Board will vote Monday on new mask mandate

As Covid case counts continue to rise here, Carlton County commissioners say they will vote on a mask mandate at the board meeting Monday, Oct. 25. The mandate would apply to public spaces inside county buildings, not the county as a whole, and is being considered after some county departments requested it. Other departments are not thrilled with the idea and the board itself appeared split on the idea Monday.

Some parts of the courthouse are already under a mask mandate after Minnesota State Supreme Court chief justice Lorie Gildea required that all people wear masks during court proceedings.

As outlined during Monday’s committee of the whole meeting, the proposed mandate would require staff and visitors to county buildings to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. The mask requirement would be monitored weekly and required if “the county is experiencing substantial or high transmission status of Covid-19,” as it is now.

Under the proposed policy, individuals are not required to wear masks if a medical or religious exemption applies. Staff may remove masks in office spaces if they can adequately maintain social distancing. Masks may be removed in meetings with social distancing. County staff are expected to wear masks in the office if social distancing is not possible or staff are meeting with someone under age 12.

County board chair Tom Proulx asked that the mask mandate policy not go on indefinitely and that it be reviewed if it passes.

Bonding talks

Monday was also a meeting of the Justice Center project working committee, which continues to plan for the new combined jail and court system.

Arcelia Detert of PFM

Financial Advisors of Minneapolis gave a presentation on financing options for the new construction. Cost of the bonding process for the financial advisor and the underwriter will be in the neighborhood of $360,000 on a possible $60 million project. She said this size of a bonding package will get the best interest rates in the public market.

Auditor/Treasurer Kevin DeVriendt said that there will be a five-month delay if voters approve the sales tax in November 2022. The first sales tax revenues would not come into the county until April 2023. It takes time for all vendors to be informed and adjust to collecting the tax on sales in their course of business. This lag is also figured into the bonding proposal.