At a meeting on Tuesday, the Haines Borough Assembly passed a series of resolutions and ordinances to mitigate the threat COVID-19 poses for public health and the local economy. The measures include issuing a “shelter in place” order, requiring that people entering the community quarantine for 14 days, extending last week’s emergency declaration and appropriating emergency funds for COVID-19 response.
The emergency resolutions and ordinances the assembly considered at the meeting had been proposed by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), a disaster response team consisting of borough staff and community members that began meeting last week.
While the EOC has the authority to handle day-to-day operational issues, it is not a political body and requires assembly approval for any policy changes it proposes, borough manager and EOC commander Debra Schnabel said. While the Emergency Operations Center can make recommendations for emergency resolutions and ordinances, only the assembly can put them into action.
Some assembly members expressed dissatisfaction with communication between the EOC and the assembly. Assembly member Jerry Lapp said he would like to see drafts of press releases from the Emergency Operations Center before release, and member Brenda Josephson said she would like to be able to listen in on EOC deliberations.
“For the assembly to be shut out of the meetings doesn’t seem right,” Josephson said.
The relationship between the Emergency Operations Center and the assembly is standard across communities, Schnabel said, citing Juneau. Earlier this week, the Juneau assembly passed a “hunker down” resolution proposed by their EOC.
On Tuesday, the Haines assembly considered a similar “shelter in place” resolution requiring that all healthy residents and visitors stay home except when necessary to procure supplies like food, fuel and mail; to engage in outdoor activity or to seek medical attention. Individuals should remain six feet away from other people at all times and make plans to work from home whenever possible. Employees at essential businesses are exempt from this order.
The list of essential businesses is 22 items long and comparable to exemptions in other communities with shelter in place orders like Anchorage and Juneau. Exempt businesses include those that have a role in providing health care, transportation, food, public safety, communications, education, social services and other essential government functions and infrastructure.
The borough’s shelter in place order “is above and beyond what the state is doing,” Josephson said. So far, Alaska has not issued a statewide shelter in place order. She said she liked that the borough is ahead of the curve on taking action to reduce the spread, but that she was hesitant to put the order in place for too long because of the potential negative impact it could have on residents’ mental health.
The assembly unanimously approved the shelter in place order with an April 15 expiration date unless extended. The assembly will reevaluate the order’s necessity at their next meeting on April 14.
The assembly also approved a resolution requiring that all people traveling into the community self-quarantine for 14 days. Quarantine is distinct from sheltering in place. Sheltering in place is for those who are healthy and have not traveled recently. Residents “sheltering in place” are free to move about the community while observing social distancing practices, Schnabel said. People in quarantine are confined to their property.
Assembly member Gabe Thomas, who is on day four of quarantine after returning from vacation, said he would not wish it on anyone.
The Haines quarantine mandate is set to expire on April 30 unless the assembly approves an extension. Critical businesses can apply for employee exemption by submitting a plan for protecting the health and safety of other residents to the borough manager at least 24 hours before the employee enters the community.
The state issued a similar quarantine mandate for residents and travelers entering the state, requiring people to go directly to their residences or lodgings and not leave except for medical emergencies. The state’s mandate includes a fine of $25,000 or up to a year in prison for people who violate quarantine.
The state and borough mandates raised enforcement questions for those at the assembly meeting.
Schnabel said the state’s quarantine mandate, which comes with a penalty, provides no guidance on enforcement. She said the borough will wait for further input from the state before taking steps to enforce the mandate at the local level.
Communities around the country have passed similar shelter in place and quarantine measures, but most mandates tend to rely on the honor system as the sole enforcement mechanism. Media outlets have reported that other countries including Italy, Israel and China are using technology as an enforcement tool. Tactics including electronic wristbands, monitoring social media posts and tracking geolocation data are being used to determine when people are breaking the law.
Assembly member Zephyr Sincerny said quarantine and shelter in place measures could be enforced in Haines by appealing to community members to do their civic duty even if it means a level of self-sacrifice.
“People want to be compliant” once they understand why these measures are necessary, Josephson said. She said the priority should be educating the public rather than punishing those who fail to comply.
The assembly also approved $88,730 in emergency funding to support community response to the pandemic.
The EOC had originally requested $275,000 to support increased personnel hours and to allow the purchase of emergency supplies, including a portable decontamination unit and food to replace the borough’s expired stores. The EOC estimated it would cost $180,000 to compile enough food to feed 500 people for 60 days should supply chains break down.
The assembly approved funding for the decontamination unit, a $500 increase in the fire chief’s monthly stipend and an additional $25,000 to support immediate personnel and supply costs.
Josephson said she would be happy to approve additional funding at the next assembly meeting when the EOC will have a better understanding of resource needs moving forward. She said she would like to see an inventory of borough food supplies before approving any funding to replace the reserve supplies.
Other actions taken by the assembly on Tuesday included:
Extending the emergency declaration Mayor Jan Hill issued on March 17, which was set to expire that day. The assembly will revisit the necessity of the declaration on April 28. Josephson said she thought it was likely the emergency declaration would need to be extended at that time.
Waiving payment of sales and bed taxes for short-term rentals to alleviate costs for travelers required to quarantine in Haines due to the borough’s mandate.
Waiving tour permit fees to encourage businesses to apply for permits for the coming tour season. Many tour operators are anticipating a drop in summer tourism if COVID-19 concerns persist.
Suspending water turn-off for unpaid bills and waiving late fees to allow people to maintain sanitary conditions at home during economically challenging times.
Passing an ordinance allowing borough employees who accrue personal leave to donate their leave to those who work fewer than 20 hours per week, making them ineligible to accrue leave. The change will not cost the borough any money and requires union approval to be available to union employees.
At the meeting, Schnabel said borough staff had already taken action to waive credit card fees for people who choose to pay the borough online. The measure is designed to encourage the use of credit cards to protect borough employees.
Financial aid legislation for businesses and individuals impacted by COVID-19 is taking shape at both the state and federal levels. At present, the Haines Economic Development Corporation is waiting to see what happens with the legislation before putting together a resilience fund at the local level, HEDC executive director Margaret Friedenaur said. Once state and federal policies take shape, HEDC may revisit the idea of a resilience fund to fill in any cracks that exist. She said the organization is currently working to compile data about the economic impact of COVID-19 in Haines.
The assembly meets next on April 14. The shelter in place order will still be in effect at this time. Community members will be able to stream the meeting on the KHNS website or call in.
In the meantime, borough clerk Alekka Fullerton encouraged community members with pertinent information or suggestions related to COVID-19 to contact the borough so she can include these items in future EOC press releases.