- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Supervisors direct further tooling of ordinance requiring masking in county government facilities
Last week, the board approved a policy that requires county personnel to wear masks while working with the public in county facilities, as Lake County News has reported.
On Tuesday, County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson and County Counsel Anita Grant discussed with the board an urgency ordinance requiring the public to also wear masks when in county facilities “under the same conditions required of County employees by the temporary policy your Board enacted on April 21, 2020,” according to Huchingson’s written report.
Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace has so far not required masking in public as has been required in places such as neighboring Sonoma County.
During the discussion, Huchingson said it was estimated that in a regular week – not one in which the shelter in place was in effect – that between 350 and 400 people visit the building to conduct business.
Lake County News followed up with the County Administrative Office after the meeting to get clarification of the numbers.
Deputy County Administrative Officer Matthew Rothstein said 350 to 400 people go through the courthouse’s security checkpoints on an average week, with an estimated 40 percent of those people coming and going multiple times per day.
Rothstein said that Huchingson and Court Executive Officer Krista LeVier have estimated that 200 to 300 unique people come through the checkpoints one time per week.
He added, “Those going through security checkpoints would not generally be presumed to include county or court staff.”
During the meeting, both Huchingson and Grant said there were a lot of questions about how to enforce the ordinance, and board members raised their own concerns.
Huchingson said the county would need to build up capacity to supply masks to the public and noted that one of the biggest concerns in the draft ordinance is how to enforce rules for in-person interaction.
As presented Tuesday, the draft urgency ordinance explained that as soon as the county begins “the gradual process” of reopening its facilities to public access and returning to the in-person provision of customer services to the public, and while the “present COVID-19 State of Emergency continues to exist, or until otherwise ordered by the Board of Supervisors,” the following rules apply:
– All persons who enter a county facility and engage in an in-person interaction, face-to-face or in close proximity, not otherwise protected by a minimum 6-foot separation or protective shielding, shall wear face masks/coverings of their own devise or wear a face mask provided to them free of charge by the County of Lake during the period of that interaction. In addition, when in lobbies, hallways, stairwells or using restrooms of County facilities, all persons are strongly urged to wear masks.
– All persons who enter a county facility who utilize an elevator shall wear face masks/coverings of their own devise or wear a face mask provided to them free of charge by the county of Lake while in the elevator.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said the enforcement is a challenge, and suggested a “no shirt, no shoes, no service” kind of approach.
Supervisor Rob Brown asked why the board was waiting until the county reopened the courthouse, as people were already coming to the building for the court facilities on the fourth floor.
He added that there already are a lot of rules in place punishing law-abiding people.
“The enforcement issue is definitely a challenge at this point,” said Board Chair Moke Simon.
Grant said that, during emergency conditions, the board is entitled to take actions to protect staff and the public. “Your board’s only controlling the building,” she said, acknowledging challenges of enforcement.
Board members agreed that they didn’t want to see staff having to use their time to enforce such a measure.
As for providing masks, Public Services Director Lars Ewing said the county has 2,000 expired N95 masks that Public Health has certified for general use. He’s also ordered another 1,200 basic masks – not medical grade – that are coming in piecemeal. The masks cost 38 to 40 cents each.
Huchingson said the courts have expressed an interest in helping to cover the “sizable cost” that would be involved in providing masks to the public.
The proposed rules’ main cost may not come at the courthouse. Huchingson said based on information provided by Social Services Director Crystal Markytan, its facilities would need thousands of masks based on their traffic.
Simon pointed out that many people in the community already are using their own facial coverings and so wouldn’t need to have masks provided.
Sabatier asked if the masks could be considered required personal protective equipment, which would allow the county to see reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Huchingson agreed that it’s a possibility.
Based on board input, Huchingson said they could add in a disclaimer that the public masking requirement is meant to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission, but that it’s not a guarantee.
She said they also would use signage to enforce it, and that no one would be going around to tell people they would need to leave county facilities if they weren’t masked.
It was agreed during the discussion that employees would need to observe social distancing and ask people to comply.
Another challenge is the courthouse’s elevators, which are too small to allow for 6 feet of social distancing. That led to a suggestion that one person at a time be allowed to use an elevator.
Brown said it was silly to create an ordinance with no teeth in it. “We're making stuff up as we go here,” he said, adding that they can’t have just one person in an elevator at a time.
“Are we backing away from this entirely?” Huchingson asked of the ordinance.
Brown replied that he wasn’t saying they should do nothing.
“Everybody feels differently about their safety with COVID-19,” said Sabatier, adding that if the county didn’t implement an ordinance, it could open them up for potential discrimination allegations.
Brown asked about putting up plexiglass barriers to protect staff. Ewing said he is working on those requests and some department heads have taken the initiative on their own to get them.
The discussion ended with Huchingson and Grant taking the board’s concerns and saying they would return next week with a revised urgency ordinance for their consideration.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.