During Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, the Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting Gov. Ivey’s health order requiring masks in public buildings and in groups of over ten people within six feet of each other.
Ward 6 Council member Bob Parsons asked that the Council adopt the language of Gov. Ivey’s health order for a City mandate if the state’s mandate is not renewed past July 31.
“I think we ought to be in a position to act immediately in the event that either the numbers don’t change much or the governor doesn’t extend it,” said Ward 2 Council member Kelley Griswold. “I would hate for us to be in the same situation as a couple of weeks ago … we don’t want to be between Council meetings and be expected to react expeditiously.”
City Manager Jim Buston told the Council that they require permission from the state’s health director to pass a health ordinance. The City has an ordinance draft that can be sent to the health director for approval if necessary.
“If our numbers are trending up in the manner they are now, I don’t anticipate any sort of resistance from the health director,” Parsons said. “We have a serious situation here.”
The Council also unanimously approved the $16 million project to build the Wright Street parking deck.
The Council could not vote to rezone land for the Plainsman Lake subdivision. The ordinance required unanimous consent and Griswold denied his consent. The public hearing was also canceled. There will be a public hearing at the Council meeting, which includes the rezoning in the future, Buston said.
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Charlie Ramo, junior in aerospace engineering, is the content editor of The Auburn Plainsman.
