The Wrangell Borough Assembly convened via teleconference last Monday evening, April 6, to discuss a new proposed emergency ordinance. This new ordinance would institute three local health mandates related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and would hopefully mitigate the risk of the virus spreading to the community. Emergency Ordinance No. 977 would require a 14-day self-quarantine for all intrastate travelers coming to Wrangell, allow for a modified quarantine plan for critical workforce, and require that critical workforce travelers submit a travel safety and modified quarantine plan be submitted to the city for approval prior to traveling.
If arriving by air, the ordinance reads, quarantine is supposed to begin the day the plane lands in Wrangell. Travelers by sea would have their quarantine begin the day their vessel left the most recent port of call prior to arriving in Wrangell. The ordinance goes on to explain that businesses and individuals who qualify as eligible for travel as critical workforce infrastructure are required to submit a travel safety and modified quarantine plan to the borough for approval at least 48 hours in advance. The borough is also required to review and respond to the plan within 48 hours. If the borough requests an amendment to said plans, which the assembly amended during the meeting to allow the traveler to request an amendment too, the borough must respond to the proposed amendment within 24 hours. The ordinance was set to sunset in October, or upon COVID-19 no longer being declared an emergency.
There were several questions around this ordinance. During the "persons to be heard" portion of the meeting, Wrangell resident Brennon Eagle said that there were several items that needed clarifying. What is the definition of "travel," for example, and how will this ordinance be enforced? Assembly member Drew Larrabee also wanted to make sure that the city was communicating with law enforcement, to make sure everybody was on the same page should the ordinance be passed. Assembly Member Julie Decker wanted to know more about what criteria the city was considering to determine which safety and quarantine plans were acceptable. There was also a question of how the ordinance could impact the fishing fleet, which is exempted at the state level as critical workforce.
There is also a question of whether or not Wrangell is allowed to enact ordinances regarding travel. There is a state mandate that allows for small communities to issue emergency orders regarding travel. The state defines a "small community" as a town that is removed from the road system, has a population of less than 3,000, and does not have a hub hospital managed by a tribal healthcare system. The city is operating under the assumption that the Wrangell Medical Center is not a "hub hospital," the agenda packet reads, but at the time of the meeting they had not received confirmation of this by the State Emergency Operations Center.
There was much discussion amongst the assembly on the ordinance. Assembly Member Patty Gilbert said she agreed with Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen that such an ordinance was necessary, but there were some concerns about details that needed hammering out. After a while, it was proposed by Assembly Member David Powell to recess the meeting, and reconvene it a few days later. The assembly agreed, and determined to reconvene the meeting on Wednesday, April 7, at 5:30 p.m.
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