Fulton mayor says city council has been flooded with arguments on both sides of mask debate

FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)

The mayor of Fulton is hoping to flesh out ideas and arguments about masks during a special city council meeting on Tuesday.

Mayor Lowe Cannell said at the council's last meeting, several citizen's came forward speaking about a mask ordinance. He believes the catalyst to the discussion was the ordinance that went into effect in Columbia on July 10th.

As of Sunday, Callaway County has reported 80 cases of COVID-19. On July 10 when Columbia's mask order went into effect, the county reported 670 cumulative cases. Boone County is now reporting a total of 892 cases on Sunday.

"It's been a pretty hot topic so we felt the need to talk about it and at least show our citizens that we are listening to them and concerned as well," Cannell said.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall. The first hour of the meeting will be for public comment, either in favor or opposed to a face-covering requirement in the city.

Fulton residents and business owners have to register to make a comment during that portion of the at City Hall beginning at noon on Monday. Cannell said depending on how many people sign up, each person will likely get 3 to 5 minutes to speak.

The mayor said after that hour, the city council will discuss the idea along with the Callaway County Health Department and the Callaway Chamber of Commerce.

Cannell emphasized this meeting will not result in an immediate mask ordinance, but rather to get more feedback from the community.

"We'd like to have some kind of decision on are we going to do a mask order, or are we just going to possibly do a strong recommendation, thats a possibility some cities are doing that," Cannell said.

He said both Callaway County leaders and leaders from several cities have been working together on a unified response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We may discuss it and city council may decide Fulton wants to head in a particular direction with or without Callaway County," Cannell said. "We're getting pressure, quite a bit, on both sides of the issue. Should be an interesting evening."

Cannell said he has not made a decision on whether or not he supports a mask requirement as of Sunday but is waiting to hear from both sides of the argument, as well as the health and business leaders.

"Hopefully people understand the position our council is in, and they are going to be scrutinized one way or the other on anything they do," Cannell said. "It's just a tough situation and hopefully folks understand we are doing out best."

He said the council could enact a mask order quickly if the city goes under a state of emergency. It could take several weeks to pass an ordinance without that declaration.

ABC17 reached out to all of the city council members about the meeting, but no one was immeadiatly available for a comment.