COVID-19 State of emergency Public Comment from Gregg MisFrom:G H
To:Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Cc:Jen C
Subject:[EXTERNAL] City Council Comments for Meeting 04/06/2020
Date:Monday, April 6, 2020 4:06:33 PM
After reading an article in the Daily Interlake today as well as seeing numerous posts on social media
regarding the vote to declare a State of Local Disaster Emergency I felt compelled to write in with my
concerns and comments on the situation. There are too many questions and not enough time for
them to all be answered. First of all, given our limited number of COVID-19 cases in the valley so far,
how is this declaration justified? Certainly the stay-at-home order is inconvenient and an outright
hardship on many people but I fail to see how this declaration will ease anyone’s suffering. I fail to
see how anything that is listed in the article or on social media is necessary or is beyond the reach of
the existing city council without putting all the power and responsibility onto one person, the City
Manager. The majority of the people I see on social media talking about this don’t even know who
the City Manager is, let alone why they should be given so much power in this situation.
Maybe this is a terrifying and unjustified attempt to institute some kind of martial law, or maybe this
is a sign that the City Council feels unable to adequately govern during this crisis and wants either a
scapegoat or a delegate that will relieve you of your responsibilities. No matter the reason, the end
result is unconscionable in that it removes the checks and balances inherent in a governing body and
gives to much of the power to one individual. No matter the character of that individual, we see
time and time again that one person is never the best solution for governing a populace especially
through chaotic and critical times like these. Multiple ideas need to be shared, evaluated and
decided upon with a majority consensus so that we have the best chance to choose the right path
and in the end, no-one person takes the credit or blame based on the outcome.
I encourage the City Council to step up and govern us as the elected leaders you are. Find whatever
avenues you can to achieve the same control and rules that these newspaper and social media
articles suggest are needed. If they would likely be implemented by the City Manager, find a way to
implement them yourselves as a cooperative effort for the good of the City. Vote against a full
Declaration of State of Local Disaster Emergency if it must include transferring so much of the power
and responsibility to just one person.