Special City Council Meeting

MINUTES Special City Council Meeting Friday, April 17, 2020 at 2:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57104 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Paul TenHaken called the meeting to order at 2 p.m. 1. MEETING ROLL CALL Present: Council Member Marshall Selberg, Council Member Curt Soehl (via telecon), Council Member Pat Starr, Council Member Theresa Stehly, Council Member Janet Brekke (via telecon), Council Member Christine M. Erickson, Council Member Rick Kiley (via telecon), Council Member Greg Neitzert, Mayor Paul TenHaken Absent: None 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE DISCUSSION TOPIC(S) 3. EOC Update Jill Franken, Public Health Director, began the presentation by thanking Tom Greco, City Clerk, and others for the changes that were made to the Council Chambers. An update was provided on Covid-19 cases. She said that today there were 93 new cases in Minnehaha County, 6 in Lincoln County, a total of 1,157 case in Minnehaha County, 77 in Lincoln County, for a total of 1,234 in both counties. Franken spoke about revising, for the next operational period, the Operational objectives for the Implement Action Plan of the Emergency Operations Center. The first objectives are to review, assess and implement the public health measures necessary for Covid-19 management. The second is to coordinate with health care agencies to support and expand their services and capacity. The third objective is to provide coordinated and proactive public information about Covid-19 facts, risks and protective action. The fourth objective is to coordinate strategies to manage the economic impact to the Sioux Falls community. The fifth objective is to execute and adjust City of Sioux Falls Department continuity plans to ensure continued essential functions can be maintained through various phases including mitigation, surge, peak, and recovery. Franken said, lastly to assist organizations that serve the most at risk and vulnerable population in our community. Regan Smith, Emergency Manager, said the Covid-19 Planning team was developed, began meeting regularly and sharing information in late January and the City  Emergency Operations Center opened on March 13th. The multi-agency coordination team is conducting daily operations briefings, with more than 40 community response partners, issue daily situational reports, introduced an incident and action plan. Smith reviewed the roles and members of the Unified Command. Discussion followed about a staff member of Sanford Hospital and the role of the VA. 4. Data Modeling Review Mayor Paul TenHaken turned the chair over to Council Chair Marshall Selberg. TenHaken provided an overview of the importance of the modeling presentation. He explained several facts and assumptions that went into the proposal of a Stay at Home ordinance. Recently, however, as modeling continued to progress, the situation changed in that during the peak/surge of the virus in Sioux Falls, local hospitals feel they can meet the COVID demand. Accordingly, the Mayor indicated the City would look to enhance the no lingering ordinance opposed to passage of a stay at home ordinance. He reiterated the importance of data modeling and encouraged the Council to continue monitoring such data. The presentation provided at this meeting reflects the most recent data available and the conclusions arrived at were made in coordination with healthcare partners. The Council engaged in an extensive discussion about the presentation. Aileen Profir, Geographic Information Systems Specialist, provided the presentation which included a discussion of the methodology used and graphical depictions of flattening the curve with increased social disctancing. She then discussed the model used, the COVID-19 Health Impact Model for Epidemics (CHIME), and City of Sioux Falls parameters used in said model. Profir then spoke about hospital resource needs and compared social distancing scenarios (no social distancing, 25% reduction in social contact, and a 35% reduction in social contact.) Data was shown which indicates changes in social distancing since the implementation of current measures. From March 23 to April 5, data showed about a 25% decrease in overall travel compared to the same time period in 2019. During the first week of April, mobility data indicates a much smaller reduction (less than 10%) compared to the same period last year. A reduction in the percentage of social distancing would cause a shift in our modeled peak to an increased number of infections, hospitalizations, and critical care patients. Profir further explained how 35% social distancing would reduce the number of critical care beds needed. 5. Questions and discussion regarding the proposed “Stay At Home” order Ten Haken requested that the “Stay At Home” ordinance be either withdrawn or voted down. He requested that the Council bring any amendments, for the ordinance, to the existing no lingering ordinance if it will enhance it. Discussion followed regarding: UV light and its effect towards fighting the virus and sanitizing items; drinking room temperature water and gargling with salt water to combat the virus, no evidence found that it works; what can be done to minimize the impact on everyone; essential businesses vs. those that aren’t; a resolution to set recommendations for what is good for the community; what to do to cut back the curve by 35%; ask for voluntary compliance; have to get people back to work; what amendments does the Mayor want to see; set policy with the maximum effectiveness; the issue is where people gather in mass; do we need to check temperatures or have people wear masks in businesses;  whistleblowers; can we hand out masks before people enter into businesses; goal not to overwhelm hospitals; pass resolution with strong recommendations on what residents should do; emergency appropriations to fund ads, telling the public of what we need them to do; employee hotline to report a problem; consider adopting the ordinance, but delay the implementation date and for it to have a sunset; in case of an emergency how soon couldn’t something happen with an ordinance/resolution; nothing that the Council can do the move the spike; the public has stated that this is as far as they want us to go; encouraged by the slow growth of infection; need to continue to self-monitor and social distance; need to watch hospital rates; more needs to be added to the “No Lingering” ordinance; a suggestion would be that “Businesses not bound by the limitation of ten or fewer patrons as originally set forth in Ordinance No. 29-20 should, whenever possible, limit their patron and employee occupancy to no more than 20% of their posted occupancy and institute a safe social distancing strategy for employees and customers outside of their place of business and waiting to enter”; adding items to the “No Lingering” ordinance; the “No Loitering” ordinance; the City could help company’s get people’s temperatures checked; and could consider putting the CDC guidelines into ordinance and following that instead of creating ordinances. ADJOURNMENT Council Chair Marshall Selberg adjourned the meeting at 5:45 p.m. Thomas M. Greco, City Clerk