Banff council declares state of emergency
The Town of Banff declared a state of local emergency Wednesday evening following back-to-back meetings of council and the town's Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC).
Earlier in the day, council briefly addressed the new provincial COVID-19 restrictions and introduced 10 motions, putting new directives in place and requesting administration review existing bylaws to explore options for further measures.
During the afternoon meeting, council unanimously voted to install signage at the entry points to the town with case numbers and information on public health rules for both visitors and residents. Council also voted to close Banff Town Hall, Fenlands recreation centre and the upper floor of their 101 Bear Street location, which includes a seniors centre.
Toward the end of the special meeting, Mayor Karen Sorenson got emotional when talking about declaring another local emergency, the second time in the town's history the designation has been made.
“When I hear things like our little town being in a state of emergency it just really affects me,” she said during the meeting. “It really affects every councillor here, every administrator here cares deeply for this community and there's nothing more important to any of us than the health and safety of our residents, and we hope we can continue to make good decisions moving forward.”
On Thursday morning, Sorenson said declaring an emergency was important for a few reasons.
“We are in a crisis. We are in a dire situation in Banff,” she said. “We have to do more, to give us more strength when we are in a time of weakness, and we are.”
The declaration will give the town more “tools” from which to approach the pandemic, the greatest of which, Sorenson said, is council's ability to create new bylaws. One could see liquor and cannabis stores subject to provincial rules that require restaurants and bars to stop serving alcohol at 10 p.m. and close at 11 p.m.
“Liquor stores stay open
till midnight, it's not congruent and we have a very young population here,” she said.
“From many conversations I've had, most businesses in Banff agree that if we need to do something more serious, please do it now as we move into our winter season. November and early December is notoriously quite a quiet time in Banff and so if we can get this under control in the next few weeks, we may stand a chance of being able to be more welcoming as we move into the winter season.”
Sorenson said though it's “not an ideal time” to visit Banff, those who do should prepare ahead of time.
“Whether you're coming currently or as we move into December and January, please call, especially if you have an idea of where you might want to go or what business you might want to visit ... and find out what their restrictions are and what their hours of operations are.”
Earlier this week, council voiced
If we can get this under control in the next few weeks, we may stand a chance of being able to be more welcoming as we move into the winter season.
concern about a lack of available local testing options for residents, after weeks of advocating to the province. Since then, Sorenson said AHS has delivered mobile testing units to the community and more doctors offices have been offering testing.
Like many other Alberta municipalities, Banff council is waiting to hear from the province about the “crucial” opportunity to give peace officers powers to assist RCMP in enforcement measures.
Council will meet again Monday to hear administration's recommendations on motions including an amendment to the town's mandatory mask bylaw, reallocating staff to serve as educational ambassadors, offering financial and other supports for businesses, and a transfer of funds for emergency purposes.