Photo Credit: Poor Richard’s Downtown Facebook Page
This afternoon on July 10th, an addition was made to Monday’s Colorado Springs City Council Work Session Agenda. The Council members will discuss a mandatory face mask ordinance. Less than 24 hours later, Council members plan to hurriedly vote on the ordinance during Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting. Public comment is allowed during Tuesday’s meeting only. Take a look at the ordinance here.
Why is this happening?
Yesterday, Governor Polis announced that people need to, “wear a damn mask.” Also, Mayor Suthers has been heavily promoting mask wearing over the past week. While positive COVID-19 cases are rising in Colorado, deaths and hospitalizations have not risen dramatically. The same pattern applies to El Paso County, where deaths have leveled off.
Positive cases have risen, likely due to an increase in testing. Tests were not readily available a few months ago, but people are taking advantage of their supply now.
As we often do at SpringsTaxpayers.com, we received some tips earlier today. We learned that area businesses are uneasy about the possibility of returning to more restrictions due to the increase in positive COVID-19 cases. Also, our tipsters reported that City Council President Richard Skorman made calls to 4 of the 9 City Council Members today to determine if he has the votes to get the ordinance passed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. It appears he does, as he made the last-minute addition to the Monday and Tuesday council agendas.
Skorman did not contact members who oppose a mandatory face mask ordinance. Mr. Pico, Mr. Williams, and Ms. Gaebler had previously expressed opposition in May when we were the only media to report the City Council discussion about a possible ordinance. Our tipsters said that once Skorman had 5 votes to support the ordinance, the calls ceased.
What can you do to stop this mandate?
We are calling on our readers to oppose this rushed move by Colorado Springs Council. Think about it: the ordinance was added to the Monday agenda today, Friday.
We are also calling on our readers to request that Mr. Skorman recuse himself from Tuesday’s vote. As a business owner, Skorman is not objective in this matter. He has chosen to require masks in his downtown store, which is proper for him to do. But why take that choice away from other businesses? Skorman could simply encourage his fellow business owners to follow suit and require customers to mask up. Using the force of government is not the answer.
We know outrage is high among citizens right now —on both sides of this issue. Individual business owners have the right to make masks mandatory on their property. If a customer doesn’t like it, they can go elsewhere. There is no need for government interference in the matter.
Contact your Council members and Mayor Suthers at these email addresses. You have a right to have your voice heard on the issue.
Wayne Williams Wayne.williams@coloradosprings.gov
Tom Strand Tom.strand@coloradosprings.gov
Bill Murray Bill.murray@coloradosprings.gov
Andres Pico Andy.Pico@Coloradosprings.gov
Jill Gaebler Jill.Gaebler@coloradosprings.gov
Yolanda Avila Yolanda.Avila@coloradosprings.gov
Richard Skorman Richard.Skorman@coloradosprings.gov
David Geislinger David.Geislinger@Coloradosprings.gov
Don Knight Don.Knight@Coloradosprings.gov
Mayor John Suthers Jsuthers@springsgov.com
If you are available to attend either of the meetings in person, or to publicly testify at the Tuesday meeting, they will be held Monday July 13th and Tuesday July 14th. Both begin at 10:00 a.m. They are held in the Colorado Springs City Council chambers at 107 N. Nevada, on the 3rd floor.
If you are unable to attend in person, you can watch the live stream link here.
We will keep a close eye on these meetings. Let us know if you have any more tips!
35 thoughts on “Mask Ordinance to Swiftly Move Through Council”
Thank you for your quick reporting on this! I do not agree with this force on our town and our businesses. We will fight this and will not comply!
Your argument is ignorant and short-sighted. We are not “afraid” of the virus, but want to take prudent precautions out of the RESPECT FOR OTHERS and to protect ourselves. There are many instances in which we can’t “just go elsewhere.” For example, the grocery store or building supply store. We were in Summit County last week and it was great that the rules were very clearly stated and complied with. It’s unfortunate that just because YOU are not concerned about the virus you think that there should be no policies in place to limit its spread. Doing nothing is a selfish and dangerous option. I am for opening businesses as much as possible, while taking simple precautions that are easily followed. We WILL NOT patronize businesses that do not at least recommend that people wear masks.
