Tag Archives: Benicia City Council

#Masks4All, #wearamask, Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Coronavirus variant, Covid 19, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

KTVU News coverage – Benicia City Council to Consider Renewing Mask Mandate on Tues. Aug. 24

Benicia considering indoor mask mandate

KTVU News, By Greg Liggins, August 22, 2021

BENICIA, Calif. – A city in Solano County will soon decide whether to bring back its indoor mask mandate.

Solano County has been an outlier throughout much of the pandemic and recently decided not to join other Bay Area counties in requiring masks indoors for everyone.

Without such county guidance, cities are forced to make up their own rules, and that’s what the City Council of Benicia will be considering next week.

The council may bring back the indoor mask mandate that ended in June.

And if it does so, it will be taking action the County Health Director is against.

Lots of people are currently donning masks voluntarily in Benicia.

Masks are not currently required, even indoors, because the county health director has gone on the record saying the data doesn’t support it, and it could be bad for business.

But Benicia may go ahead and make it a requirement anyway.

“I think the majority of the council, I guess we’ll see, but I think the majority of the community is of the opinion that the direction the county is taking is not necessarily in the long-term health and safety interest of our community,” said Benicia Mayor, Steve Young.

Benicia dropped its indoor mask mandate in June when the state opened up and Covid appeared to be on its way out.

The Delta variant, however, is prompting a potential pivot.

The council will decide Tuesday whether to be the first city in its county to reprise an indoor mask mandate in public spaces, like retail and restaurant, a move already made at the county level in most of the Bay Area.

A business owner says a uniform policy in Benicia would make things easier on establishments that can only put up recommendation signs they really can’t enforce.

“It is what it is. I mean, you really can’t. We just have to trust people. That’s really all we can do,” said Cecilia Climaco, owner of Succulents and More.

A recent cancer survivor says she’s onboard with her city joining the majority of the Bay Area.

“I think since most of the Bay Area is requiring it we ought to too,” said Margaret Linderman.

Another resident also supports the city mandating masks, but doesn’t take issue with different places doing their own thing.

“I think because different areas have different problems with Covid, so I think it should be up to each city to make their own rules,” said Alicia Gallagher.

The Mayor says it’s potentially unsafe to have unmasked, unvaccinated people interacting closely indoors with workers that really don’t have a choice.

It’s also unfortunate, he says, that cities and counties are again having to consider requiring behaviors people could well do on their own.

It’s personally frustrating because if everybody had been vaccinated, if everybody was wearing a mask, we wouldn’t be here, but that’s clearly not the case,” said Mayor Young.

The City Council will vote on the ordinance at their meeting Tuesday and need just three of five members to approve.

The Mayor says the Health Director will be phoning-in to argue against approval.

If passed, the mandate would be temporary, perhaps 90 days, but could also be extended or rescinded sooner, all depending on what the Delta variant is doing.

Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Rio Vista CA, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Benicia council to determine mask mandate policy

Possible Sept. 14 vote in Vallejo

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Richard Freedman, August 21, 2021
Women wear masks as they talk on a bench outside of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Benicia on Friday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
Women wear masks as they talk on a bench outside of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Benicia on Friday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)

The Benicia City Council is expected to re-instate mask mandates — vaccinated or not — for entering businesses in a vote of its five members at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Despite an increase in COVID cases traced to the Delta variant, Solano County has not joined other Bay Area counties in requiring masks for all. Current protocols dictate those who have been vaccinated don’t need to mask up while those who aren’t vaccinated are asked to mask.

“The fact the county is not going to have one (mask mandate for all) puts the pressure on cities like Benicia to act on our own,” said Mayor Steve Young by phone Friday.

Young said Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Public Health Director, is expected to “testify” either in person or by phone during the upcoming Benicia council meeting.

Bay Area ‘smoke ceiling’ should begin clearing Saturday, but haze will linger, forecasters say

Benicia Mayor Steve Young

“We have eight different (county) public health directors determining a mask mandate is necessary and he’s taken the opposite direction,” Young said.

In Vallejo, it’s status quo, said Vice Mayor Rozzana Verder-Aliga, vacationing this week in Hawaii.

“The city council is not considering mask mandates at this time although I have received an email request from a council member to put it on the agenda,” Verder-Aliga said. “My opinion is to follow Solano County COVID-19 safety guidelines for now. I personally wear masks at indoor events and at my office per Solano County protocols. I am fully vaccinated as well as my entire family and plan to take booster shots when available.”

