Lyon County’s mask mandate is no more.
County commissioners officially ended the mandate during their weekly action meeting Thursday. The mandate now essentially becomes a “strong recommendation” and follows the same action on the county’s social distancing and mass gathering limits during it’s Apr. 1 meeting.
Commissioners shared a consensus that based on current trends and recent input from county residents now was the time to officially end the mandate and place the choice of mask use back in the hands of residents and local businesses.
This means individuals will have the option of wearing masks when out in public settings where social distancing cannot be maintained. Local restaurants, businesses and school districts also now have the sole authority to require mask use, or any other mitigation strategies, within their facilities as they see fit according to County Commission Chair Rollie Martin.
Commissioner Doug Peck stated during the meeting that the commission can only lead the community so far before they have to turn the responsibility back over to the residents themselves.
Commissioner Scott Briggs stated that the purpose of the mandate was to help flatten the curve of COVID spread. With 14 active cases currently in Lyon County, Briggs stated he feels that goal has been met more than warranting the decision to eliminate the mandate.
Both Public Health Officer Dr. Ladun Oyenuga and Incident Commander Renee Hively stated they were not in favor of this possibility. Dr. Oyenuga says there is still a high level of uncertainty at this time, especially with two major events — the Dynamic Discs Open and Unbound Gravel — coming up soon.
Hively says the decision is a risk any way you look at it.
The elimination of the mandate does not mean an end to the county’s public health order, however,as that document will remain in place until further action by the commission. The county can re-enact any mandates if they so choose depending on the direction of coronavirus trends in the coming months.
In separate business, Lyon County resident Melissa McAllister came before the commission to discuss the county’s zoning regulations and the city/county joint comprehensive plan. McAllister has been a vocal objector to both documents in recent years.
During her time before the commission, McAllister claimed that she, and others, feel the voices of Lyon County residents were not taken into account when it came to the creation of either document.
Commissioner Briggs disagreed with her assertion and stated that the commission has in fact listened to the voices of county residents. He went on to say that those who have raised objections to the documents do not represent the opinions of the entire county population.
While before the commission, McAllister presented four so-called “constituent opinion petitions” and made five separate requests of the commission including:
* Returning Lyon County to separate and independent governments
* The approval of a county resolution for a five-member county commission
* Repealing the 2017 joint comprehensive plan
* Repealing the county zoning regulations approved Jan. 21, 2021
* The approval of a county resolution to establish a Lyon county redistricting committee.
There is currently no set date for when or if the commission will review said requests.
The Lyon County Commission will reconvene for its weekly action session next Thursday at 9 am inside the Lyon County Courthouse.
Noon Thursday:
Lyon County’s mask mandate is no more.
Lyon County commissioners have just approved the elimination of the mandate, the last vestige of the county’s public health order against COVID-19. The county had already removed mandates on social distancing and mass gathering limits about a month ago, although — like mask use — those are now “strongly recommended” by the county.
Commissioners say the need for personal responsibility and the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines played into their decision Thursday. Lyon County Legal Counsel Marc Goodman has also said the mandate is unenforceable since the county enacted it last year.
The public health order will remain in place and will list the recommendations. A new order will be available Monday.
We’ll have more on the decision through the day on KVOE and KVOE.com.
