Rathdrum rejects mask recommendation

The Rathdrum City Council rejected a citywide mask recommendation Wednesday night in a heavily deliberated 3-2 vote decided by Mayor Vic Holmes.

Unlike other cities, the council didn't consider a mandate, jumping immediately to a 90-day recommendation.

Councilwoman Paula Laws initiated the discussion about masks in the wake of Gov. Brad Little's revert back to Stage 2 reopening, the Panhandle Health District moving to the "red" category, and the city of Coeur d'Alene's mask mandate. Councilman Steven Adams joined her on the losing side of the recommendation.

Since publishing the tentative recommendation for Rathdrum's mask resolution last week, the city has received dozens of calls and emails from residents on both sides of the issue. Laws said she supported placing the recommendation on the agenda.

"This discussion was really important for me to bring out the thoughts in the community," she said Wednesday. "It's a terrible thing that is going on with this virus. I know several people that have had it. I know several people that have died from it. I don't know the right answer, and I just think this recommendation is valid and important, and I support it."

Adams said he needed more time to research the masks' validity. During the meeting, two initial motions failed, one for and one against the recommendation, for lack of council members' secondary support.

Then Adams moved that the council table the discussion until after a decision was made by Panhandle Health District or sometime in January.

"The reason why I'd like to kick the can down the road is I'd like to see some scientific peer-reviewed journal articles on masks and their effectiveness," he said. "I don't believe what some internet journalist writes or hearsay."

Councilman Mike Hill vehemently opposed both the recommendation and Adams' proposal. With the agenda item being communicated to the council three weeks in advance, Hill said there was more than enough time for Adams and the council to have researched mask studies before the vote.

Hill and Councilman Darrell Rickard initially voted against the recommendation, with Holmes breaking the tie. Holmes said he was not in favor of citywide mask mandates, believing that they were unenforceable and should be the responsibility of larger jurisdictions.

"There is always the exception of 'oh I have a medical thing,' and then everyone goes right to that," he said. "So it's a feel-good thing if you want to do something that makes you feel good, then I guess you're for this."

However, he did note that many people in the community support masks and are concerned about virus. Holmes said he's heard many comments from those who supported the recommendation.

"I am sympathetic for the 80-year-old that wants to go to the grocery store and have some peaceful feeling," he said. "There was a man calling me out earlier saying his wife has second stage cancer, and he's trying to keep her alive because he's scared. I've been through that. I know where he is at, but to put something in place that can't be enforced, and there is no scientific evidence that it works."