The Soldotna City Council passed a consent agenda item Wednesday evening that would further extend the disaster emergency declared for the city in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City Manager issued a Disaster Emergency Declaration in response to the pandemic back on March 19, 2020 and has since been extended multiple times throughout last year. Without voting to extend, the current extension will expire on March 31, 2021.
Alaska Statute 26.23.140 states that a local disaster declaration may be extended by the consent of the local governing authority. The City cites that the community at large continues to experience disruption and public health impacts from the pandemic. Alaska has received and continues to receive allocations of COVID-19 vaccines and continued coordination is required between state and local governments as well as with healthcare providers to ensure the vaccine continues to be accessible to Alaskans.
Soldotna states that the city’s response and recovery efforts require the ongoing use of resources and the City Council aims to extend the Disaster Emergency Declaration of the City Manager to ensure sufficient resources remain focused on the situation. Soldotna requests that the state provide assistance by making available resources as needed in the ongoing response and recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, to provide individual assistance for affected businesses and individuals, and to provide technical expertise and guidance, to help the City in response and recovery from the event. Soldotna additionally requests assistance from federal agencies where state capability isn’t adequate.
The Disaster Emergency Declaration issued last March now extends through June 30, 2021.