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City Council Minutes Page 9 <br />April 19, 2021 <br />----------------------------- <br />Councilmember Wagner asked Mr. Portner to bring the item back to a Housing and <br />Redevelopment Authority (HRA) meeting. <br /> <br />Council directed no ordinance change but to establish turf as soon as possible. <br /> <br />9.3 Mask Mandate for Outdoor Youth Sports <br /> <br />Mr. Portner presented the staff report. <br /> <br />Eric Nelson, 15851 St. Andrews Ln, Ramsey, was in attendance to ask the council <br />to not use city resources to enforce mask mandates in outdoor youth sports. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz asked what the responsibility of youth organizations in this situation <br />would be. <br /> <br />Mr. Portner explained that the mask mandate is administered the same as indoor <br />sports and it is up to the organizations utilizing the fields to submit COVID-19 plans <br />and follow their rules. If complaints are received, the city would reach out to the <br />organization and ask them for compliance. <br /> <br />Councilmember Westgaard stated that some of the fields in Elk River are city owned <br />and others are managed by Independent School District (ISD) 728. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz asked if the city has received a COVID-19 plan from youth baseball <br />and softball. Mr. Hecker said the city has. If the governor’s orders change their plan <br />could be adjusted. The only way the city would get involved is if plans were <br />submitted and people complain that the mask mandate is not being followed. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wagner pointed out that council’s do not have the power to tell law <br />enforcement which laws to enforce and which not to enforce. Police have to uphold <br />state laws. <br /> <br />Councilmember Westgaard stated that they could only discuss city-owned property. <br />Anything owned by ISD 728 would have to be discussed with the school district. If <br />the city got to the point where the state shut down fields, user groups that complied <br />with mask mandates would also lose field privileges as well as those who did not <br />comply. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz stated that pressure from the Minnesota State High School League <br />could lead to changes. <br /> <br />Mr. Nelson did not feel that public health policy should be dictated by who provides <br />the most pressure. <br /> <br />Councilmember Christianson felt it was not the role of the city to step in. The state <br />should enforce the mandate since it was their decision. <br /> <br /> <br />