Daily Sitka Sentinel

New Rules Offered For Special Workers

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

The title of an emergency ordinance the Assembly will consider at a special meeting Tuesday has been changed slightly, to clarify which workers, companies and projects are eligible for exemption from the city’s 14-day quarantine requirement for new arrivals.

The city’s quarantine requirement for people coming into the community – on top of other prevention measures – is intended to slow and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Emergency Ordinance 2020-25 would allow an exception to the quarantine requirement for arrivals who will be working on “public works projects, community-based government functions and operations, or private construction projects, as approved by the municipal administrator.”  

The latest draft of the ordinance, which amends EO-2020-14, was released to the public around noon today. (EO-2020-14 is similar to state Mandate 10 with a 14-day quarantine requirement.)

“As this pandemic evolves, and with the responsible reopening of the state by the governor, we identified we don’t have the flexibility of the existing ordinance to give exceptions to certain public works projects, when these things can be done responsibly,” said City Attorney Brian Hanson.

Administrator John Leach summed it up this way:

“A simple way to put it is, they need to put a bubble around themselves and not interact with the public until the (14-day) quarantine is over.”

Hanson and other city staff worked over the weekend and into this morning to prepare the ordinance in time for Tuesday’s meeting.

The purpose section of the ordinance acknowledges the evolving situation with the pandemic and the governor’s April 22 announcement to “reopen Alaska responsibly,” stating:

“Since enactment of Emergency Ordinance No. 2020-14, the Assembly now recognizes that the rule therein of no exception to the 14-day self-quarantine (except for ‘critical healthcare workers’) is unduly restrictive as it prohibits newly arrived workers that work in a public works project, a community-based government operation and function, or a private construction project from working in an approved workplace until they have completed the required 14-day period.

“This restriction is believed to be undue when balancing the ongoing need to maintain diligent efforts to slow and disrupt the rate of infections with the corresponding critical need to resume economic activity in a reasonable and safe manner.”

Like Emergency Ordinance 2020-14, plans for the workers to self-quarantine on the job – restricting their actions between their hotel and job site – must be approved by the city administrator.

Leach said Friday that the ordinance is intended to address the needs of small groups coming to Sitka for essential federal, state and city public works projects, such as Crescent Harbor and Sawmill Creek Road.

He said the companies had state-approved plans, shared with the city, for mitigating the risk of spreading COVID in the community. Those include screening and quarantines, and no interaction with the public during their time in Sitka. 

Submissions for the special quarantine rule must show the applicant is a worker for a public works project, a community-based government operation and function, or a private construction project and “the protocol proposed is satisfactory and can be implemented and followed to address the public health risk. All approved workers shall observe self-quarantine protocols in their non-work times until they complete the required 14-day period.”

The entire ordinance can be read on the city website, under Assembly Agenda and Minutes.

Tuesday’s special meeting will start at 6 p.m. The hub for the Zoom videoconference will be at Harrigan Centennial Hall, and the Assembly members will attend remotely.

The meeting is open to the public. A link is available for those wishing to testify in writing or telephonically at cityofsitka.com, or who want to watch the meeting on the city’s YouTube channel, said City Clerk Sara Peterson.