Public comment on mask ordinance
What the county recorded
This item is not from the published agenda
It is a stretch of the recording that this archive identified as a separate matter — a call to order, a recess, or something taken up that the agenda does not list. There is no official title, no staff recommendation and no disposition, because the county never recorded one. Everything below is inferred.
The source document
The county’s agenda for Board of County Commissioners, Jun 29, 2020
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
The county’s minutes for Board of County Commissioners, Jun 29, 2020
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
What was said
Machine transcription of 10m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 62% of 47 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
Thank you, Mr. Steinsnyiner. So Now is the time for public comment. Citizens are given an opportunity to comment on any item coming before the board during the public comment section. The board also takes public comment on items to be placed on the future board agenda or other business under their purview. Due to COVID-19 operations as a safeguard the well-being and safety of our citizens and staff, today's public comment will be handled differently. First, we will take public comment from callers that are pre-registered and are currently on queue. After we read into the public record comments, documents, PowerPoints, or videos
that have been identified by members of the public to be read out loud or played at the meeting, not to exceed three minutes for each. This new format does not waive the request that when you address the board, Comments are not directed personally against any commissioner or a team member. but rather directed at the issue at hand. This provides mutual respect between the board members and the public. For those participating calling in, after stating your name and address for their clerk, the timer will be activated and we'll start a countdown. After two minutes, one beep will sound,
letting you know that only one minute remains. After the time is up, two beeps will sound, indicating the three minutes are up. Please note the calls will be disconnected at the three minute mark. Madam Clerk, I know we do have people pre-registered to speak. I will kill it off.
Yeah. Ten people who uh previously registered, however, only three. Uh uh.
Register number four, which is Ms. Christian B.
Good morning. Please state your name and address for the record and start your comment.
My name is Christy Shirke. I live at [address removed]
[address removed] My comments concerning the mask ordinance. C D C guidelines recommend masks to stop the spread of coronavirus. Florida is now number six in the amount of cases in the United States and have over thirty four hundred deaths. Our demographics result in Florida having over 20% of the most vulnerable people who get very sick or die from this virus. our medical community needs our support in reducing the spread so that they may take care of the sick. Also,
people and businesses will not thrive until we do contain the spread. Asking the ordinance stand that people wear a mask to show humility, kindness, and respect to our community. Thank you.
Okay, thank you for your comments, Madam Clerk.
Next registered individual is number six, Donna Bradley.
Good morning. Please state your name and address for the record and start your comment. Donna
Bradley, [address removed]
Ms. Bradley. Yeah. Uh if do you have the TV on? If you could mute that before you start your conversation.
to the live TV for Pasco. Okay, go ahead. I'm sorry.
Go ahead, ma'am. Thank you. Yes, what do you need from me? Your comment for the meeting?
Oh, I thought it was okay. I didn't know it wasn't live. So go ahead and start it. If you could
yeah, please.
Okay. I'm calling in to voice my support for mandatory mask wearing. My husband and I are in our sixties and we have an autoimmune compromised child in our also in our home. And I'm one of the main caretegivers for a friend who is undergoing chemotherapy. This Friday and the mandatory mask wearing, I felt a lot more comfortable going back into public places to buy groceries, go to the garden center, the pharmacy, and even local businesses. Research has shown that mask wearing
helps To keep others safe from us. is less effective if others are not also wearing their masks to keep us safe from them. Therefore voluntary mask wearing will not work. Before Friday, you could go to the grocery store and less than half of the people were wearing their masks. I went to the grocery store Saturday. And everyone was wearing their mask. So masks are not a hundred percent effective. We know that. but they they help. And why shouldn't we wear do
everything that we can to help others and especially to help our clerks and our business owners and to keep the hospitals. uh you know, from overflowing with patients who are who are um getting COVID, not wearing a mask. Worsens the pandemic the pandemic leads to more disease and it worsens the economic effect. It is not comfortable to wear a mask in public for any of us, but it is a simple step that we can all take to care about others and to care about our local businesses
as well. Thank you.
Thank you, ma'am. Madam Clerk.
And the last individual that is on the lineage is number 10, Mr. Larry Sharkey.
Hello, please state your name and address for the record and start your comment.
Yes, my name is Larry Shirke. I reside at [address removed]. And I am asking that you keep the mask ordinance in place. It is an imperative that we all follow. C D C guidelines in order to contain the spread of the virus.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir. Um we have one more person that Called back into the line, Madam Clerk.
Yes, that is uh registered number eight, Miss Carla Sherniki.
Oh, it looks like she hung up. If we could hold on for just a second and see if she calls back.
I should call back.
Yeah.
Chairman, we're gonna try to call her right now.
Hello, Mr. Nicky. Yes. Hi, this is Paula from Pasco County. We're here live on the meeting. We just wanted to get your name and address for the record so you can start your comment during public meeting.
Thank you. Paulo Chernecke. [address removed]
Uh huh. Thank you, and thank you for allowing me to speak today. I'm voicing my support for the math ordinance and businesses in Castle County. 25% of new COVID infections in Florida have come in the last two weeks. In fact, on June ninth, Pasco County began to realize a rise in COVID infections. And there has been a steady upward trajectory of cases since then. In fact, just a couple of days ago on June 27th, Haskell County saw 9,585 cases, the highest ever
been in Pasco since the pandemic occurred. Back in March. I've understood that we live in a nation that bases behavior on certain principles such as love your neighbor. As someone with multiple lung and autoimmune diseases I have trouble grieving as it is, but I wear my mask and I'm fine. And I must rely on others to display that principle and action by wearing their mask. I wear my mask for others. Their mask is for me. There's an entire political ideology that
is intertwined with conspiracy theories and some type of cultural signif signifier that's going on about man. It is imperative. This board protects all citizens, all lives, and not bend to the will of a few fringe individuals who may not acknowledge known Science and hear and acknowledge the advice given by our medical professionals. We can all we can look at other countries to see how they have flattened the curve. By
wearing masks. And that is happening in more than one place all over the world. So I encourage this board to please Continue with the manuscriptorian mass coordinates. Thank you.
Thank you, man. That was our last caller, if I'm not correct?
That is correct. That's correct.
So we're going to move on. Um, we do have a number of emails, Madam Clerk. And uh, but however, pursuant to the virtual public comment instructions, um, the emails have been forwarded um to the board members, clerk and comptroller and county administration, those emails will be submitted as a receipt and file. How many do we have, ma'am?
We just have one.
One
and it was for receipt and file not to be read into the record.
Okay. Great. Thank you so much. And And for the record, um Commissioner Starkey is now on. She was there were some technical difficulties. Commissioner Starkey, can you hear us okay?
Yes, I can.