Now that Whatcom County is in Phase 3 of governor Jay Inslee’s Roadmap to Recovery, city manager Michael Jones updated council with the city of Blaine’s emergency provisions during the March 22 council meeting.
Whatcom County entered Phase 3 on March 22 and will have its Covid-19 metrics re-evaluated by the state on April 12 to determine if the county remains in Phase 3, moves back to Phase 2 or advances to a currently undefined Phase 4. Phase 3 allows for 50 percent indoor occupancy at restaurants.
“Some have become obsolete and have already passed or been rescinded by me,” Jones said of the orders, resolutions and directives issued over the last year. “Others were self-limiting with time components.”
The emergency resolution that allows businesses to use the H Street and G Street plazas by a special-use permit was set to expire when the county entered Phase 3, after being updated from its original October 1 deadline. Jones issued the emergency resolution last June.
Drayton Harbor Oyster Company is the only restaurant using the space for outdoor dining, said Jones, who sent a letter to the restaurant asking its owners to take down the tent within 30 days. Thirty days is a normal compliance time period, he added.
Councilmember Richard May proposed council take action so the emergency provisions continue until a higher indoor business capacity is allowed.
“In retrospect, I think we should have specified Phase 4 and not Phase 3 because being open at 50 percent capacity doesn’t put our businesses at the high level of success we’d like to see them all at,” May said. “I’m thinking if 50 percent capacity is as good as it’s going to go, we still need some mitigation.”
Mayor Bonnie Onyon said action couldn’t be taken during the March 22 meeting, but it could be voted on during the council’s next meeting on April 12. Extending the waiver would require drafting a new resolution, Jones advised council.
“We’ll have to make a decision whether we want to extend this mostly for the benefit of one restaurant,” Onyon said. “It’s going to benefit one restaurant more than others.”
This resolution is only for plaza space and most other restaurants with tents are on private property, Jones said.
The city had also waived fees for temporary loading zones in front of restaurants, which are set to expire May 1, when regular parking will resume.
Some city employee policies relating to the pandemic like a mandatory working from home after travel directive have been rescinded, while others such as working remotely could stay after the pandemic, Jones said.
“Things like temporary wearing of face coverings in all the public buildings will stick around for a while, I think,” Jones said.
Jones said he expects city offices to open to the public June 1, which is when he said public meetings will likely resume.
“It depends on the direction we’re getting from the health department and the pace of vaccines,” he said. “We also need some transition time for getting back to that normal
arrangement.”
Jones also said he expects the proclamation of emergency, which he originally declared March 13, 2020, to be eliminated in the near future.
“I presume not too distant in the near future we’ll eliminate the proclamation of emergency as well,” Jones said.
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