And there you go, you have a choice where to shop. So I should therefore have that same choice. A business that requires masks will work just fine for you and a business that doesn’t will work just fine for me. If you need something from a business that doesn’t require masks, I will be happy to pick it up for you and drop it off on your porch.
How come everyone forgets about flatting the curve the numbers below are the same.
The infections will be the same amount the only difference will be time frame short or long but infections amount will be the same.
Good do your research I hope you stop going places because we don’t need you’re uneducated opinion there is no safety in wearing a mask this is about 1 thing and its control that’s it don’t be fooled by our horrible governor also his mandates and orders are null and void after 30 days from beginning of pandemic look up the lawsuit against governor Pritzker in Illinois he lost because his orders are tiranicle just like our governor in Colorado Democrats are trying to take your freedoms and liberty’s away slowly I will not wear a mask nor should you quit being a sheep they don’t have our best interests in there hearts I promise! Do your own research and that doesn’t include cdc or who information both are very bias and not good with the test they have studied!
The problem with rushing things is they don’t consider the unintended consequences. There are people who have underlying conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask, and you curtailing our rights. The CDC states on its web page that wearing mask is no substitute for hand washing and social distancing. Mandating masks is not the solution. The numbers were going to go up as soon as we started opening businesses, and everyone acts surprised. What’s not gone up, are the death tolls, Those have been going down. We’re beating this.
Individual responsibility as well as owner responsibility should drive this matter, not government intervention.
Wear a mask
No to Mask mandatory!
The last time people were made to wear something was during the Holocaust. A little star of David with “Jude” in the center.
Why now after no enforcement when the protestors were causing damage and not wearing masks? If we can’t keep the I-25 corridor open or prevent other destruction how can we enforce masks. The Mayor has been pretty good up until Corona hit but has failed us since then. I wear a mask in every store but it sholud not be mandated!
Ronald Ramsey says: “I wear a mask in every store but it should not be mandated!”
Why not? People work there. The elderly visit there while you are there. Why do you think anyone should be allowed to go around spreading diseases.
If your afraid of catching or spreading the virus stay home…don’t let your fears control others .
It’s about time they passed this. People are dying. People are killing others for partisan politics. This is no different from speed limits, or rules that say you can’t fire your gun at crowds or people.
Are you wearing pants? It’s against the law to go around nude. I think anti-nude qualifies for “last time people were made to wear something”
I beg to differ with Joe, we are encourage to wear clothes every day. One could say that the holocaust victims were also encouraged to wear the star. The penalty for Holocaust defiance was death, Failure to wear a mask in appropriate places also comes with a penalty for the sick, elderly and some young. Death is still the result. 130,000 people in the US have died already why would we argued the efficacy of masks? “Its my right” is a weak excuse. You don’t have the right to expose others to a deadly disease. Loose the “I” mentality and think of all of us as part of a community for which we are all responsible
No proof masks work. Can not find any evidence for this argument. Making the argument that not wearing a mask kills people is ridiculous. Nazi Death camps were very efficient at killing people. Abortion clinics are 100% effective. No studies for masks doing any good.
Jeff says: “No proof masks work.”
There is a beauty shop in Missouri there two of the workers tested positive. They tested 49 of their customers and found no positives. This shop, the workers and customers, all wore mask.
Coronavirus seems to attach to ACE2 receptor in cells. The nasal passage is full of these receptor’s. While there is no direct proof, unless you want to offer yourself up for unmasked testing, it is common sense that blocking moisture from entering the nasal passage is safer than not blocking that moisture.
