To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Steve Potter, City Manager
Prepared By: Liz Habkirk, Deputy City Manager
TITLE:
Title
Proclamation of Local Emergency to Respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Continue the Proclamation of Local Emergency authorizing the City Manager to take actions necessary to respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19); and ratify actions taken by the City Manager in implementation of the Proclamation of Local Emergency.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The catastrophic coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has severely impacted the community of residents, businesses, property owners, and visitors that are served by the City of Napa; and it has concurrently and similarly severely impacted the operations and services that are provided by the City’s governmental organization to the community. Accordingly, on March 15, 2020, the City Manager issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency to Respond to the Coronavirus (Proclamation No. P2020-001), which was ratified by City Council on March 16, 2020. The ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on the community and the City’s operations have been documented and described in public reports to support the City Council’s continuation of the Local Emergency on March 31, 2020, April 7, 2020, April 21, 2020, May 5, 2020, May 19, 2020, June 2, 2020, June 16 and July 21, 2020. The City Manager also issued Proclamation No. P2020-002 and Proclamation No. P2020-003 in response to specific actions taken to help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19
Since the last report to the City Council, the City Manager has determined that the conditions of local emergency continue to exist in the City, and the City Manager has taken additional administrative actions in implementation of the Proclamation of Local Emergency. Because the impacts of COVID-19, and the City’s actions in response, are evolving so fast and continuously, City staff will provide an update to the status of those impacts and actions during the Council meeting.
In response to the continuing growth in the number of cases in Napa County, educating the public regarding the importance of public health precautions through public messaging will be a critical component to gaining compliance with the requirements of the public health orders and more effectively mitigate the impact of COVID-19. With guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Napa County Health Officer and California Department of Public Health have identified public health precautions to be taken by members of the public to minimize the spread of COVID-19, including maintaining social distance, wearing a mask, and washing hands.
City staff, in partnership with the Napa Chamber of Commerce, have prepared three types of signs to encourage practicing these public health precautions. City staff will place signs at City-owned buildings and City parks with high visibility to remind the public of the requirements of health orders and taking public health precautions. Additional signs will be made available to local businesses to place at their locations in accordance with NMC Section 17.55.120(I) (for window signs) or NMC Section 17.55.120(H)(for Temporary Noncommercial Signs).
Additionally, the City Manager has authorized the Public Works Director to place up to four (at any time) of the City’s electronic message signs (that are typically used for traffic regulation messages) as a temporary sign encouraging public health to be located in City right-of-way at highly visible locations.
Staff recommends that the City Council continue the Proclamation of Local Emergency authorizing the City Manager to take actions necessary to respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19); and ratify the administrative actions taken by the City Manager in implementation of the Proclamation of Local Emergency, as summarized in this report and as will be presented during the Council meeting on August 4, 2020. Consistent with Napa Municipal Code Section 2.89.060, the City Manager will return to City Council, at least every 21 days, to review the need to continue the local emergency efforts.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
CARES Act funding authorized for communication purposes will be used to procure signs and installation materials.
CEQA:
The City Manager has determined that the recommended action described in this agenda report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
None.
NOTIFICATION:
None.