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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-03-23 City Council Minutes MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING BANGOR CITY COUNCIL—MARCH 23, 2020 Meeting Called to Order at 7.30 PM Chaired by Council Chair Davitt Councilors Present.Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Absent.None Meeting Adjourned at 8:11 PM PROCLAMATION Proclaimed March 29—April 4,2020 as the Week of the Young Child DISCUSSION REGARDING PUBLIC COMMENT Action: Motion made and seconded to allow public comment through Zoom and to enter into the public record the comments received through the dedicated email address and the individual City Councilors email addresses. Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes: Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed Motion made and seconded to set the rules for Zoom public Action: participation by requiring the person to state his/laer name and address, any inappropriate or offensive remarks may be removed,an individual wishing to speak will indicate so through the chat and the Council Chair will have discretion over the time allowed for comment. Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed Motion made and seconded to continue remote public participation at meetings through Zoom, Facebook,television Action: and the city's website. Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed No public comment was made. Page 1 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING BANGOR CITY COUNCIL—MARCH 23, 2020 CONSENT AGENDA ASSIGNED TO ITEMNO. COUNCILOR Councilor Tremble requested the liquor license for Moe's Original BBQ be taken off the Consent Agenda. MINUTES OF. Bangor City Council Regular Meeting of March 9,2020,Bangor School Committee Special Meeting of February 24,2020 and Regular Meeting of February 26,2020 and Airport Committee Meeting of March 2, 2020 LIQUOR LICENSE Application for Liquor License Renewal Malt,Spirituous, TREMBLE RENEWALS. Vinous of MF Dream LLC d1b/a Benjamin's Pub, 123 Franklin Street Application for Liquor License Renewal Malt,Spirituous, TREMBLE Vinous of Quality Beverages Inc. d/b/a Nocturnem Draft Haus, 56 Main Street Application for Liquor License Renewal Malt and Vinous of TREMBLE Black Bear Brewing INC d1b/a Black Bear Brewing, 191 Exchange Street Application for Liquor License Renewal Malt,Spirituous, TREMBLE Vinous of Waterfront Concerts d/b/a Darlings Waterfront Pavilion, I Railroad Street LIQUOR LICENSE Application for Liquor License New Malt and Vinous of TREMBLE NEW. Bangor Urban Air LLC d/b/a Urban Air, 1129 Union Street SPECIAL AMUSEMENT Application for Special Amusement Renewal License of TREMBLE LICENSES RENEWALS Quality Beverages Inc. d/b/a Nocturnem Draft Haus, 56 Main Street Application for Special Amusement Renewal License of TREMBLE Waterfront Concerts d/b/a Darlings Waterfront Pavilion, I Railroad Street Application for Special Amusement Renewal License of Sea TREMBLE Dog Ventures d/b/a Sea Dog Brewing Company, 26 Front Street Application for Special Amusement Renewal License of Black TREMBLE Bear Brewing Inc. d/b/a Black Bear Brewing, 191 Exchange Street Page 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING BANGOR CITY COUNCIL—MARCH 23, 2020 CONSENT AGENDA ASSIGNED TO ITEMNO. COUNCILOR 20-104 ORDER Authorizing Acceptance of Quitclaim Deed and Execution of OKAFOR Municipal Quitclaim Deed-Real Estate Located at 178 Ohio Street 20-105 ORDER Authorizing Execution of Municipal Quitclaim Deed-Real FOURNIER Estate Located at 190 Ohio Street 20-106 ORDER Appointing Airport Constables for the Year 2020 TREMBLE 20-107 ORDER Authorizing Execution of a Contract with ReVision Energy in NICHOLS the Amount of$13,357 for the Installation of an Electric Vehicle Charging Station for The Garage at Pickering Square 20-108 ORDER Authorizing the City Manager to apply for a Department of SUPICA Health and Human Services(DHHS), Community Health Nursing Maternal and Child Health Nursing Services Grant. 