The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Need to hear from Joni
[ By Mark Reaman ]
The Crested Butte town council is not ready to lift the Elk Avenue mask mandate without the definitive blessing of Gunnison County public health director Joni Reynolds, and she is currently on vacation. So council made no decision to lift the mandate at the May 3 meeting and instead will consider the idea for the third time this spring at the May 17 meeting when Reynolds will have returned.
Town manager Dara MacDonald wanted council direction on the decision since the mandate was put in place last summer to protect people from the spread of COVID-19 during the busy season when many people were crowding the Elk Avenue sidewalk. “With mud season upon us, there is little concern of crowding on Elk Ave until mid-June,” she wrote in a memo to the council. “We also want to ensure that individuals visiting Elk Ave feel safe and that businesses are comfortable with any relaxation of restrictions.”
MacDonald told the council the county was well on its way to a minimal “Green” level of public health restrictions given the number of vaccines that have been administered in Gunnison County. Reynolds has said she hopes to have the county’s public health order expire by the end of June. The Elk Ave mask mandate is the final element of the town’s coronavirus emergency declaration.
Mayor Jim Schmidt told council that both Aspen and Vail had lifted their outdoor mask mandate within the last week. “There is not much going on, on Elk Avenue right now but hopefully that will change by mid-June,” he said.
“I would defer to Joni,” said councilwoman Mallika Magner.
“The CDC and the state are relaxing their outdoor mask requirements,” said MacDonald. “But the state still requires them when social distancing can’t be accomplished.”
“We’re talking about Elk Avenue,” responded Magner. “Social distancing can’t be accomplished in the summer.”
“When the county goes to ‘Green’ around June 1, the mask order would still be in place in the county,” explained MacDonald, saying it appeared to be because of an abundance of caution. “And then if everything stays on track, there will be no more public health orders by July 1.”
Schmidt said there has been no clear message on the matter from the county and he had asked county health officials on Monday for their advice but had not gotten a clear answer.
“I believe it is best to follow the advice of the health experts,” said councilman Chris Haver. “We put it in place because Elk Avenue was crowded. I am happy to wait to hear from Joni and talk about it at the next meeting.”
“We can piggyback on the county order,” suggested councilman Will Dujardin.
Schmidt said they would ask Reynolds for her opinion when she returns from vacation next week and the council can further discuss it at the May 17 meeting.
