Holmes Beach city hall’s mask mandate may lead to the resignation or removal of a planning commissioner.
Planning commissioners discussed Aug. 19 the unexcused absence of member Dana Krupa, who some members heard would not attend meetings in person while the city’s mask mandate remained in place due to unknown “safety concerns.”
Mayor Judy Titsworth announced at an Aug. 10 meeting that masks again were required to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
Titsworth sparked the planning commission meeting by broaching the topic of Krupa’s attendance plans, noting that the state no longer allows municipal board members who virtually attend meetings to count toward a quorum or to vote.
If planning commissioners accumulate five unexcused absences or tally three consecutive unexcused absences within a year, their seats are subject to forfeiture.
Chair Greg Kerchner told the board he would speak with Krupa about his attendance plans, then update the board.
Kerchner emailed Krupa and city clerk Stacey Johnston later that day to relay some takeaways from a discussion the pair had after the meeting.
“Dana and I spoke today specifically and solely about his planned attendance and his COVID-related safety concerns,” Kerchner wrote.
According to Kerchner’s “understanding of (Krupa’s) position,” Krupa would like to remain on the planning commission and understands failure to attend in-person for his given reason would constitute an unexcused absence.
“Dana states that although he did not feel he could safely attend today’s meeting in person, he wants to wait until we get closer to our October meeting to see if his own situation, our mask mandate or our remote attendance policy has changed sufficiently to allow him to do so,” he wrote.
“If at that time, Dana feels that he still cannot safely attend in person, he agrees to resign in lieu of waiting for an additional (or 3rd consecutive) unexcused absence.”
Titsworth wrote in an Aug. 20 email to The Islander that she is perplexed.
“I do not know why he would feel unsafe,” she wrote. “I would feel this to be odd as it is proven again and again that masks do help control the spread of droplets. Every step we can take to help reduce the spread will help us get life back to normal as quickly as possible.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masking in indoor settings in areas of substantial community transmission, regardless of vaccination status to reduce the risk of transmission and infection.
The CDC also says people should wear masks where required by federal, state, local, tribal or territorial laws, rules and regulations.
The Islander emailed Krupa Aug. 20 about his concerns but he did not provide answers.
Krupa replied, saying The Islander’s questions would be better asked “during an open forum at the next planning commission meeting.”
The number of new COVID-19 daily cases sharply increased in Florida after early July — the state recorded 2,432 new cases July 1 — and resulted in a record-high 56,036 new cases Aug. 16, according to The New York Times.
The numbers decreased in the days after, with 21,669 new cases Aug. 17, 23,335 on Aug. 18 and 15,586 on Aug. 19, also according to The NYT.
The state recorded 33,935 new cases Aug. 20 — a figure that dwarfs most daily numbers logged since the pandemic began in 2020.
For more information about COVID-19 testing and vaccination against the coronavirus, go to mymanatee.org.