County board votes to support businesses opening

So after the Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted to support allowing more businesses in the county to open, the question is can they actually reopen? The answer is basically yes — but with some caveats.

At its meeting on Tuesday, the board in a 3-2 vote approved a proposal that supports business to be able to open through Phase 3 in California’s plan to reopen the economy.

In Phase 3, restaurants would be able to offer dine-in services at 50 percent capacity. Phase 3 would also allow such places as gyms and salons to open.

In Phase 3, churches are also allowed to hold indoor services as long as they meet social distancing requirements. As it stands now, churches are allowed to have drive-thru services.

Governor Gavin Newsom has made it clear he doesn’t believe Tulare County is ready to move ahead to Phase 3 even with the relaxed standards announced on Monday for businesses to open more quickly. But there are five counties in the state in which the standards don’t apply to and Tulare County is one of them.

But in its vote of Tuesday, the county board effectively stated it wouldn’t enforce the state’s guidelines and would support businesses that want to open at the Phase 3 level.

In a text message, supervisor Dennis Townsend said the board voted to allow businesses to open through Phase 3.

The message read: “We just voted 3-2 to open all the way through Phase 3 and override the public health order. My motion, Crocker second and Vanderpoel joined. Shuklian and Valero against. Tell Porterville Tulare County is open.”

Board members Kuyler Crocker and Peter Vanderpoel voted for the proposal while Amy Shuklian and Eddie Valero voted against.

Crocker said the proposal basically states “that businesses may open up if they are in Phase 2 or Phase 3.”

He also said the proposal stated the county will work to help businesses recover and “get back on their feet.”

But Crocker noted businesses that need state licenses such as restaurants and bars that have state licenses to serve alcohol can have their licenses revoked by the state if they choose to open. He stressed any state licenses that businesses need aren’t overseen by the county.

Crocker noted the main purpose for the proposal that was approved was to show the county’s support for businesses.

“We have been very clear from the beginning we’re not going to be enforcing the guidelines,” said Crocker about the state standards. “We just needed to state it. We need to make sure our businesses know that we support them.”

Crocker said businesses need to be able to make decisions on their own as far as if they can open or not. He added businesses are responsible enough when it comes to such areas as social distancing and sanitation to make their places as safe as possible for customers and employees.

But Crocker also noted the county’s eight incorporated cities are autonomous and their city councils can decide what policies to follow and businesses in those cities should keep that in mind when deciding if to open.

So as far as a business deciding if it should open or not, Crocker said, “they need to do what they think is best.”

Crocker said many counties have been acting on their own as far as how they want to deal with state standards, so it was necessary for the board to take the action that it took on Tuesday. He said it would be nice if neighboring counties on a more regional level would take joint action when it comes to dealing with the state standards. “The reality is that’s not going to happen,” he said.

There’s also the issue of if someone is still concerned about their safety at a business that chooses to open up and whether they can still collect unemployment if they decide not to return to work.

“I believe they can continue to get unemployment,” said Crocker as far as how the rules are set up for those who can collect unemployment because they’re affected by COVID-19.