HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Comment Mask - 11/18/2020 9:33:25 AM
Deborah Lovejoy
From:Avery Van Wagner <averyschwendiman@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, November 17, 2020 8:56 PM
To:Customer Services
Subject:Mask Mandate Ordinance Meeting
To whom it may concern
I am writing regarding the Rexburg City Council meeting that will be taking place to pass an ordinance
requiring masks.
I am not a resident of Rexburg, but it is my primary destination for shopping so I feel that I am a citizen. Going
about a mask mandate through a city ordinance is going to rub a lot of people the wrong way. Correct me if I
am wrong, but city ordinances are laws. Laws cannot be just cancelled when we are tired of them. They have to
be removed with more laws. This is the trouble I have with the city council making masks the law. As a
member of the community, if you pass this law, I now have to trust you that you are going to then in the future
pass another law (or ordinance) that will essentially remove the mask mandate law.
What are your requirements for ending the mandate? Do you have a specific case threshold or infection rate that
we can meet to remove the mandate? Or is this something where we have to completely eradicate the CCP virus
before you will let people walk around freely again? People are much more willing to go along with things that
have an obtainable goal.
Now, if you're still reading this message, I hope that you see where I'm coming from. Your constituents deserve
to know the exact parameters of this ordinance. What is necessary to end the mandate? What are the
consequences of not following the mandate? Who will enforce it? Are all infractions equal? These are details
that must be covered in the ordinance. We deserve to know very clearly what powers you are taking for
yourself.
If you pass this, we will create a community culture of "tattling" and ratting out your friends and neighbors.
Instead of people minding their own business and being understanding, we will create feelings of resentment,
cause people to be judgy, and divide our city. That's not a community I want to be part of.
The members of the community have more power in their actions than you might be willing to believe. It is just
as easy for me to drive past Rexburg and proceed to Idaho Falls to go about my business. I know I am not the
only one who feels this way. We can make Rexburg feel the economic impact of this mandate. Go ahead and
mandate your masks. Like I said, I'm not a resident and I can take my business elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Avery Van Wagner
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