Daily Sitka Sentinel

City Takes Action On Seasonal Help

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

The Assembly passed an emergency ordinance Tuesday night requiring companies to submit a plan for the city administrator’s approval before bringing seasonal workers into Sitka.

The ordinance is meant to safeguard the city from the spread of the COVID-19 virus. So far, Sitka has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection.

The ordinance says the seasonal worker plan a company submits must show how the existing requirement that new arrivals will self-quarantine for 14 days will be applied.

As an emergency ordinance, only one reading and approval by a five-member super-majority of the Assembly was required for passage. It passed unanimously. 

In effect, the city’s action is in addition to Alaska State COVID Emergency Mandate 10, which requires companies to submit a seasonal worker plan on coronavirus safeguards for the approval of the State Department of Commerce. But no approval by local authorities is required under that mandate, and the state is not providing copies of the plans with governments of the affected communities.

Sara Peterson wears a colorful face mask as she keeps Tuesday’s Assembly meeting on track. (Sentinel Photo)

Before passage, the ordinance was amended to have it expire at the same time that state Health Mandate 10 is rescinded. That mandate is related to international and interstate travel, required quarantines, and workers arriving into the state. It went into effect March 25, and will be re-evaluated by the governor April 21.

The Assembly is conducting meetings through the Zoom video-conference system, with only a few city staff members, along with Dan Etulain of KSCT-TV, in the meeting room at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

This was the first meeting with substantial telephonic and written testimony from the public. City clerk Sara Peterson read written comments into the record; she called those who wanted to testify by phone, and their comments were heard through the video-conference system.

Among other business at the Assembly meeting, members addressed items related to COVID-19 protection for citizens, and relief from the financial burdens of the mitigation shutdowns.

Those included:

– approval of an emergency ordinance extending the 12-cent winter season electric rate by two months, before going up to summertime’s 19 cents per kwh.

– approval of an emergency ordinance extending the real property tax assessment appeal deadline from April 15 to June 15.

– rejection of an emergency ordinance extending the sales tax filing and remittance deadlines for first quarter 2020 from April 30 to June 30.

– approval of a resolution to extend the “hunker down” order from March 24 to May 12 “unless earlier terminated by resolution of the Assembly.”  

Seasonal Workforce

The main difference between the city ordinance and state mandate on seasonal workers is that the local ordinance requires companies to share their protection plans with city leaders, not just state officials. The companies must also address other issues on protection of local residents.

The state mandate has no requirement for the state to share the plans with local officials.

“We want to see action plans,” City Administrator John Leach said. “Show that action plan to us.”

City, health and emergency leaders have started meeting with local fish processors, which plan to bring in hundreds of workers for the summer season.

One company, Silver Bay Seafoods, plans to bring in 350 from the Lower 48 and Mexico, according to city and health officials.

SEARHC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elliot Bruhl wrote to the state Department of Commerce voicing strong objection to the plan as presented, saying its effects could be “catastrophic” to Sitka.

All three local fish processing companies have agreed to work with city officials to improve their mitigation plans, and make their plans public. (A task force meeting on this issue is set for Friday between city officials and seafood plants.) 

Processing company representatives from Sitka Sound Seafoods and Silver Bay Seafoods submitted comments for the Assembly meeting, outlining their plans for mitigating risks. 

The balance between economics and the threat of COVID-19 spreading in the community was at the forefront of the discussion at the Assembly table.

The compromise that was reached among Assembly members on both sides of the issue was to tie the local ordinance to the state mandate.

In public testimony, the Assembly heard comments that ranged from straight-out opposition to workers coming in, to concern about the loss of the visitor season, the effect on charter businesses and the economic health of the community.

Some of those testifying pointed to the sacrifices and diligence of local residents in working to take measures to prevent and slow the spread of the virus.

Sitka Tribe of Alaska was among those encouraging seafood processors to use local labor rather than bringing in people from elsewhere.

“SEARHC has suggested the effects of Silver Bay Seafoods staff could be ‘catastrophic,’” said STA Tribal Council Vice Chairman Lawrence Widmark. “STA is strongly opposed to inviting a risk to our community that can be avoided. STA believes that Silver Bay Seafoods should be discouraged from bringing workers into Sitka without a robust and publicly disclosed plan, including a commitment by the State for enforcement, for mitigation of COVID-19infection and spread.”

