HOLMES BEACH – After being extended by Mayor Judy Titsworth on a weekly basis three times, commissioners have voted unanimously to extend the mandatory face mask ordinance for a little longer – until their first meeting in January 2021.
The city’s initial ordinance requiring anyone in a Holmes Beach business or public building to wear a face mask, unless exempt by a health condition or age, was adopted by commissioners June 25 and expired on Aug. 25. Since the expiration, Mayor Titsworth has been extending the ordinance for seven days at a time under a mayoral directive allowed by the city- and state-declared states of emergency. Currently, the Florida state of emergency, extended by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is set to expire in early November, though city attorney Patricia Petruff said she expects the state of emergency to be extended again due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commissioners agreed to take the burden of extending the mask mandate off the mayor’s shoulders and extend it for a period longer than seven days. After discussing several different end date options, they settled on the end of the year, amending the end date to their first meeting in January. The decision was made to extend it into 2021 to avoid any potential lapses in the mask regulations in case the mask mandate needs to be extended again due to the threat of the coronavirus.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said if the threat of the virus has receded prior to the expiration of the ordinance, commissioners can vote to rescind the mask mandate.
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said the mask mandate has been working well and that enforcement also has gone well with the city’s business owners supporting the measure. He added that his officers are doing spot checks at local businesses to ensure compliance and that only one issue has arisen where a business manager called the department because a patron refused to wear a mask while inside. Tokajer said the individual was cited for trespassing and removed from the property.
Commissioner Pat Morton said he felt the ordinance was working well to help protect both visitors and residents from the virus’ spread. Commission candidate Jayne Christenson agreed, adding that she thinks it’s a good ordinance.
Because the ordinance was enacted to address a declared emergency it does not have to have a second reading or vote, which is normally required for ordinance approval in Holmes Beach.
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