20-109 ORDER Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Collective HAWES Bargaining Agreement between the City of Bangor and AFSCME Council 93,Representing the Ramp Attendants and Shift Leads 20-110 ORDER Accepting a Release Deed from Emera Maine for a Portion of TREMBLE an Easement on the Bangor Waterfront 20-111 ORDER Authorizing Execution ofAmendment to Lease with FOURNIER Waterfront Concerts,LLC 20-112 ORDER Authorizing the City Manager to Accept a Donation of up to NICHOLS $8,357 from A Climate to Thrive for an Electric Vehicle Charging Station for The Garage at Pickering Square Action: Motion made and seconded for Passage of Consent Agenda Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed REFERRALS TO COMMITTEE AND FIRST READING ASSIGNED TO ITEMNO. COUNCILOR None. Page 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING BANGOR CITY COUNCIL—MARCH 23, 2020 UNFINISHED B USINESS ASSIGNED TO ITEM NO. COUNCILOR 20-100 RESOLVE Authorizing the City Manager to Accept and Appropriate SUPICA $42,596 in Grant Funds from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services for Community Health Nursing Maternal and Child Health Nursing Services Action: Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed 20-101 RESOL VE Authorizing the City Manager to Accept and Appropriate SPRAGUE $6,700 in Innovation Funding from MaineHealth for the Let's Go Healthy Eating and Active Living Program Action: Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed NEW BUSINESS ASSIGNED TO ITEMNO. COUNCILOR LIQUOR LICENSE Application for Liquor License Renewal Malt and Vinous of RENEWALS. Seven Below LLC d/b/a Moe's Original BBQ, 650 Broadway Action: Councilor Tremble stated he had a conflict of interest as he was the landlord for this property. Motion made and seconded that Councilor Tremble had a conflict of interest. Vote: 8—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed Councilor Tremble left the room. Motion made and seconded for Approval. Vote: 8—0 Councilors Voting Yes: Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Approved Page 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING BANGOR CITY COUNCIL—MARCH 23, 2020 NEW BUSINESS ASSIGNED TO ITEMNO. COUNCILOR Councilor Tremble returned to the room. 20-113 ORDER Granting the City Clerk Authority to Sign License Renewals FOURNIER under Title 28-A,Part 3 of the Maine Revised Statutes Action: Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed Action: Motion made and seconded to Suspend the Rules to consider Council Order 20-114 Authorizing the City Manager to Sign Such Leases,Memoranda of Understanding, and Agreements as are Necessary to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed 20-114 ORDER Authorizing the City Manager to Sign Such Leases, HAWES Memoranda of Understanding, and Agreements as are Necessary to the COVID-19 Pandemic Action: Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes. Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed Action: Motion made and seconded to Suspend the Rules to consider Council Resolve 20-115 Ratifying the City Manager's Action in Signing an Agreement with HC Bangor LLC and Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center for the Use of Bass Park for a COVID-19 Testing Site Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes:Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed Page 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING BANGOR CITY COUNCIL—MARCH 23, 2020 NEW BUSINESS ASSIGNED TO ITEM NO. COUNCILOR 20-115 RESOL VE Ratifying the City Manager's Action in Signing an Agreement TREMBLE with HC Bangor LLC and Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center for the Use of Bass Park for a COVID-19 Testing Site Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes.Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer,Sprague,Supica, Tremble,Davitt Councilors Voting No:None Passed ATTEST._• Lisa J. Goodwi ,MMC, City Clerk Page 6 From:Jamie Delano To:Public Comment Subject:Anonymous comment Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 3:28:19 AM I think a topic that is good to bring up is what with happen to group homes housing individuals with disabilities. Such as I work at sweetser this is a 24 hour staffing agency. How will any form of a "shut down" affect these agencies. What are some things that would be done to help ensure safety of staff and clients. Currently agencies of this type are still fully functional with staff coming in during day and then swapping out at night. With no knowledge if staff have even followed the social distancing as it's not mandatory in the sense of being truly enforced. From:Janel Worcester-Brown To:Public Comment Cc:Councilors Subject:Bangor needs to act! Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 4:29:30 PM I hope you all are well. Iwrite to request that you please follow CA mandates for the greater Bangor community. Sheltering- in-Place will make us safer. This is especially important given the influx of people taking refugee in ME where they typically only vacation. We are the oldest state. This, even without with increasing inhabitants, makes us the most at-risk state in the country bringing concern that we will follow Italy's tragedy and resort to warzone triage and carnage. The sooner we mandate closing of all nonessential businesses and enforce a curfew, the sooner we prioritize health and get life back to how we know it. Since 2015 I have been living with a rare genetic condition which forces me to be primarily housebound. I am aware of the grief one might feel from losing freedoms and the fear of financial hardship, but unless we implement drastic changes now we will not be able to return to how we've lived; it will become unrecognizable from loss of loved ones to an economically crushed country. Please act quickly in this dire time of need to end the spread and flatten the curve. Respectfully, Janel Worcester-Brown From:Lesley Anderson To:Public Comment Subject:Change of topic: Surviving the summer. Date:Monday, March 23, 2020 9:06:16 AM Dear Councilors, Many passionate hours can be spent debating the appropriate definition of "essential businesses" and "sheltering in place", but I would like us to begin talking about the summer and the next school year. Because the incubation period for COVID-19 can be as long as 14 days (per the CDC), it will be more than two weeks before we can judge the efficacy of any measures enacted today. In fact, until the pandemic has run its course and the numbers are in, we will not even know if all our efforts to flatten the curve have succeeded. Flattened or not, we are on the steep part of that curve. So whatever measures we take now, we can expect to see new cases throughout the spring and potentially into the summer and fall. Fear surrounds us. Fear for ourselves, our loved ones, our country, our livelihoods, our homes. But fear varies by person, by region, by day. Eventually the fear of homelessness or hunger overrides the fear of infection. The fear for a child overrides the fear for a neighbor. But fear is not always a true indicator of safety, and therefore is a poor basis for making plans or decisions. Therefore, my proposed topics of discussion (not just for Bangor but for the state and the country) are these: How will we live during a prolonged period of social "lock down"? What is the criteria for ending the state of emergency? For specically: How will we house those who need to be quarantined and can't go home? Can we facilitate summer work opportunities for those who have lost jobs? How will we manage parks and public spaces as the weather improves and more people come outside? What do we need to see happen before we open schools in the fall? What medical evidence gives us confidence to relax visitation rules at nursing homes? What precautions do we require to permit weddings and funerals? Some possibilities as discussion starters: When X number of tests become available, we will begin widespread public testing in order to identify specific at risk neighborhoods. When the temperature reaches a certain point, if we find that the spread of the virus is slowing, we will we open the public pools. We will also permit restaurants to serve on patios or terraces. If a vaccine is found and the risk of person to person transmission is reduced, we will re- open non-essential businesses, day cares and schools. If a reliable program of treatment is identified, we will permit weddings and neighborhood bbqs up to X number of people for those who are comfortable attending. If there is confirmation that those infected can no longer be carriers, we will allow them free movement to care for others. We are at the beginning of a long road, and there is no guarantee of safety for any of us. Fear is natural, but one of the best ways of reducing fear is well-considered plans with firm decision making criteria and clear action steps. Thanks for reading and considering! ~~ Lesley Anderson From:Adam To:Public Comment Subject:Comments regarding Covid-19 response Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 5:14:09 PM Hello, First, I'd like to thank everyone throughout the Bangor/Brewer area, and Maine as a whole, for working together as a community in this challenging time. Second, I'd like that thank the folks in leadership roles throughout our communities who are faced with difficult decisions and are acting in the best interest of their respective communities. In these uncharted waters it's difficult to identify the "right" decision, when in reality, we're all trying to look at the data in front of us and simply make the best choice we can at the time. Hopefully when we look back at what we did here today we can all confidently say we acted in good character with respect to those around us and that we all made it through together. I, personally, have thoughts and feelings regarding our next steps. I'd like to monitor the number of