WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A new mask resolution will be in place in a Central Wisconsin city if the state mandate goes away.
Tuesday evening the Wausau City Council discussed a resolution from the Public Health and Safety Committee regarding a mask requirement within city limits. The mask resolution would only go into effect if Governor Evers statewide mask mandate would not be extended after November 21st or if is struck down before then.
The council talked at length about the resolution, spending almost an hour of their meeting discussing the issue. Most members of the council were in favor of the resolution but had questions about its lack of actionable items.
The resolution has no enforcement measures outside of telling individuals they are expected to wear a mask when “in indoor areas accessible to the public and while driving or riding public transportation or a qualifying vehicle…”. The resolution also only encourages businesses to post notices to require those inside their establishments to wear face coverings.
Council President and District 6 Alder Becky McElhaney would like to see the city do more outreach to local businesses and residents regarding COVID-19. “I also am really enforcing that I would like to do the business roundtable that we are planning. I’d like to do more education.
“I don’t want this to be, the City Council said we should wear masks. That’s not what this is about. We want people to be healthy, that’s my thought in doing this.”
Taking things a step further, District 3 Alder Tom Killian proposed an amendment to the resolution to add an education and access component to it. “It would also go back to Public Health and Safety to discuss potential educational opportunities.
“And the facilitation of access to masks. Because I feel like if this requirement is there I’d like to see everyone have the ability to access them.”
Public Health and Safety Committee Chair and District 7 Alder Lisa Rasmussen mentioned that after the committee discussed the resolution last week, public feedback was overwhelmingly positive. “The night of the Public Health and Safety Committee, we took almost 200 public feedback forms.
“If you distill out the ones that came from outside the City of Wausau, that we don’t make policy for, that’s 60 forms. For the rest of them, we had 120 in favor and 22 against. That’s just the outcome of one committee meeting.”
After discussion of the resolution, the council voted 8-3 in favor of the mask requirement mandate. The mandate will only go into effect if the statewide mask mandate is no longer in effect. And if the Wausau mask resolution does go into effect, it will only last until January 31st 0f 2021.
