A new ordinance passed by the Emporia City Commission will add violation of a public health order to the list of enforceable city codes.
Commissioners passed the ordinance 3-2 Wednesday afternoon. The ordinance allows the Emporia Police Department to enforce any Lyon County Public Health order any time one is active.
Commissioner John Geitz and Mayor Danny Giefer both voted down the motion. Geitz explains it did not make sense to him for the city to allow enforcement only for the city regarding an order that is issued for the entire county.
Giefer says this was the same reasoning behind his decision and also says there have been several concerns expressed to him regarding the ordinance. He tells KVOE News the main concerns have been a fear of individuals having their constitutional rights violated by this new enforcement.
Interim Emporia Police Chief Ed Owens says the new enforcement efforts will not, in any way, infringe upon the rights of any citizen. He says the ordinance simply gives officers more flexibility to be able to maintain the health and safety of local residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Any violation would be a class c misdemeanor and would be punishable by a fine of up to $500, a jail term of up to one month or both. The new ordinance will officially go into effect after the expiration of Governor Laura Kelly’s statewide stay-at-home order on Apr. 19 as the state-wide order currently supersedes any county order.
In other business, commissioners also approved the establishment of the Riverside Addition as a Rural Housing Incentive District following a public hearing. The addition will be located directly south of Riverside School and will include 11 homes valued between $175,000 to $200,000.
The city will be utilizing a 3-2-2-2 approach for constructing the homes, meaning three homes will be built in the first year followed by two homes per year over the next three years according to city consultant Jim Witt.
The Emporia City Commission will be moving the remainder of their meetings through April to online. The public will still be welcome to virtually attend those meetings with more information coming at a later time.
Next up for the Emporia City Commission will be a study session next Wednesday.