cases we're seeing, the growth over time, the number of ICU beds and ventilators we have available throughout the state of Maine, the overall burden on patient care and healthcare facilities spread across Maine, so forth and so on. That said, I don't know how many ICU beds we currently have available and staffed in Maine. I don't know what % of those beds are currently occupied by "routine" patients vs. those combating coronavirus. I can see some of the data and information coming through Bangor's .Gov site, Maine's .Gov site, and Maine's CDC site, but ultimately I am relying on our leaders to either know that information or be seeking it out to inform the decisions they're making. While I rely on them to be informed and make good decisions, they're relying on me to honor their decisions even if I do not agree with them. These decisions WILL be "inconvenient" for me, that's the nature of the crisis at hand. When it snows it's not a matter of filing a complaint to our local governments, it's a matter of everyone grabbing a shovel and working our way clear. So be thoughtful of one another, share perspectives, listen to one another, and seek to understand where each individual is coming from and the challenges they face. No one decision will perfectly meet the needs of low income residents, elderly individuals on fixed incomes and/or difficult healthcare needs, young parents potentially out of work, small business owners looking to ensure employees are able to make it through without closing up shop for good, or any # of other citizen groups. Instead, decisions will be made that will hopefully provide the best positive impact to the public whilst we as friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, or otherwise kindhearted strangers and good Samaritans fill in the gaps. Take care out there Mainers, yourselves and those around you. Heed the call of those we've elected to lead us in these challenging times, and hopefully we'll be clear of this and back on our feet soon. From:Randy N To:Public Comment Subject:Comments/questions Date:Sunday, March 22, 2020 3:28:37 PM With all of this talk about shelter in place, and closing non essential businesses, what are you doing about the homeless population? Warming centers closed earlier than expected, gatherings of more than ten are not allowed. Access to resources to them were cut off just as much as they are to others. Do you plan to address their safety? From:Lisa Rogers To:Public Comment Subject:Concern Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 2:59:46 PM I am the director of several residential treatment centers here in Bangor. I am concerned about the ability to continue to staff the facilities safely As the virus spreads. I strongly feel that a shutdown would aid in minimizing The spread by people who, for whatever reasons of their own, Are failing to understand the gravity of the situation. I want to protect our clients, I want staff to be healthy and able to provide services. I appreciate the opportunity to have my voice heard. Respectfully, Lisa Williams LADC,CCS Infinity and Womans house Director Wellspring Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone From:Bill Wood To:Public Comment;Councilors Subject:from my colleague & friend in NYC (otolaryngologist/surgeon I trained with) Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 9:04:31 PM English is Alec's third or fourth language; he's Swiss francophone ______________________________________________________________ Hi guys, itstart to be bad here, my friends. Do Not scope unless life threatening , put a shield, N95 and ppe. Put your phone in Saran wrap, works great for me. Clean it often. change before you leave the office. The cleaner of our office just before we see cancer patients, was forced by her stupid manager to come to work while she was coughing, and had a fever, next day she was hospitalized with COVID and we have all to wear masks for 2weeks. Many of our colleagues are positive and sick. (I have a slight dry cough, hopefully mild case) Friday we tripled intubations for COVID patientd in one day, and this is just the beginning. 