Verder-Aliga’s advice to Vallejo residents “is to get vaccinated and follow CDC COVID-19 guidelines.”

Though Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell was unavailable for comment, Interim Vallejo City Manager Anne Cardwell said she is “going to broach the topic of mask requirements in public spaces and COVID” at the Vallejo City Council’s Tuesday meeting, according to Christina Lee, Vallejo’s Communications and Public Information Officer.

“If it is to be agendized, we are potentially looking at the Sept. 14th meeting for that item,” Lee said, adding that “with the rise of the Delta variant, the city is requiring masks in all city buildings regardless of vaccination status at this time.”

Young said Benicia’s vaccination rate is second in the county to Rio Vista, “which isn’t surprising because of their retirement community.”

The Benicia mayor contends that with the county’s less restrictive protocols compared to Contra Costa County, “there are people refusing to shop in town. They’ll cross a bridge because they’re not comfortable going into Raley’s or Safeway without a mask mandate.”

A mask mandate “is a better option than leaving it up to the whims of an individual,” Young said. “And a mask mandate is also for the protection of employees. It’s about spreading the virus to each other. For example, employees at Raley’s are exposed to people all day long and if there are people unvaccinated and unmasked, it puts them (the employees) at greater risk.”

Young believes the Benicia City Council will pass a mask mandate, with tighter restrictions for city employees a possible topic for future meetings. Currently, city employees “simply have to fill out a form and send it to HR that attests to their (vaccination) status.”

In the near future, Young said city employees may have to show proof of vaccination with the CDC card.

“I’ve been trying to convince people to get vaccinated over a year now,” Young said. “Certainly, there’s a segment of the community that isn’t going to get vaccinated unless forced to and we’re not talking about a mandate forcing vaccinations.”

Young said his “first obligation as an elected official to protect the health and safety of our community. I see this as a necessary step in that direction.”

If the Benicia City Council passes the mask mandate, businesses will be required to post signs indicating masks must be worn indoors where people congregate like restaurants or in a real estate office lobby.

“If you’re by yourself in an office, you won’t have to wear a mask,” Young said.

People walk along 1st Street in downtown Benicia as they shop on Friday.(Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
#Masks4All, #wearamask, Benicia City Council, Coronavirus variant, Covid 19

Masks in Benicia – now a political decision rather than a health emergency

By Roger Straw, August 18, 2021

At its meeting last night, the Benicia City Council debated and approved a proposal to hold a special meeting next week to consider instituting a Citywide indoor mask mandate.

The meeting will be held next Tuesday, August 24 at 6pm.  Here’s the Agenda.

Some observers at yesterday’s meeting felt that Council members Trevor Macenski and Lionel Largaespada indicated likely opposition for the measure.  They have invited Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas to attend next week.  Matyas is the ONLY county health officer in the Bay Area who has not instituted masking requirements to head off the spread of the Delta variant.  His presence next week will no doubt muddy the waters.

We can only hope that Council will get the required three votes.  It’s so sad that face coverings have become a political issue here in Benicia and Solano County.  We remember fondly how in March of 2020 our previous City Manager and City Council took charge and declared emergency action in the absence of leadership from the County.

Video of the August 17 City Council discussion and Public Comments on the mask mandate

NOTE: the Council discussion, public comments and action on the issue takes just under an hour, beginning at 1:37:53.  Public comments begin at 2:02:30.  Final discussion by Council begins at 2:23, and ends with the unanimous vote at 2:30:50.  (From there if you’re interested, the Council discusses COVID protocol for reopening the Council Chambers.)  And… if the above video does not work for you, you can click here to go to the City website to view the video clip on the mask mandate.

#Masks4All, #wearamask, Benicia City Council, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Benicia Vice Mayor Tom Campbell, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Masks

ALERT: Benicia City Council to consider mask mandate – Tuesday, Aug 17

By Roger Straw, August 13, 2021

Let Benicia City Council know you support masks in indoors public spaces!

At next Tuesday’s Council meeting, members will hear a request to implement a face covering mandate for the City of Benicia.

The request, submitted by Mayor Steve Young and Vice Mayor Tom Campbell, would establish a “mask mandate for inside commercial businesses.”

Two-step request, handwritten and marked urgent

City Council rules require a “two-step process” just to agendize discussion of a new  item.  The August 17 request is the first of the two steps, requesting the item be agendized for consideration at the August 24 meeting.  It’s an important first step – Young and Campbell will need three votes just to bring the item to Council  on August 24 for discussion and a vote.

Alert!

Your thoughtful input is needed!  See