You are correct, there is no proof that mask work, which is the same amount of proof that the don’t work. Based on what scientist have observed from other similar diseases and testing on this COVID-19, not politicians or MSM, mask appear to work.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449
People are not dying from lack of masks. All the experts Fauci, etc, said this is to “flatten the curve”, which they explicitly said means the same number of people will get the disease, but it will be over a longer period, and the purpose was to make sure the hospitals did not get overwhelmed with patients. Only a couple cities in the US had such a load (primarily NYC). It is a lie to say more will die if we don’t wear masks. No expert has said so. It just slows the rate of infection, not the amount infected. The 130000 would have died masks or not. Only the timeline would change.
If the masks truly work, then my not wearing one should not effect those that choose to wear one. Ther eis no imperical evidence that suggests they work or not. There is a lot of collective evidence that shows wearing the mask will lower the immune system and cause challenges for those that have other heath concerns such as asthma etc. These politicians that are demanding what we do for our own medical good have no formal training. Stop being sheeple. Learn to think for yourself. If you want to see how bad it reallyun is and how much misinformation we are fed, do the math yoourself. Look up the population in your city, state, or cou ty. Look at the census to get the estim ated populatio. then pull the covid diagnosis numbers and the death rate from covid. It is way less tha. a 1% of death. But, these fear mongering politicians and most of the media will lead you to believe that your chances of contracting or dying from this are huge! There is a vested interest of making everyone feel alone and afraid. Why is that?
Would you be kind enough to send me the information or the site I can go to to find the information you are citing on masks.
Simply control of the upcoming election mis information flow by the left . You are correct in every thing you said. If you all notice ; the move to mandate anything almost always starts with the liberal democrats. Just stating that all politicians will do anything to obtain your vote or your money…
Pardon the spelling on some words. I did this on the fly from my phone.
Why should city counsel members not be held accountable to unethical conduct? This article explains, in-part, what lengths Councilmen Richard Skorman went to ensure more overreach would be enforced on local COS residents, in the hopes that nobody was watching. As I have made my share of mistakes, it is my hope that Mr. Skorman reverses on his position. Email to keep your voice heard and liberties intact. Let’s lift a respectful, clear voice to oppose this measure.
Additionally, and regardless of national location, mandatory third-party inspection of the testing kits, registry database handling, testing procedures of the patient, laboratories where tests are preformed and Contact Tracer employees, must start immediately. There is little to no county or state oversight measures in-place, nor accountability to ensure all procedures and equipment is met with the strictest of legal regulations. We are being forced to blindly accept what’s being waved in-front-of-us, however, we need someone to “look behind the curtain”.
The premise: recently two persons in FL registered to get tested. They were not sick, just curious about it all. They waited in-line 2 hours, ran out of time, and left before getting tested. A few days later both persons received a notice in the mail that they tested POSITIVE; despite NOT ever being tested.
These citizens now have a false test, and therefore false test results, in their records, not to mention being on the Contract Tracer list. They have to fight to have this removed. This is highly suspicious and needs investigating.
Where is the third-party oversight? Where is the the legal accountability? Why are we not requiring this oversight as mandatory instead of blindly following along? Yes. There is a certain measure of needing to trust on faith, however, when state government and *Federal Reserve SUDDENLY and SWIFTLY push for: shuttering of all businesses, *stopping use of cash but only forms of payment easily monitored (can’t catch virus from objects per CDC),*reducing the coinage that is circulated, having persons with “positive-result” placed on tracer lists that a person without a security clearance then monitors, children being removed from loving, solid homes (even when instead staying with extended relatives such as aunts/uncles or grandparents) but placed in a state home when the parent appears to test positive, and cramming through bills for mandatory school age vaccination (I am not anti-vaccine but pro-ethical and responsible vaccine testing) to which parents have no rights regardless of religion, medical condition of child or schooling choice (home school) and forced into “re-education videos” as their PII is collected and kept on a database that the government has no accountability should there be a breach; then there is something calculated and sinister going-on “behind the curtain”.
SUDDEN and SWIFT mandatory third-party investigations and inspections must begin on all 50 state and local government facilities, testing process and procedures, laboratories, result notifications and contact tracer employees.