86% of patient that transmitted the disease did not know they had it. In the NEJM paper from this week, Virus is high in nasal swabs, and patients shed it for 2 weeks... New York Times plotting from last week shows dentists and OMFS at highest rate of getting infected per client interaction. We did not know it when we started residency but we are in the front line of this one. Take it seriously, even when everything looks fine, even in Bangor! South Korea did it right!!! New York fucked up, too late. Love you guys! Alec From:Karen Pendleton To:Councilors;Public Comment Subject:Mandatory Shut Down Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 5:23:02 PM I am writing to encourage you to mandate the shut down of all non-essential businesses in Bangor immediately and that all residents not involved in essential business stay home now. We are nearing the point of no return- another week and it is likely that we will not be able to avoid overwhelming our hospitals with corona cases. Karen Pendleton 29 MadisonSt, Bangor, ME 04401 -- Karen Pendleton 29 Madison St Bangor ME 04401 207/299-4559 Sent from Gmail Mobile From:Marwa Elkelani To:Public Comment Subject:Plea for Shelter at Home Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 10:46:53 AM Good morning, Councilors, > > I am writing to implore you to order a shelter-at-home for Bangor immediately (only grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospitals remain open). My husband is a medical professional, and I truly worry about him and his colleagues in the coming weeks! We do not want to see overcrowded hospitals and lack of masks/equipment/resources for them, which is inevitable if we don’t flatten the curve and do this NOW! > > I also worry about the elderly and immuno-compromised individuals in our community like my parents. This is a significant majority of Bangor residents. Each moment of each day counts. Please do the right thing and make this tough decision that could quite possibly save so many lives! > > Thank you for all your hard work! > > Marwa Hassanien Elkelani > 92 Chestnut Trail, Bangor > 207-478-7333 > > From:Stephanie Harp To:Councilors;Public Comment Subject:Please overreact Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 2:54:53 PM Thank you for all your work so far to mitigate the coronavirus here. I won't bombard you with news articles but am adding my voice to the calls to please shut down everything right now. Medical professionals around the world - and right here in Bangor - say that's our only hope of not overwhelming our healthcare system and potentially endangering the very medical professionals who are on the front lines. If Bangor shuts down, we still will get inundated with sick people from our service region. If we shut down now, we can give our local healthcare system a fighting chance. If we shut down and nothing happens, then we've won! Dr. Anthony Fauci said if we feel like we're overreacting, then we're doing the right thing. Please overreact and please do it immediately. Thank you, Stephanie Harp Bangor From:Jamie Delano To:Public Comment Subject:Re: Anonymous comment Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 5:27:53 AM Also what is going to be done about rent for those of that can not afford rent. Due to being laid off or hours being cutback. Regardless if there is an no eviction during this pandemic it would impossible to catch back up on rent and there for and eviction in the future would happen regardless. If places are being closed and workers cant work. How can renters collect rent? Unemployment would not cover all finances. On Sat, Mar 21, 2020, 3:28 AM Jamie Delano <jdelano1992@gmail.com> wrote: I think a topic that is good to bring up is what with happen to group homes housing individuals with disabilities. Such as I work at sweetser this is a 24 hour staffing agency. How will any form of a "shut down" affect these agencies. What are some things that would be done to help ensure safety of staff and clients. Currently agencies of this type are still fully functional with staff coming in during day and then swapping out at night. With no knowledge if staff have even followed the social distancing as it's not mandatory in the sense of being truly enforced. From:Sarah Gerrish To:Public Comment Subject:Safety concerns Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 11:03:30 PM Dear City Council Members - I'm writing to you to express my concern about non-essential businesses remaining open and people continuing to ignore suggestions to practice social distancing. I work at Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center, as a social worker I work with patients in the hospital as well as our patients who are in the community. I have no choice but to be out to care for these patients, to help them access care, to keep them safe and as healthy as possible. We cannot access all the supplies we need to protect ourselves and our patients and people continue to shop in bookstores, The Christmas Tree shop, etc... If our community continues with the status quo - those of us with no choice but to continue to help those in need are at greater risk. Please guide our