The Soldotna City Council will discuss the necessity of extending the city’s disaster emergency declaration until July 18 during a public hearing on Wednesday, June 10.
Emergency ordinance 2020-017 calls for the original disaster declaration caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on March 19 be extended “in the best interests of the public.” It also requests that the State of Alaska provide disaster assistance to Soldotna by making resources available as-needed. The ordinance also aims to request assistance from federal agencies when the state support is inadequate.
The city’s disaster declaration granted emergency powers to City Manager Stephanie Queen, suspended restrictions on teleconference attendence by the council, and provided preemptive measures to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. This includes giving the city manager the right to issue executive orders with regards to regulations in city departments that could potentially impact the city’s ability to cope with the emergency.
How does this impact day-to-day operations in Soldotna? Emergency assistance will be requested in response to the impact of the pandemic for business and individuals. Also, with regards to the city manager’s authority, the ordinance allows her to make slight changes to department policies, such as the purchasing of additional sanitary tools in public facilities without needing multiple bids to do so.
The extension will be discussed on Wednesday, June 10, and can be attended online.
