City commission leaves mask mandate in place

After reviewing the community gating criteria, and hearing from Cloud County Health Center administrator David Garnas, the Concordia city commission made the decision to not lift an ordinance that was previously passed in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
The commission, by a 3-2 vote, passed the ordinance, on November 18, that mandates the wearing of masks or other face coverings in public spaces and the enforcement of isolation and quarantine orders.
Using the community gating criteria, the commission will review the ordinance during each of its regular meetings with the option to rescind it if the numbers are favorable.
Included in the gating criteria are the two-week positivity rate and the cumulative county incidence rate that is population adjusted.
City manager Amy Lange reported that the positivity rate is currently at about 25 percent.
The city incidence rate (cases per 100,000 people) peaked around November 8 at 1,514 and is currently at 569, Lange said.
“We are not quite as low as we were at the beginning of October, but we are trending downwards and that is a good sign for us,” Lange said.
In reviewing the ordinance, the commission will also consider local and regional hospital capacities impacting COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patient care, with information being provided by Cloud County Health Center.
Garnas reported to the commission that staffing at the hospital is still a challenge.
“Taking care of COVID-positive patients takes more staff, takes more rooms, takes more equipment, takes more PPE,” Garnas said.
As of Wednesday night, there were three COVID-19-positive patients hospitalized at Cloud County Health Center.
Garnas said that over 50 percent of the emergency room visits are COVID related.
“We feel like we are stabilized. We are doing better, I do feel that way. We are still challenged, not like we were two weeks ago, but we are still challenged every day,” Garnas said.
Garnas said that transporting patients to facilities for a higher level of care continues to be difficult.
There were 33 new positive COVID-19 cases reported in Cloud County on Wednesday, as well as two COVID-19 related deaths. There were 54 tests pending.
Cloud County has now recorded 45 virus cases in December, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 651 with 13 deaths.
There were 416 cases and 10 deaths reported in November.
Garnas said that the hospital providers and staff would request that the commission continue the mask mandate.
Lange said that during discussions on criteria for lifting the COVID-19 mitigation ordinance, it was decided that the metrics should fall in the green or yellow range. That would be a positivity rate of 9.9 percent or under and the cumulative incidence rate to be below 100 per 100,000 people.
The positivity rate is currently over 25 percent and the incidence rate is 569.
Mayor Mark Matthew said that he thought the city should wait two more weeks and review the data again.
“We are seeing some decreases in some areas, like the hospital or whatever, but it is not enough data to really have a trend. So I think we should hold fast for a couple more weeks,” Matthew said.
The commission will review the ordinance again during its regular meeting on December 16.
Animal control ordinance
An animal control ordinance which limits the number of dogs allowed within the city limits to four was approved by the Concordia city commission.
The commission had previously discussed regulating the fostering of animals, during a study session.
City attorney Justin Ferrell stated that after meeting with law enforcement and animal control it was decided that instead of regulating the fostering of animals exclusively, it would be best to create ordinances dealing with the maximum number of dogs allowed within the city limits and the accumulation of fecal matter.
Ferrell reported to the commission that many cities regulate the number of dogs allowed to be owned in the city limits, and that limiting the number to four insures a healthy community and a healthy environment for both the owners and animals.
It is stated in the ordinance that it shall be unlawful to own or possess more than four dogs, no matter size nor breed, within the city of Concordia.
The ordinance will not apply retroactively. Anyone that currently owns more than four dogs, prior to the passage of the ordinance, shall not be compelled to reduce the number, but can’t replace any animals.
The ordinance passed also addresses dog bites.
Any dog that bites a person within the city limits must be quarantined until it is determined the dog is vaccinated and the injury is not of a nature so severe as to need to be quarantined for legal action.
If the dog is not vaccinated, it must be quarantined for 10 days and receive all of its vaccinations prior to release.
Upon a second bite, the dog must be quarantined until the next municipal court date.
When quarantine is warranted the charge will be $25 per day until the dog is released or adjudicated by the Municipal Court. No in-home quarantine with the owner or possessor of the animal will be allowed.
Also addressed in the ordinance is fecal matter.
The ordinance states that no person in possession or ownership of an animal shall permit any waste matter from the animal to collect and remain on the property or person in possession of such animal(s) or in the property of others so as to cause an unhealthy, unsanitary, dangerous, rank odor or offensive living condition on the owner’s property or to abutting or nearby property of others.
Other action
The commission approved the 2021 professional services agreement with CloudCorp at a cost of $58,000.
CloudCorp executive director Kim Reynolds met with the commission and presented an update.
“We have been working really hard at helping maintain or retain the businesses that we have, not just within the city of Concordia, but in Cloud County as a whole,” Reynolds said.
A resolution amending the pay scale for city employees to reflect the 1.8 percent cost of living adjustment for 2021 was approved by the commission.
During the 2021 budget study session, staff presented the cost of living adjustment. Consensus of the commission resulted in the inclusion in the adjustment in the budget.
The commission also approved a motion to affirm the exempt property status for industrial bond certification for PrairieLand Partners LLC.
Each year the city is required to affirm the tax exempt status for those businesses that have used industrial revenue bonds as part of financing the business growth. The annual review requires the commission to insure that the ownership and use of the property and other qualifying criteria of the business continues to exist.
The 10-year industrial revenue bonds for PrairieLand Partners will expire this year, and the city will begin collecting taxes on the property.
The commission approved cereal malt beverage licenses for: Wood Oil #27, Rod’s Thriftway, Short Stop # 4 and #10, Walmart, Gambino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Casey’s General Store, Dollar General, Country Honky Tonk and 4 Kids Fuel & More, LLC.