Mayes said this has been one team effort and complimented City Manager Sorah and staff. There is still anxiety but he thinks we will have success. C. Ballad Health Update; Greg Neal, Chief Executive Officer of Bristol Regional Medical Center, provided a PowerPoint presentation on Ballad Health's COVID-19 response. Fie detailed the Corporate Emergency Operations Center. The news and updates process was discussed regarding how information was being distributing to the public via daily briefings, press conferences twice a week, and social media alerts. Nurses are available 24 hours/7 days a week for COVID screenings via the Nurse Connect line. Screenings are being done for all patients and visitors to the building. PPE preservation has been very important. The supply chain has been aggressively sourcing and continuously monitoring inventory. There have been requests for donations of handmade masks from the community. N95 masks have been reprocessed. Surgical masks and PPE conservation has been practiced. An alternate triage/emergency department has been established in the Conference Center in case they have a surge that overwhelms capacity in the main emergency room. Testing capacity started via drive-thru on March 14^^. In-house rapid testing capabilities for 400 tests per day started this week. Visitation is being restricted in most circumstances, but a few exceptions have been made for deliveries and end of life. He reviewed the census and statistics across the Ballad Health system as well as capacity. Bristol Regional Medical Center has capacity for 66 COVID patients and 35 ventilators. They have a dedicated area for COVID patients and suspected cases. Nonemergency procedural case postponement was effective as of March 23^^*. A total of six Ballad Health urgent care centers were temporarily closed. Hospitalized outpatient usage has decreased up to 70% in some areas. Highly acute emergency visits are down 40%. There has been significant revenue loss in the current quarter. The comprehensive telehealth program was discussed and virtual urgent care has been implemented. Staffing was reviewed and 1,300 team members were temporarily furloughed including 146 at Bristol Regional Medical  Called City Council Meeting April 24, 2020 Page 4 of 5 Center. They temporarily reduced compensation for senior leadership and employed medical staff and have guaranteed paid hours for bedside care employees. Dr. Chad Couch, Chief Medical Officer at Bristol Regional Medical Center, discussed the plans to resume operations. He talked about the convalescent plasma donations which is a research project in coordination with the Mayo Clinic. Quality metrics ofinfection prevention were reviewed. There is a concern because people are forgoing healthcare services due to COVID-19, which could lead to major surgeries, lengthy hospital stays, and death. Symptoms could be warning signs for major events. It is safe to visit the hospital and Ballad Health has steps in place to protect you. Vice Mayor Luttrell asked if staff was being tested. Dr. Couch said they are screening but are not currently testing non-symptomatic staff members. This is in accordance with CDC guidelines. Councilman Turner said we are more than prepared if we do have a surge and everyone should feel comfortable that we have the ability to take care of a surge. He thanked Ballad for doing a good job. Mr. Neal said they received word earlier today that antibody testing will be available at Ballad Health and will be set up as soon as all the resources are received. D. Bristol Tennessee City Schools Update: Mayor Feierabend hopes that things look better for the future. She asked Dr. Annette Tudor, Director of Bristol Tennessee City Schools,for an update. Dr. Tudor explained the feeding program and when and how meals were being provided. She stated that students cannot receive a grade lower than when they left school, but unfortunately students will not be returning this school year. Councilman Turner asked about the status of prom and graduation and how they will be handled. Dr. Tudor replied that they are still in discussions and reviewing a variety of options. They are planning something but she cannot divulge specifics at this point. Graduation is their first priority. The prom may happen later in the summer. Mayor Feierabend expressed her appreciation for the school system and for parents who are trying to educate at home. Councilman Turner and Mayor Feierabend congratulated Dr. Tudor on her new position as the Director of Schools. E. City Manager Report: City Manager Bill Sorah said the Vance Middle School project will be reviewed during the City Council meeting on April 28^^. He discussed the new orders of the Sullivan County Health Department. He and Mayor Feierabend will be asked on Monday to approve an order. City Council will then need to ratify the order if the new ordinance passes during the scheduled meeting. Future meeting schedules were discussed.  Called City Council Meeting April 24, 2020 Page 5 of5 F. Council Comments: Councilwoman Powers said it is important that people have as much information as they can. She assumes a plan will be announced next Monday. Mayor Feierabend said that guidance will need to come out next week to provide some clarity. The Sullivan County Regional Health Department will need to issue guidance first. City Manager Sorah said that absent a detailed plan from Sullivan County, the best guidance to provide constituents would be to refer them to the Governor's plan. Councilman Keen said it will be easier for some stores to open up than others and suggested that stores use signage to communicate. Mayor Feierabend emphasized it is important to take care ofeverybody and our citizens. Councilman Turner commented it is good news. Vice Mayor Luttrell stated we are very fortunate to have the health resources that we do. He encouraged people to reach out and to check on their neighbors. Mayor Feierabend said that people may have problems getting PPE. If you are part of a vulnerable population, you are encouraged to stay home and to limit getting out. The CDC guidelines are more critical now than they were several weeks ago. She looks forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday morning. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m. by Mayor Feierabend. j^^argaret Feierabend, Mayor Tara E. Musick, City Recorder