A few urging the passage of the emergency ordinance said it didn’t go far enough.

“This ordinance is a great step forward in further protecting our health in Sitka and I strongly encourage the Assembly to pass it, regardless of what the state has recently told the community of Wrangell,” said Steve Ramp. , referring to the state’s refusal to share a processor’s mitigation plan with local officials in Wrangell.

“Unfortunately, I think the ordinance still comes up short and believe all persons arriving in Sitka, employed or not, should be required to submit the Protection Plan called for in Section 2 of the Ordinance. ...”

“Even with suggested mitigation efforts within the ordinance, the likelihood of the spread of the coronavirus is too great to risk the lives of our town elders, Pioneer Home residents, and citizens,” said Bob Medinger. “Besides our own population, we must also protect the lives of the workers who are at great risk themselves. Economic concerns from our business community, fishermen and the city government itself are important, but is it really worth the risk of people dying and the health damage to those infected who do survive?”

Charter lodge operators asked the Assembly to consider changing the expiration date of the ordinance to 30 days instead of 61. Testimony from most operators was a combination of concern for the community, and the need for a response that didn’t unnecessarily damage the entire 2021 season.

A number of them expressed optimism that there might be solutions on the horizon for mitigating the virus.

Tom Ohaus, president of the Southeast Alaska Guides Association, asked for the 30-day expiration.

“SEAGO shares the Assembly’s concern for the health and welfare of the people of Sitka. Given the current status of the COVID-19 health emergency, we agree with the intent and actions in this quarantine ordinance,” he said, in his comments read aloud by the city clerk. “We understand there is a great deal of fear and uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, with most attention rightly placed on downside risks to human health and mortality. We also believe that uncertainty has a potential upside. For that reason, we request the ordinance expire after 30 days with the provision that the Assembly can easily extend it should circumstance either grow worse or remain the same.”

Talon Lodge owner Phillip Younger urged the city to consider 15 to 30 days, not 61, for the expiration of the ordinance.

“The current environment is changing on a daily basis and the probability of a therapeutic for the virus increases daily,” he wrote in comments read by the city clerk. “Effectively closing off Sitka for 60 days will devastate Sitka – big business, small business, food supply, exported seafood sales, and every industry supported by Sitka’s commerce – schools, hospitals, clinics, the city.”

The main message from the charter community was to change the expiration from 61 to 30 days, with a few suggesting re-evaluating at that time.

In addressing some of the comments about coronavirus, Dr. Bruhl said, “These are truly unprecedented times for us as a community.”

He said the recommendations for protecting the community are not targeting any particular industry, or weighing the value of one industry over another.

“The coronavirus really doesn’t care,” he said. Although a lot is not known about the virus, what is known is that everyone is susceptible, it’s much more communicable than influenza, that it has a high mortality rate, particularly among the elderly, and that state health mandates have helped control the spread of the virus, he said.

Southeast currently has low levels of the virus, which may have “lulled us into a false sense of security,” Bruhl said. While following state mandates appears to be helping control the virus the entry of seasonal workers requires a response to prevent the medical system from being overwhelmed, he said.

Assembly member Thor Christianson, who co-sponsored the ordinance, said the city is taking action, in light of “silence” from the state about reviewing companies’ plans for protecting communities.

“To some extent this has accomplished what we’re after, getting people talking,” he said. “I think we have to do this if nothing else than to keep the pressure on the state to review these plans.”

The city clerk’s office said company plans for bringing in seasonal workers must be submitted by email to:

COVID-19.Action_Plans@cityofsitka.org

The local ordinance requires the companies to “specifically include/address” a number of elements with respect to workers, including testing, medical care, isolation of positive cases, and presence of a quarantine officer, among 11 factors in the ordinance.

“These 11 items are things that need to be addressed,” Richard Wein said. “We don’t expect perfection. ...” 

On a question of “when does it end,” Bruhl said the best hope is for “abundant testing” and “really good public health measures.”

The vote was 7-0 on both the amendment and final passage of the emergency ordinance.