Sun Valley council approves emergency face-covering order with Oct. 1 sunset

Sun Valley Mayor Peter Hendricks and the City Council approved Emergency Public Health Order 2020-02 requiring face coverings in public places at a special meeting on July 9, 2020. Council President Michelle Griffith moved to adopt the order as amended to include a sunset date of Oct. 1, 2020; Council Member Brad DuFur seconded and a roll-call vote recorded four ayes, no nays. The Mayor declared the motion approved.

Council debate focused on aligning the city order with Blaine County and neighboring cities, and on drafting language that balances public-health goals with civil-liberties concerns. Council Member Brad DuFur said he favored consistency with the county and other cities. Council Member Jane Conard thanked city staff for drafting the order and said she was "surprised by some of the comments from citizens that are against face coverings," adding she preferred an order without a review or sunset date. Council Member Keith Saks described the order as a "work in progress" and said it was better to adopt now and adjust later. Council President Michelle Griffith suggested edits to the exemptions section and framed the measure in terms of public-health limits similar to smoking regulations.

City Attorney Johnson clarified the wording of the order, explaining the meaning of the phrase "otherwise unprotected social interaction," and stated that emergency health orders must include a sunset date. The council amended the draft to add a sunset date of Oct. 1, 2020 and then voted to approve the amended order. The minutes do not specify an effective date for the order.

The meeting opened at 4:02 PM and adjourned at 4:55 PM. No public-comment speakers were named in the minutes, and no formal challenges or recorded dissents to the motion were recorded.