HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC_2020-04-14 MinutesPUBLIC COMMENT PROVIDED BY EMAIL
COMMUNITY FORUM:
SUBMISSION FROM: Eric Greening
CONDENSED SUBMISSION (Approved by Mr. Greening, to better fit the maximum 3-minute
public comment allowance during Community Forum)
Hello!
I am very grateful that we in Atascadero are able to "shelter in place" with access to the open
space areas that allow us to keep our health and our morale. I am grateful that Atascadero has
resisted the punitive urge some other jurisdictions have indulged in, creating a vicious cycle: A
FEW users of an open space are observed not properly social distancing; it is then closed to ALL
users, increasing pressure and congestion in remaining open spaces. I ask that Atascadero
continue to resist this injustice to those who DO observe social distancing, and keep open spaces
available for walking and hiking.
We don't close highways to everyone because some people speed on them!
Covid-19 is new enough that there are no true experts, just people trying to learn all they
can. Certain sensational claims get pulled out of context by the media and create panic, and
people in panic are easily stampeded into counterproductive policies. While Covid-19 IS highly
contagious, the notion that it can be transmitted outdoors in glancing encounters by people
passing each other on a trail is not supported by current evidence. I would urge Council members
and staff to look up World Health Organization Scientific Brief: "Modes of Transmission of Virus
Cousing Covid-19: Implications for IPC Precaution Recommendations." A summary quote: "In an
analysis of 75,465 Covid-19 cases in China, airborne transmission was not reported." People
walking in our outdoor spaces are safe from acquiring harmful viral loads, and our immune
systems benefit from the exercise, exposure to sunlight, and the peace of mind that comes with
the sheer normality of having access to our outdoor treasures at a time when nearly everything
else in our lives feels shockingly abnormal. Please continue your wise policy of keeping these
spaces open!
Many thanks, and STAY WELL!!
ORIGINAL SUBMISSION (Not read into Public Comment during the meeting)
On Apr 10, 2020, at 15:18, Eric Greening <dancingsilverowl@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello!
I am Eric Greening, with a comment for items not on the agenda for the April 14th meeting. I am
very grateful that we in Atascadero are able to "shelter in place" with access to the open space
areas that allow us to keep our health and our morale. I am grateful that Atascadero has resisted
the punitive urge some other jurisdictions have indulged in, creating a vicious cycle: A FEW users
of an open space are observed not properly social distancing; it is then closed to ALL users,
increasing pressure and congestion in remaining open spaces. I ask that Atascadero continue to
resist this injustice to those who DO observe social distancing, and keep open spaces available for
walking and hiking.
Covid-19 is new enough that there are no true experts, just people trying to learn all they
can. Certain sensational claims get pulled out of context by the media and create panic, and
people in panic are easily stampeded into counterproductive policies. While Covid-19 IS highly
contagious, the notion that it can be transmitted outdoors in glancing encounters by people
passing each other on a trail is not supported by current evidence. I would urge Council members
and staff to look up World Health Organization Scientific Brief: "Modes of Transmission of Virus
Cousing Covid-19: Implications for IPC Precaution Recommendations." A summary quote: "In an
analysis of 75,465 Covid-19 cases in China, airborne transmission was not reported." Droplet
transmission is the main mechanism; the sensational notion that the virus can remain viably
infectious in dry air for up to three hours was based on a laboratory experiment in which aerosols
were generated by something called a "three-jet Collision nebulizer" and fed into something
called a "Goldberg drum." This had nothing to do wi th even normal indoor conditions, much less
outdoor ones. People walking in our outdoor spaces are safe from acquiring harmful viral loads,
and our immune systems benefit from the exercise, exposure to sunlight, and the peace of mind
that comes with the sheer normality of having access to our outdoor treasures at a time when
nearly everything else in our lives feels shockingly abnormal. Please continue your wise policy of
keeping these spaces open!
Many thanks, and STAY WELL!! Eric Greening
SUBMISSION FROM: Kris Roudebush, We Are the Care
From: Kris Roudebush <kroudebush@first5slo.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 2, 2020 12:06 PM
To: City Council
Subject: We Are the Care Public Comment - April 2020
Dear City Council Members,
For the last several months representatives from the We Are the Care Initiative have come to
numerous city council meetings to give public comment to the council on the work being done
in SLO County to address the Child Care Crisis. As we will not be attending meetings this month,
we would like to share our April comment with you. Now more than ever the importance and
challenge of providing accessible and affordable child care is before us. Please consider taking 3
minutes to read our statement, listed below and attached.
Sincerely,
Kris Roudebush
First 5 San Luis Obispo County
---
Hello from the We Are the Care Initiative,
We are a group of early childhood professionals, people from the business community,
government employees and officials, and families who are partnering to address our local
childcare crisis. Now more than ever, we are reminded that access to quality and affordable care
is vital for our community to function and support our economy. We can clearly see that child
care professionals are now, and always have been, a crucial part of our workforce.
We are currently living in trying times as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts nearly every
aspect of our daily lives. Our essential workers now find themselves in a situation that many in
our community experience on a regular basis: needing to work, but also needing quality care for
their children. There has been a call from our local Public Health Director for child care centers
and providers to stay open, to continue to offer care, and to be there for our essential workers
during this time of need. This places child care professionals at a much greater risk, while also
asking them to adhere to strict health and safety requirements, all while still continuing to
provide quality care for children.
A majority of family child care homes and child care centers are small businesses, and
they are suffering. A small, but immense need for care by the essential workers is not
outweighed by the fractional attendance many child care sites are seeing day-to-day. This
reduction in numbers is due to a large group of families that now find themselves out of work,
or working from home, due to the outbreak, and they are keeping their children home, as well.
This means a minute amount of income, less hours for the already underpaid staff to work, and
less chance that these centers will financially survive. The ultimate irony of this situation is that
the entire system of private child care could be decimated, all while being called to be on the
front-lines in combating this outbreak. We must find a way to value child care, to value our child
care workforce, and to support these small businesses through this time of monumental
hardship.
The San Luis Obispo Child Care Planning Council is working to connect child care
providers with essential workers in need of child care. When you visit
http://www.sanluischildcare.org, you will find two links: one for families who are seeking care,
and one for providers who are offering care. Our hope is that these efforts will help support
child care and the families who are in desperate need. Please help us to share this information!
SLO County Child Care Planning
Council
www.sanluischildcare.org
SLO County Child Care Planning Council
April is Month of the Child and Child Abuse Prevention Month, and no time is more
appropriate to celebrate and recognize the children in our world. These children are growing
and developing in a time of vast uncertainty and unease among the adults around them. We
must ensure that their experiences now will help them become resilient and strong adults, and
that the wonder and magic of childhood is not lost. It is our job to support the children and
families of SLO County in a time of need, and now more than ever, they need our help.
Be on the lookout for more information about our Child Care Awareness Day on
Thursday, April 30th, as well! While we desperately need more quality care options in our
community, we also celebrate the amazing providers that already support children and families
here in San Luis Obispo County! If you want to learn more about the We Are the Care Initiative
or would like to get involved, please contact First 5 San Luis Obispo County or find more
information on their website, www.first5slo.org/we-are-the-care.php
--
Kris Roudebush, Special Projects Administrator
First 5 San Luis Obispo County
3220 S. Higuera Street #232
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
805-781-4058 http://www.first5slo.org/