Officials extend disaster declaration
NORRISTOWN » A resolution to extend an emergency disaster declaration in Montgomery County amid the COVID-19 pandemic was narrowly approved by the county commissioners.
The June 18 decision to continue allowing opportunities for the county to receive financial assistance during the public health crisis passed in a 2-1 partisan vote despite Commissioner Joe Gale’s strong opposition.
“In my opinion, enough is enough,” Gale said. The order was first established on March 8. Officials cited “widespread outbreak of coronavirus that overwhelmed first responders, healthcare providers and businesses within Montgomery County.”
It was extended once again on April 22 and expired on Sunday. The new order took effect Monday and will stay active for another 60 days, ac
cordion to the resolution.
The legislation instructs the county’s Office of Public Health and the Department of Public Safety “to coordinate the activities of the emergency response; to take all appropriate action needed to alleviate the effects of this disaster; to aid in the restoration of essential public services; and to take any other emergency response action deemed necessary to respond to this disaster emergency.”
While Montgomery County Commissioners Chairwoman Val Arkoosh and Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence, Jr., both Democrats, endorsed the matter, Gale remained steadfast in his position, slamming Gov. Tom Wolf for his stayat-home order and phased approach to reopening the state.
Wolf mandated the closure of nonessential businesses in mid-March to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Wolf’s administration recently unveiled a plan to reopen the state with three phases: red, yellow and green. As Pennsylvania counties move to the next phase, restrictions ease. Montgomery County progressed to the yellow phase on June 5 and is expected to move to green on Friday.
“The emergency situation facing Montgomery County is the crisis created by a governor who has decimated Pennsylvania’s economy by locking down and shutting down people and businesses,” Gale said. “The governor’s unnecessary extension of this lockdown is causing irreparable harm to Montgomery County and its neighboring counties. Extending a state of emergency here in Montgomery County does not fix the problem.”
However, Arkoosh requested that Montgomery County Solicitor Josh Stein to shed light on the subject, asking if it is in “no way related to phased reopening of the county?”
Stein clarified that this order is more of an “administrative procedure.”
“To allow it to expire frankly would be foolish because we continue to accrue costs related to the pandemic, and if we were to allow this declaration to lapse we would be risking the reimbursement,” Stein said.
Nevertheless, Gale remained critical of Wolf’s practices. He spoke out against the state leader, calling for the “reopening of our county” during a May 7 meeting.
“If anything we as a county should be telling the governor that we need to fully unleash the private sector right now so people can start rebuilding their lives,” he said. “The only way to end this emergency is for employers and employees to get back to work and back to business as usual.”
Gale stressed the importance of making progress to help the small business community.
“We need to fully reopen Montgomery County, and extending the emergency declaration does not signal to the public that we are heading in that direction,” Gale went on to say.
Arkoosh also acknowledged the financial toll that the state-imposed stay-athome order took on Montgomery County’s small businesses over the past three months.
“I want to highlight our business community and particularly our small businesses as some of the heroes in this fight,” she said.
She also encouraged area residents to support the establishments by shopping small.
“They really need us to come back and shop in their stores and purchase gift cards,” Arkoosh said. “Anything that you can do to help support these businesses because they have been closed, they have stayed closed and they’re now reopening responsibly and we need to acknowledge the incredible sacrifices they have made and help them get quickly back on their feet.”
In other business, local leaders also authorized funds for the following Montgomery County Department of Public Safety contract agreements related to the COVID-19 pandemic:
• A $37,500 contract was awarded to G L Sayre Inc., of Conshohocken, for a 26foot box truck with a lift gate in “for [the] transport of inventory between Oaks warehouse and Eagleville Emergency Operations Center, and transport of equipment and materials to support testing sites.”
• The county’s public safety department entered into a contract with Stericycle Inc., of Bannockburn, Ill. that’s not-to-exceed $100,000. The funding “provides for hazardous material pick up from the COVID-19 testing sites,” which costs “$50 per box of hazardous medical waste plus applicable retrieval fees.”
• A contract with Gerv LLC dba Bio One Chester County, of Exton, for “cleaning services” at respective “COVID-19 testing sites” was also approved. The agreement stipulates “$450 per service date.”
There have been 8,041 cases of COVID-19 and 781 deaths reported in Montgomery County since March 7, according to the county’s coronavirus resources webpage.
Arkoosh appeared optimistic during her comments surrounding the pandemic on Thursday morning as the “positivity rate [is] declining steadily,” which means the percentage of people testing positive for the novel coronavirus on any particular day. She added that the “peak days” have been “close to 30 percent,” but figures are “now running under 10 percent,” she said on June 18.
“So this is extremely good news,” Arkoosh said.
Arkoosh announced that access to Lorimer Park in Huntingdon Valley and Lower Perkiomen Valley Park in Norristown resumed Monday. The Norristown Farm Park in Norristown, Lock 60 at the Schuylkill Canal Park in Mont Clare, Green Lane Park in Green Lane, and Central Perkiomen Valley Park in Schwenksville have since reopened.
Arkoosh stressed that parkgoers should have masks available, and cited data suggesting positive impacts associated with mitigating spread of the novel coronavirus.
“As many of you have been, please continue to be part of the solution and have that mask on your person and ready to put on if needed,” she said.
Arkoosh also referenced Wolf’s announcement as it related to Montgomery County. However , she urged area residents to remain vigilant and comply with guidelines.
“Just a reminder green does not mean go back to normal it means continue on in this new normal,” she said.
She added that she encouraged people to get tested and visit montcopa. org/covid-19 for more information.
“The virus is not gone, and it’s not going to be gone, but our goal now until there’s a vaccine available, which is many many many months away, is to keep this under control and to be able to quickly identify any outbreaks or hotspots that might arise in the county. And the most important way we can do that is to continue to encourage as many people as possible to get tested,” Arkoosh said. “So please please don’t shy away from being tested. It’s so important.”