To continue, why are citizens’ private, HIPPA-category medical information suddenly being collected and held on databases of which a local resident (contact tracer employee) is permitted to have access and monitor? What is there to fear? What is the real reason? If the state government is that concerned for its residents’ health and protection for or of those with a spreadable disease, why are they not also requiring anyone whom has tested positive with: hepatitis b-d, AIDS, HIV or malaria to be placed on a contact tracer list and monitored? Doing so is illegal, irrational and unethical.
However, we’re expected to support sweeping measures of assimilation and to being monitored because a new virus is in town. We’re also expected to accept that the virus can’t spread amongst rioters and police haters, all while they terrorize and dismantle cities; deliberately stripping them of their identities to make room for a new identity that is of another agenda.
I do not support an idea to list and monitor anyone with any infectious disease and find it utterly unethical. This virus, and the overreach of power, is being shown to be a tool in the hand of an anti-American Constitution agenda.
My point and concern has been proven again. During the short time of forming this reply, I have received TWO separate texts stating that three individuals across the US registered for testing. They did not actually get tested, and have all received a notice in the mail that they tested POSITIVE.
There is an agenda to push for the full and unfettered access to assimilate, monitor and track citizens of America through means of strong-arming, propaganda, fear mongering, control of currency and worse, dissolving of constitutional rights and liberties.
I want to know where the Governor gets off calling people bastards. ?
I don’t know where all the cases are at but I know of no one since March. This mandate is not enforceable or even provable to prevent anything especially when we were told not to wear them in April.
It is to dam hot to where a mask all the time and very un-healthy,. Who are you kidding?
All you mandate defenders are the ignorant ones, this is election year scare tactics.
Do we need a mask ordinance, great then open the economy up completely no excuses do it! If not your clearly a group of liars with other motives.
Let’s all work together to bring the numbers down. Stop getting tested!!
Chicken pox is a virus. Lots of people have had it, and probably don’t think about it much once the initial illness has passed. But it stays in your body and lives there forever, and maybe when you’re older, you have debilitating painful outbreaks of shingles. You don’t just get over this virus in a few weeks, never to have another health effect. We know this because it’s been around for years, and has been studied medically for years.
Herpes is also a virus. And once someone has it, it stays in your body and lives there forever, and anytime they get a little run down or stressed-out they’re going to have an outbreak. Maybe every time you have a big event coming up (school pictures, job interview, big date) you’re going to get a cold sore. For the rest of your life. You don’t just get over it in a few weeks. We know this because it’s been around for years, and been studied medically for years.
HIV is a virus. It attacks the immune system, and makes the carrier far more vulnerable to other illnesses. It has a list of symptoms and negative health impacts that goes on and on. It was decades before viable treatments were developed that allowed people to live with a reasonable quality of life. Once you have it, it lives in your body forever and there is no cure. Over time, that takes a toll on the body, putting people living with HIV at greater risk for health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes, bone disease, liver disease, cognitive disorders, and some types of cancer. We know this because it has been around for years, and had been studied medically for years.
Now with COVID-19, we have a novel virus that spreads rapidly and easily. The full spectrum of symptoms and health effects is only just beginning to be cataloged, much less understood.
So far the symptoms may include:
Fever
Fatigue
Coughing
Pneumonia
Chills/Trembling
Acute respiratory distress
Lung damage (potentially permanent)
Loss of taste (a neurological symptom)
Sore throat
Headaches
Difficulty breathing
Mental confusion
Diarrhea
Nausea or vomiting
Loss of appetite
Strokes have also been reported in some people who have COVID-19 (even in the relatively young)
Swollen eyes
Blood clots
Seizures
Liver damage
Kidney damage
Rash
COVID toes (weird, right?)
People testing positive for COVID-19 have been documented to be sick even after 60 days. Many people are sick for weeks, get better, and then experience a rapid and sudden flare up and get sick all over again. A man in Seattle was hospitalized for 62 days, and while well enough to be released, still has a long road of recovery ahead of him. Not to mention a $1.1 million medical bill.
Then there is MIS-C. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired. While rare, it has caused deaths.
