Hi, peoples!
I just wanted to give a quick update on information I had shared in my most recent episode, A Resolution and An Ordinance. The City Clerk put up the agenda for Fairbanks City Council's December 6th meeting.
In the agenda, you will find the version of Resolution 4998 that I had read as well as a new version that encourages local businesses to refrain from requiring proof of vaccination. This doesn't change Council Member Clark's reason for writing the resolution or the fact that passing either version will bring the divide currently in the public into the city government.
I plan to write a personal testimony that says:
"I am a constituent who lives in the city limits. I am asking you to vote no on either version of Resolution 4998. Even with the changes made to the resolution, this still has the city government take a stance on the vaccination and creates a divide in the community as people will only have another thing to disagree on. Having more businesses that require proof of vaccination may allow members of the public to return to work and increase local economy as there will be more options for the diverse public to choose from. By not passing either version, Fairbanks City Council will be not be supporting the vaccinated or the unvaccinated and will remain neutral on this topic. Please vote no."
I am unsure if the updated version of the resolution will be more palatable and will pass or not. This won't create any laws or force businesses to stop requiring proof of vaccine, but it does force the Fairbanks City Government to take a stance on vaccinations.
The agenda also has the version of Ordinance 6188 that I read as well as the new version that puts limits on how long of a period that members of the council can participate via zoom. These limits do not take into consideration just how dangerous this virus is for some individuals. There are people who are fully vaccinated living in FNSB who still do not feel safe participating at in person events because of their personal risk factors.
I plan to write a personal testimony that says:
"I'm a constituent who lives in the city limits. I'm asking you to vote yes on Ordinance 6188 as amended and not the proposed substitute. These time limits do not take into consideration the individuals who are extremely high risk and who may consider running if the amended version is voted in but not the proposed substitute. I know former representatives for local governments who are fully vaccinated and do not participate in in-person events because of their personal risk factors. We should also not have to revisit this if this pandemic gets worse and current members would like to participate from home for safety and their time limit is reached. I would also like to note that I am using the written testimony and it is going smoothly. Thank you to the City Clerk for reading this testimony in and all of the other hard work you do to keep the public updated on what is happening. Again, vote yes on Ordinance 6188 as amended and not the proposed substitute."
The proposed substitute may be more popular. Some people may ask to vote in either version, but would state a preference for the amended version that I had read. This will also help as even if the proposed substitute is accepted, it is still a step in the right direction.
Both of my personal testimonies are well under 3 minutes, so feel free to include more information in yours if you plan on testifying. Again, there are three ways to testify and the information on how to do so is available with buttons that can't be missed at the bottom of the page.
If you do not want to testify and/or if you would like to share more information that the 3 minutes is allotted, you can send an email to council@fairbanks.us and it will be sent to S all of the City Council members as well as the Mayor. I suggest putting the action you want in the title of your email in case they don't get a chance to read your email before the next city meeting.
Enjoy your weekend and I'll talk to y'all later. Stay safe, wear a mask, and remember that we care.
