Pocatello to vote Thursday on face mask ordinance

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - The Pocatello City Council will be voting Thursday on whether to create a mandatory face mask ordinance.

During a special meeting Tuesday through Zoom, council members discussed the ordinance in detail.

"Here we are again discussing it while we have people sick, we have people dying and we have people who will not recover very well. It's time we just move ahead," said council member Roger Bray. "Yes we may have some people that are upset, but you know what, if you die you don't get to register. And I think it's time that we take some of the load off our hospital staff and other places and we just move ahead. We are not going to achieve anything by discussing this further. We either put in an ordinance or we don't. That's the decision we have to make."

One topic was penalties. According to the agenda, any person found to be in violation may be subject to a $50 fine. However, no citations can be issued for the first 30 days the ordinance is in effect.

Council member Heidi Anderson said she would like to see a public survey. But Rick Cheatum said, "Criminalizing masks is not the answer."

Several other members believed such an ordinance would put more burden on police to enforce it.

The city council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday. You can watch the hearing on the city's website here.