City looks to streamline health safety response

ALAMOSA — At Wednesday’s meeting, the Alamosa City Council took a step to create an avenue to ensure public health. The Council voted for approval on first reading Ordinance No.19-2020. An ordinance designed to make a public health violation a local ordinance violation rather than rely on trespassing or reckless endangerment.

In Alamosa, the City’s response to noncompliance has been education first, looking to correct non-compliance without excessive punishment. Under the current code, the first offense of reckless endangerment could carry jail time. Ordinance 19-2020 would make the willful violation of a local, state or federal order that has been issued for the protection of the public health, unlawful. As explained by City Attorney Erich Schwiesow, it would allow for a clean and concise response without having to resort to a ‘hammer’ such as reckless endangerment.

“The jurisdiction of Alamosa’s municipal court is limited to ordinance violations.” Explained Schwiesow. “So, we don’t have an ordinance violation that addresses the violation of public health orders and therefore cannot write simple straightforward ‘violation of a public health order’ into Alamosa municipal court, currently, we have to write in trespass(ing) or reckless endangerment, violations of those municipal ordinances.”

The ordinance was set forth as an emergency ordinance with staff seeking to have it passed on first reading. The response to the possibility of a more direct response to perceived public health risks was varied. The rush on Wednesday’s ordinance created apprehension among the council as well as the attending public.

Councilor Michael Carson was uneasy with a reference to Code 6 of the existing Alamosa Code that was enacted during the City’s emergency declaration from March 18th which runs concurrently with the state’s own declaration. Chapter 6 granted emergency powers to the Mayor such as the discontinuance of the selling, distributing or giving away of gasoline, the discontinuance of the selling, distributing, or giving away of any firearms or ammunition and designating certain areas of the city as being restricted.

Public comment was in favor of waiting “Yes we understand the guidelines you have to follow but nobody knows about this and so I would strongly support and suggest that you continue this to a second meeting so the public can actually have time to read this ordinance.” Rather than approve the ordinance as an emergency, the council passed it 6-1 with Councilor Carson casting the no vote.

The second reading with a public hearing will be set for August 19th’s City Council Meeting. Interested parties can view the prospective ordinance by visiting https:// alamosa.novusagenda. com/AgendaPublic/ and checking the online agenda for 8/5.