Last Thursday morning, Nov. 12, many Alaskans received an emergency alert on their phones from Governor Mike Dunleavy. The message contained a link to a video of Dunleavy, in which he addressed the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the state. Effective immediately, he said, all state employees were to work from home if possible, and face masks and social distancing were mandatory at state work sites. On Nov. 16 he also issued a new 30-day COVID-19 disaster declaration. In his address, the governor also encouraged local governments and organizations to operate remotely where possible, and for businesses to offer curbside service. Furthermore, he urged Alaskans to socially distance and wear face coverings.
"My job as governor is not to tell you how to live your life," Dunleavy said. "My job is to ensure the security and safety of Alaska. I can't do that without your help. I'm asking you to reach deep for the next three weeks. If we can buy time for our critical workers, if we can keep our systems operational, we can avoid being forced to take further action."
In response to this address, the city shortly after took several steps. City offices were closed to the public until Dec. 7. This includes facilities like City Hall, the Nolan Center, the library, and other municipal buildings. Furthermore, the borough assembly called an emergency meeting later that afternoon. The main topic for consideration in this emergency meeting was a local mask mandate, which was eventually approved by the assembly.
A mask mandate has been a very controversial issue in Wrangell. The borough has held multiple meetings in the past to discuss the topic and to receive public input. In their last meeting on Nov. 5, the assembly decided to bring up the mandate for future consideration in either their next scheduled meeting on Dec. 8, or sooner in a special meeting.
The mandate, Ordinance No. 981, requires all individuals in Wrangell to wear a face mask. This was later amended in the meeting to read a face mask or a face shield. These are required when indoors in a public setting or in communal spaces outside the home. There are some exceptions to this mandate, and businesses will not be liable for customers refusing to wear masks so long as they have proper signage stating the requirement. Violators can be subject to a $25 fine. The ordinance also outlines some encouraged mitigation strategies, but does not mandate them, like reducing capacity in restaurants and bars, and avoiding gatherings when possible, among others. This ordinance was scheduled to become effective immediately, and will sunset on Dec. 7 unless action is taken by the assembly.
Several people called into the emergency meeting to voice their opinions. Some Wrangell residents, such as Penny Allen and Mike Lockabey, stated their disappointment in the assembly trying to pass the mandate during an emergency meeting, and also expressed their disapproval of a mask mandate in general. Don Sherman called into the meeting to express his support of the mandate. Jennifer Jackson called in to state her fears of losing her business if the city were to shut down.
Assembly Member Ryan Howe also wanted to know whether or not the city could consider reopening their facilities, should the mandate be adopted. It was decided that this would be worth revisiting in another meeting.
A common topic brought up in previous meetings, too, was why Wrangell was considering a mask mandate when it currently has very few cases. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen explained that while things in Wrangell are doing alright, the situation across the state is becoming quite serious, and there are ramifications for the local community. According to DHSS, as of Nov. 16, Alaska has over 23,000 resident cases and 1,159 nonresident cases. This was an increase of 563 cases total from the previous day.
"I'm a lifelong Alaskan, I've been here for 48 years," she said. "This is the first time in my life that I have seen a governor issue a statewide alert like this. I think we should pay attention to that. Even though the governor did not issue a statewide mandate with regard to things, he has up to this point said it is up to the individual municipalities to make these decisions for themselves."
Mayor Steve Prysunka said that he did not want to adopt a mask mandate, that he hated the entire situation COVID-19 has created within the community. However, he said he felt it was necessary. He also said that it felt like Dunelavy was passing the buck down to municipalities to make difficult choices like the mask mandate. This sentiment was echoed by Assembly Member Julie Decker in the meeting.
"Unfortunately, and I'm not calling down our governor, I'm calling out our governor, he has not been bold in his actions at all during this time," Prysunka said. "He's passed it off to small municipal governments, and city administrators, and EOCs, to basically man up and deal with this situation. It is just beyond unfair, because when Governor Dunleavy goes forward and says 'This is the mandate I'm putting in place, this is the best thing for our state,' he doesn't have to go shop at City Market with somebody who's really angry with him. He doesn't have to face down the local person at the post office. All these people have to do that, and it is just categorically unfair and I hate it."
Prysunka also compared the mask mandate to laws against smoking inside Wrangell's bars. At the time, he said, it was a very contentious issue over a small ask of the public. That's a mandate that stayed, he also pointed out, while this mandate was only temporary.
There was some division within the assembly about this mandate. Assembly Member Terry Courson said he felt this was not the right time to try and pass a mask mandate. He understood there was an emergency situation, but said that if the governor did not want to mandate mask wearing, why should Wrangell?
A vote was called, following some amendments to the wording and date of the ordinance, and the assembly chose to adopt it. There were two dissenting votes from Assembly Members Courson and David Powell.
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