This disease has not been around for years. It has basically been 6 months. No one knows yet the long-term health effects, or how it may present itself years down the road for people who have been exposed. We literally *do not know* what we do not know.
For those in our society who suggest that people being cautious are cowards, for people who refuse to take even the simplest of precautions to protect themselves and those around them, I want to ask, without hyperbole and in all sincerity:
How dare you?
How dare you risk the lives of others so cavalierly. How dare you decide for others that they should welcome exposure as “getting it over with”, when literally no one knows who will be the lucky “mild symptoms” case, and who may fall ill and die. Because while we know that some people are more susceptible to suffering a more serious case, we also know that 20 and 30 year olds have died, marathon runners and fitness nuts have died, children and infants have died.
How dare you behave as though you know more than medical experts, when those same experts acknowledge that there is so much we don’t yet know, but with what we DO know, are smart enough to be scared of how easily this is spread, and recommend baseline precautions such as:
Frequent hand-washing
Physical distancing
Reduced social/public contact or interaction
Mask wearing
Covering your cough or sneeze
Avoiding touching your face
Sanitizing frequently touched surfaces
The more things we can all do to mitigate our risk of exposure, the better off we all are, in my opinion. Not only does it flatten the curve and allow health care providers to maintain levels of service that aren’t immediately and catastrophically overwhelmed; it also reduces unnecessary suffering and deaths, and buys time for the scientific community to study the virus in order to come to a more full understanding of the breadth of its impacts in both the short and long term.
I reject the notion that it’s “just a virus” and we’ll all get it eventually. What a careless, lazy, heartless stance.
Protect yourself, protect your family and friends, be a good person and protect those you don’t know. We all have a right to feel safe. Put on a mask and stay at least 6 ft away!
John, I appreciate your response and the factual evidence in it. Much of which I didn’t know. I would suggest, if I may to drop the self righteous “how dare you” stuff. It is insulting, and it negates everything you are trying to say. Americans are free willed people…..we don’t like being told we must do something. People…are won over with evidence and facts, which you did….but then you have undone all of that work with a cavalier response. elected officials have to weight the evidence along with the spirit of the law, that is to say, that the government from it’s inception was to allow the maximum amount of freedom and liberty. One of the main issues with this action, is that it is open ended, i.e. there is no date with which we get to go back to having our rights back. Many feel that this epidemic ends in November if Biden gets elected, and if not, then it will end in 2025 when Trump leaves office. The prior epidemics never received this much attention, and many feel that is because of politics. Stay open minded and keep emotion out of it is my respectful suggestion, Sir 🙂
Joseph Guy says: ” “how dare you” stuff. It is insulting, and it negates everything you are trying to say. Americans are free willed people…..we don’t like being told we must do something.”
You are not free to steal from people. You are not free top rape people. You are not free to kill people. You are not free to drive 95MPH down the interstate.
We live in a society with joint rules for the common good.
Wearing a mask is no more an impact on freedom than the law that says you can’t dig for gold in your neighbor’s yard. It’s silly to claim this is an impact on freedom. No, it is more than silly, it is putting partition politics ahead of American lives.
Well, you will be in for one hell of a shock when they try to take the guns away. The streets will run with blood in that attempt. “for the common good” will be used…..and the cemetaries will be overflowing. 🙁
Joe, thanks for your comments. I apologize for getting to demonstrative. I do appreciate the dialogue.
How will this be enforced? By neighbors tattling on neighbors? This is unbecoming of a free society, and it does not bode well for our community. Moreover, our police are over-burdened already and do not have the resources to “police” mask usage. There is not a need for a mask in some situations, and most citizens are smart enough to know when masks are and are not needed. Let the people rule themselves, please.
You write that “Positive cases have risen, likely due to an increase in testing.” This is very unlikely to be the cause. Positive rates were under 3% in mid-June; recently they topped 5%, and still remain close to that level. That suggests that the number of cases we are missing is greater than it was a month ago.
https://covid19.colorado.gov/data/case-data (It’s the last chart.)