Steve Shackleford sits at the Hollis city council meeting Monday night. Shackleford was the only person who wore a mask during the meeting. (Photo by Jacob Factor)
Published on August 6, 2020 in the Mangum Star
Even with 19 active COVID-19 cases in town, the City of Hollis is not declaring a state of emergency or mandating masks.
Hollis’ city council voted unanimously in their regular meeting Monday to take “no action” on a state of emergency declaration.
“We can bring it to a vote; my vote is a no,” Councilwoman Stacee Garton said as soon as the agenda item had been read. “I don’t want any recommendation. I know its not a mandate but I don’t think we need to have an opinion. If the businesses are doing it already, the individuals can do it themselves, too.”
Hollis city manager Bob Copeland said he put the item on the agenda because they had gotten a few calls about a possible emergency declaration.
Councilman Adam Bromlow brought up possible federal grants that the city could qualify for later on if they declared a state of emergency, but Garton said they would need to rewrite a declaration to qualify for the grants but without any mention of masks tacked onto it.
Councilman Darrell Hanks said he talked with Hollis Public Schools superintendent Jennifer McQueen and said getting certain groups of kids to wear masks would be hard. He said a mask mandate would conflict with the schools ability to decide their own mask rules.
“I get that this isn’t a mandate, but either we mandate (masks) or stay out of it,” Garton said. “I don’t think we should have an opinion if we’re not going to pass the full out mandate, which I disagree with wholeheartedly.”
Garton said she is not willing to put her name on anything she will not do herself, and she said she will not.
“If I choose to go to the dollar store, I’ll put a mask on,” she said.
A member of the public asked if a mandate was enacted, how would it be enforced. Garton said she thinks it would "open up a whole can of something we do not need."
Hollis Mayor Kendall Williams said people around town are doing a good job deciding for themselves what they prefer.
“To me it's an individual choice for each individual and each business,” he said. “The majority of people are going to do whatever’s best for them.”
He said he doesn’t think Hollis residents need the city to tell them what to do about it, even if it’s just a recommendation. Williams then made a motion to “take no action” on the agenda item, which Garton seconded, and the council voted unanimously in favor of his motion.
Only one person who attended the meeting Monday, public or council, wore a mask during the meeting. Several people were holding masks, but had either taken them off for the meeting or not worn them at all.