I want to publicly thank Mayor Kedley and members of the Osceola City Council for hosting a public comment session at their September 15th meeting. This was a great exercise in democracy and representative government – freedom of speech and rule of law working together! It was clear that City Council members have deep care and concern for members of our community.
I also want to thank the Sentinel-Tribune for keeping all informed with a front page story which told what the proposed ordinance said, the history of it coming before the council and the opportunity for the public to speak at the meeting. Thanks, too, to Ty Wheeler for broadcasting live on the City Council website and also utilizing Zoom so that citizens could speak from their homes. It is easy to comment on social media or to your friends and family members, but difficult to speak in front of others and put yourself out there. Quite a few citizens spoke publicly, and no matter what their stance, they are to be admired for doing so. A poster I once owned said “Even a turtle gets nowhere, until he sticks his neck out”. Thanks to those brave enough to do so. Also, thanks to Sarah Truitt for broadcasting on Facebook Live, so people could watch during the meeting, or later when they had time available.
Pros and Cons of two different approaches were discussed. One, as cited in the newspaper, is a Mask Ordinance being added to the Osceola City Code with a penalty that willful non-compliance will result in being ordered off public property. Questions were asked about who would be tasked with ordering the removal of people and how this would be carried out. City Attorney Elcock stated that there is no enforcement provision in the ordinance. Questions were also asked about legality of the ordinance, as only the Governor can make such a mandate, according to the Iowa Attorney General. Attorney Elcock said that we will not know the answer to that until a lawsuit is filed against a city and a court rules on the matter.
The second option discussed was a Mask Recommendation made by the Council and Mayor. Many people expressed the opinion that people respond better to a request or recommendation than they do an order regarding mask wearing, and that already people in Osceola are seen trying to honor the 6 foot distance or otherwise wearing masks, or both. It was stated that a proclamation or recommendation by the City Council would be a unifying decision, where the mandate would be a divisive one. All agreed that education and encouragement would be the goal of both plans.
My take from attending the meeting was that City Council members are great people, trying to provide the best for their community. It was quite apparent that their goal is to encourage citizens to do things that work toward the reduction or elimination of Covid in Osceola. Just by holding this public discussion, they have already done so and I commend them.