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8. Staff Report - Reopening to the Public 5-4-2021Page 1 of 2 City of Scandia 14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073 Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.cityofscandia.com MEMORANDUM DATE: May 4, 2021 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Ken Cammilleri, City Administrator RE: Reopening to the Public and Holding In-person Meetings What is the current status of the pandemic in Washington County? The statistics on vaccination continue to show gains, according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s Covid-19 Statistics. The current percentage of people in Washington County who have received at least one dose of the vaccine is at approximately 49.2% or 129,175 persons as of May 3rd. The percentage of those who have completed their vaccination series is 34.4% or 95,612 individuals. Comparing vaccination series completion rate between March and April, it is clear the vaccination process is moving forward at a much faster pace. The Centers of Disease Control now suggests that 80% of the population will need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, but experts are now maintaining that it may not be completely achievable due to new variants and persistent hesitancy about vaccines from segments of the population. Experts are now saying that vaccinations will still be important to maintain control of infection rates. The number of daily positive cases for the county have continued to decrease since the County was at peak infection rate in December. The County’s latest published 14 day case rate for the period of April 4th through April 17th of this year shows 51.04/10,000 people. This figure remains high, but may move on a downward trajectory as vaccinations increase in the County. Nonetheless, this data does suggest prudent precautions still be maintained. Resuming In-Person Meetings Should the City Council wish to proceed with in-person meetings the following conditions would apply based on state law: - The public must be allowed to attend within occupancy limits set imposed by emergency order regarding the pandemic. - Council Members are not allowed to participate more than three times in a calendar year from a location that is not open or accessible to the public, and: o The member is serving in the military and is at a required drill, deployed or on active duty. o The member has been advised by a health care professional against being in a public place for personal or family medical reasons. This clause only applies when a state of emergency has been declared under section 12.31, and expires 60 days after the removal of the state of emergency o If possible, a member of the public should be able to monitor the meeting electronically from a remote location. Page 2 of 2 City of Scandia 14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073 Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.cityofscandia.com - The Council may be able to resume fully virtual meetings if the presiding officer, chief legal counsel, or chief administrative officer for the affected governing body determines an in-person meeting or a meeting conducted through interactive television is not practical or prudent because of a health pandemic or an emergency declared under chapter 12 of the Minnesota Statutes. What options have other neighboring communities taken during this time? Forest Lake – all meetings are remote only until the inoculation rates increase. Administration is anticipating changes in June or July and will amend their practices at that time. Marine on St. Croix – All meetings are hybrid and have been all along. Staff are in person, and all council members are invited to meet in person. Not all do now, as one is deployed in the military. Their original guidance included requiring one city council member to be physically present to be able to conduct any meeting. Chisago City - All meetings are hybrid and streamed/recorded on Facebook Live. Staff and most council members meet in person. Public invited to participate remotely only. Lindstrom - City Hall remains open with social distancing and mask measures. All meetings are hybrid with only the public participating remotely. Recommendation It is recommended that the City Council consider resuming in-person meetings beginning in June. This move would also require that other City committees and commissions will also resume in- person meetings. Arrangements have been made with LATV to resume camera operations for in person meetings. Remote meeting participation will still be available and encouraged. Please let me know if you have any questions.