Whitefish council declines tighter COVID rules

The Whitefish City Council declined to impose new COVID-19 restrictions after hearing testimony from small business owners, a local hospital nurse and other residents during a virtual meeting Monday evening.

The council kept capacity restrictions for local businesses at 75% instead of rolling them back to 50%, as the state required during Phase 1 of Gov. Steve Bullock’s reopening plan. The council previously imposed temporary restrictions for the Halloween weekend, and most bars and restaurants voluntarily closed by 10 p.m.

Some council members said they were frustrated by the inaction of the Flathead City-County Board of Health and felt Whitefish should adopt some kind of city enforcement measures as infections continue to surge in the area. But they said capacity limits are difficult to implement and hurt some businesses financially more than others.

Earlier Monday, an order that would have placed a 500-person cap on indoor gatherings countywide failed on a tie vote by the Health Board.

“I continue to find this entire situation to be very regrettable, extremely frustrating,” council member Ben Davis said. “This morning, the county, once again, has punted the problem.”

Council member Steve Qunell said county officials have failed to adopt local restrictions and enforce existing restrictions ordered by the state.

“The county has been loath. The county attorney has done nothing. The county health board has refused to help out,” Qunell said. “And not until this late hour are we going to get one – we’re going to finally get one single person – to do all of the [case] investigations in the entire county.”

The council also discussed the idea of hiring a part-time COVID-19 enforcement officer with funds from the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Those funds will expire at the end of the year without additional action by Congress, but council member Rebecca Norton advocated for the position to be filled, saying the city may need someone focused on enforcement well into 2021.

City Manager Dana Smith reported the county had 29 hospitalized COVID-19 patients on Monday.

Amy Sharp, a registered nurse in the special care unit at North Valley Hospital, implored the council to “act swiftly” as the coronavirus tests the limits of North Valley and Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Sharp said North Valley would begin accepting COVID-19 patients on Tuesday because “Kalispell is no longer able to handle the numbers.”

“That leads to a lack of beds. That leads to canceled surgeries. It also leads to delayed outpatient imaging,” she said. “And it leads to people staying home and staying sicker, longer.”

Sharp added that COVID-19 is “a very tricky, dangerous disease – unlike the flu,” and it will be especially challenging to treat COVID-19 patients at the height of the flu season.

“The combination of influenza with COVID-19 is very scary for health-care professionals,” she said. “We’ve never dealt with anything like this before.”

Dave Sheeran, owner of the Remington Bar, was among those who spoke in opposition to new business restrictions in Whitefish. His is one of five Flathead County businesses being sued by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services for flouting the state’s masking and social distancing mandates. He said he voluntarily closed the bar at 6 p.m. on Halloween, costing thousands of dollars in revenue.

“My staff lost more than anyone,” Sheeran told the council. “I’m not really here for myself tonight. I could probably live through anything you want to throw at me. But the people that I employ, they’re your constituents here in town. I’m here to speak on their behalf.”

Sheeran said his business can survive while continuing to limit capacity to 75%.

“If you want to stay here where we’re at, I’m all for it,” he said. “But I’m not a proponent of going backward in any way, and I’m only looking forward to Phase 3.”

Council member Ryan Hennen said he wouldn’t support any new restrictions on businesses.

“But I would be in favor of discussing what we can do,” Hennen said, “what kind of ordinances we could pass, what kind of enforcement we could look into, what kind of messaging we can get out there to ensure that we are protecting the health of our community, and we are making sure that the businesses can operate in ways that they need to.”

Mayor John Muhlfeld expressed hope that the city’s new COVID-19 task force will improve the situation by “delivering concise, consistent and frequent messaging to our town regarding the true effects of this disease and what we can do to help protect both our residents and our visitors alike.”

Muhlfeld added, “I still – after hearing public comments tonight and the comments from the council – believe that pushing for more voluntary compliance through messaging is probably our best course of action at this point.”

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com