By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Three Hays city commissioners issued personal pleas at the end of their meeting Thursday night for residents to wear face masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
No official resolution to that effect was presented.
According to Michael Berges, all the city commissioners have been contacted about the issue by Hays residents since Ellis County commissioners voted July 2 not to enforce the statewide mandatory face mask executive order by Gov. Laura Kelly.
Counties are allowed to exempt themselves from the mandate.
"I'm not to the point of asking my fellow commissioners for an ordinance for the city," said Berges, while wearing a bright blue and white Kansas City Royals face mask.
"I am going to use my position here to make a personal plea to our community to choose to wear the mask.
"I don't know if it's just (like) the flu or just a cold," Berges said.
"What I do know is I don't want to find out. And I don't want our community to find out what spread looks like and I don't want our community to find out what hospitalizations look like."
Berges talked about this two-year old son who has a heart condition and wears hearing aids, and cannot wear a mask.
It's not because of the youngster's health conditions but "it's because he's two. ... Try to put a mask on a two-year-old. They're going to pull it off."
Berges also has a four-year-old son who doesn't want to wear a mask. His nine-year old does don a mask "because I tell him to."
"I'm asking the community to come together for those that can't.
"I have a grandfather that's 91-years-old who's in a care home. He's been in lock down since March. They don't even allow the other residents in each others' rooms to visit each other.
"That is giving up your freedom," Berges emphasized.
"He has 40 great-grandchildren and two born since March that he has not been able to see," Berges added.
Sandy Jacobs, vice-mayor, noted not all the city commissioners were wearing masks during their meeting because they were seated more than six feet apart, but they did enter city hall wearing the masks.
Jacobs supported Berges' position, which was echoed by Mason Ruder.
"I think it's the right thing to do. Everybody should be wearing masks," she said.
Jacobs also mentioned the economic standpoint.
She had talked with someone outside of Hays earlier in the day about the situation.
"They said if they came into Hays to shop, which they normally do, and there wasn't consistent use of masks, they probably weren't coming back.
"That concerns me a lot," Jacobs said.
The majority of the city's revenue for its general fund comes from the city retail sales tax.
Ruder also was not in favor of a city resolution mandating masks "at this moment."
Instead he encouraged people to do their own research into the CDC, KDHE and Ellis County Health Department's personal hygiene recommendations and their efficacy.
"Never in my life did I think this would cause so much animosity towards each other," Berges said as he held up his face mask.
Jacobs' other concern is what will happen if schools don't open as they normally would next month.
"If we have to keep parents at home, if they can't be at their jobs and support their families in that way, the economic impact in this community is going to be huge."
Department heads in the audience were wearing masks which they took off while addressing the commission at the podium.
The city is requiring its employees and visitors to its buildings to wear face masks.
Hays Mayor Shaun Musil was absent from the meeting.