City leaders plead for COVID-19 regulation after Johnson County makes it voluntary
More than 20 city council members from across Johnson County have signed a letter urging county leaders to adopt coronavirus restrictions that can be enforced.
After Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced she has shifted responsibility for COVID-19 prevention to counties, Johnson County health officials said they would not impose their own restrictions. Instead, the county is leaving it up to businesses and residents to follow recommendations laid out in Kelly’s phased approach to reopening the economy.
Now all churches and businesses, including bars, nightclubs and entertainment venues which had been closed can reopen, at full capacity and with no other regulations.
But Kansas Secretary of Health and Environment Dr. Lee Norman warned Wednesday that if mass gatherings are allowed without social distancing, the state is going “to see an increase and perhaps a startling increase in the number of cases.”
In Johnson County, Sanmi Areola, public health director, said now that businesses have started to reopen, the county is “seeing an increase of positive cases, just as we anticipated.”
With coronavirus continuing to spread — causing outbreaks and deaths across the region — several city officials have joined in opposing Johnson County’s decision. They planned to send their letter to the Johnson County Commission ahead of its Thursday morning meeting.
“It would be very challenging — if not impossible — for each individual Johnson County city or town to attempt on their own to protect the health and safety of our community during this pandemic,” Overland Park Councilman Logan Heley said. “We need to be unified on this and we need the county to provide us with data-based, enforceable health regulations to provide consistency and a basic level of protection to our community.”
In the letter, officials call on the board of county commissioners to adopt Kelly’s reopening plan in a local health order, “for the health and safety of the community we all represent and are sworn to protect.”
“We are still urgently in the midst of this health crisis and will be for some time,” officials wrote. “The road to recovery will take years of good stewardship, but its foundation is being constructed by your decision today. Please lead by example and show our community well-reasoned courage in face of this local and global health pandemic.”
Adopting Kelly’s plan as an order would keep intact restrictions, such as limiting mass gatherings to no more than 15 people. It would also mean that bars, nightclubs and large event venues would stay closed until the county determines it is safe for them to reopen.
Officials in both Wyandotte County to the north and Douglas County to the west decided to continue enforcing Kelly’s plan. Mayor David Alvey said of Wyandotte County, “No matter what political battles rage at the state level, our fight has been and will continue to be against the novel coronavirus.”
But following Johnson County’s lead, officials in Sedgwick County, which includes Wichita, on Wednesday chose not to impose any restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19.
Johnson County health officials “strongly recommend” that residents and businesses continue to follow Kelly’s plan, abide by social distancing rules and take other actions to prevent the spread of the virus. That includes wearing face coverings in public, frequent hand washing and staying home as much as possible.
Joseph LeMaster, public health officer, has the authority to shutdown the county during a public health crisis. Health officials announced that they will not impose additional COVID-19 restrictions earlier this week. The county board did not vote on the issue.
Like at the national and state level, Johnson County officials have been divided — often along party lines — on the issue of reopening the economy while protecting public health. Earlier this week, Kelly, a Democrat, vetoed a Republican-sponsored bill designed to limit her authority amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Johnson County Commissioner Mike Brown, for example, previously challenged the public health officer’s stay-at-home orders, even threatening to take the matter to court. But others, such as Commissioner Janeé Hanzlick, are advocating for a slower approach to reopening businesses, worried about a spike in new cases.
In a message to other elected officials across the county, Heley of Overland Park said he hopes county leaders “will allow science and our public health officials to guide their decision-making.”
“This is a time for unity,” officials wrote in the letter.
Here are the city council members who signed it, as of late Wednesday:
In Overland Park, council members Logan Heley, Paul Lyons and Holly Grummert.
In Lenexa, council members Julie Sayers and Courtney Eiterich.
In Shawnee, council members Lisa Larson-Bunnell and Jill Chalfie.
In Mission, council members Sollie Flora, Hillary Parker-Thomas and Trent Boultinghouse.
In Prairie Village, council members Bonnie Limbird, Jori Nelson, Ian Graves, Chad Herring, Ron Nelson, Tucker Poling and Inga Selders.
In Westwood Hills, council member Ed Gogol.
In Merriam, council members Whitney Yadrich and Jason Silvers.
In Fairway, council member Jenna Brofsky.
In Roeland Park, council members Jen Hill, Jan Faidley and Michael Rebne.
In Leawood, council member Lisa Harrison.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 9:48 PM.
