Can Fresno responsibly open indoor dining amid COVID-19? Here’s how leaders want to do it
The majority of the Fresno City Council decided Thursday to support Mayor Lee Brand sending a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom to ask for permission to open indoor dining, and effectively killed a proposed approach to allow all businesses to open citywide.
The letter’s supporters said it was the best way to work within the system and safely open restaurants and other businesses that are restricted under orders related to the coronavirus. The letter got a 5-2 approval from the council.
Many businesses closed in March after local and state orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In June business closures were ordered again by Newsom.
The idea is to team with Fresno County leaders and health officials for testing and contact tracing to better determine where people are getting infected. It leans on the premise that people who are dining indoors are not spreading or getting COVID-19.
Councilmember Luis Chavez co-sponsored the letter approach with Councilmember Mike Karbassi and Mayor Lee Brand.
“The solution is to work with the (governing) bodies, work within the system we have,” Chavez said.
The council’s two detractors fell on opposite ends of the issue. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld said the approach did not go far enough to getting people back to work, while Councilmember Nelson Esparza said area officials haven’t gotten enough control of the deadly virus to try to open up more businesses.
Bredefeld had proposed a package of four resolutions that would roll back all restrictions related to COVID-19 and open businesses.
Chavez said Bredefeld’s approach, which he announced in a news conference, was arbitrary and bound to fail. He compared the plan to efforts by Pismo’s Grill and Immanuel Schools, both of which have been rebuked for opening.
Pismo’s was cited by a state strike team when it tried to open without permission in July and Immanuel was ordered to close on Tuesday by a Fresno County judge.
“It’s easy to call a press conference and point out the problem. It’s stating the obvious,” Chavez said. “What our responsibility is, is to focus on solutions.”
Councilmember Miguel Arias called Bredefeld’s idea a “kamikaze approach.”
Bredefeld’s four resolutions were taken off Thursday’s agenda with a 5-2 vote before they were ever heard by the council.
Bredefeld said the letter would not change Newsom’s mind and doesn’t ask for anything new from the governor. “The resolution does nothing,” he said. “All it says is we’d like people to return when it’s safe, when it’s possible.”
Brand pushed back at Bredefeld’s assertion, saying the letter asks the governor to allow Fresno to open restaurants after Fresno County health officials can show that new cases are not coming from people who are dining.
He said Fresno and other cities can present a united voice to Newsom. “By us coming together on a united front it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.
Does a letter go far enough?
Fresno Chamber of Commerce President Nathan Ahle and Fresno chapter of the California Restaurant Association President Chuck Van Fleet each spoke in support of the letter.
But several business owners and people from the community said they supported a stronger approach than the letter because their businesses and employees are hurting.
Yosemite Falls Cafe owner Manny Perales said small businesses can operate safely and should not be held accountable for problems countywide.
Huckleberry’s owner Kari Mason said months of impaired business have hurt her ability to pay her mortgage and keep people employed. She noted that public officials are still working.
“I’m tired of my life, liberty and pursuit (of happiness) being taken away by people who still get a paycheck,” she said.
Councilmember Mike Karbassi, a small business owner himself, said the city is taking the approach it can. He tried to console business owners who are hurting.
“We hear your pain. We feel your pain,” he said. “If we could take more drastic measures, we would.”
This story had been corrected from an earlier version.
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 12:03 PM.