community to help protect us. The more people who stay home - the fewer people who need masks and gloves and more that are able to be utilized by those of us who have to be out. Thank you, Sarah Gerrish From:Kirsten Reed To:Public Comment Subject:shelter in place order Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 6:41:39 PM I'm not sure I want to attach my name to this, as I am stillemployed(although if there is no lockdown by Monday, I will probably have to quit, because my situation is untenable). I desperately want the city--the state, even--to issue a lockdown order. For those of us whose employers still compel us to go work against our will, this is a very frightening and frustrating time. I'm the receptionist in a downtown law firm. In response to pressure from the employment agency I'm contracted through, the office manager put a sign on the door re: restricting public access, and I called clients to reschedule them to phone appointments. However, everyone grumbled about this, and everything else to do with any adjustments needed during this pandemic. Staff continued to make in-office appointments, and, as the receptionist, I have to greet them all. I was also asked to bin-dive to retrieve some papers at the bottom of a recycling bin. I'm working shoulder-to-shoulder with people bragging about ignoring the social distancing recommendations, complaining that this is all silly, and waving off my concerns. A lockdown would force some common sense and compassion where many are failing to exercise it, and protect the rest of us. Thank you, Kirsten Reed https://www.kirstenreed.com/ From:Clare Mundell To:Public Comment Subject:Shelter-in-Place/Stay-at-Home order now Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 1:01:31 PM Dear Councillors, I'm writing to urge you to issue a shelter-in-place order immediately. Please do not underestimate this virus; Dr. Noah Nesin's opinion piece should persuade you. The nine of you hold lives in your hands. The state is moving too slowly, and Bangor can't wait. You must lead. I guarantee that in two years, when you look back at this time, you will be happy you acted so forcefully. It seems that local businesses are voluntarily shutting down, because they care about the community. National chains like Books a Million, Hobby Lobby, and Joann's are still open, allowing the virus to circulate. If you are concerned about local businesses, a shut-down will even the playing field. Thank you for treating this issue with the gravity it deserves. You will have many difficult decisions to make in the coming weeks and months. My best thoughts are with you as you navigate uncharted waters. Please, be brave. Sincerely, Clare Mundell 79 Norfolk St. 332-6992 From:Bill Wood To:Public Comment Subject:shut down = save lives. Don"t shut = avoidable deaths Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 12:12:55 PM Councillors, as fellow citizens with unique power: You will remember, for the rest of your lives, whether you did all you could to limit the number of coming deaths, or not. There is ONE thing you can do, NOW: mandatory shelter in place. William A. Wood MD (cell: 207 332 7276) From:Bill Wood To:Councilors;Public Comment Cc:Geoff Gratwick;Sean Faircloth;Clare Mundell Subject:updates from Italy & NY Date:Saturday, March 21, 2020 8:57:37 PM "If Italy’s experience shows anything, it is that measures to isolate affected areas and limit the movement of the broader population need to be taken early, put in place with absolute clarity, then strictly enforced." from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-center-lessons.html? action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage The hospital where I'm working, in Concord NH, just informed us that our first intubated ICU patient with COVID has been admitted. My friend who trained in my residency is in NYC @ NYU; he tells me this evening the health care system there is beginning to be overwhelmed, as in Italy. FEMA just declared a state of emergency for NY. It's coming to Bangor. Governor Cuomo in NY said if his measures "save one life, they're worth it." Do you all not feel the same? Coe, Katie From:Davitt, Clare Sent:Thursday, March 19, 2020 8:29 PM To:Councilors; Cromwell, Richard Subject:Fwd: Council Agenda Upcoming I’d say this would be one of our first public comments for the collection. Clare Davitt Bangor City Council Chair 207-478-4544 clare.davitt@bangormaine.gov Pronouns: she/her Begin forwarded message: From: JUDITH <clarkprice@msn.com> Date: March 19, 2020 at 7:30:13 PM EDT To: "Davitt, Clare" <clare.davitt@bangormaine.gov> Cc: "Conlow, Cathy" <cathy.conlow@bangormaine.gov> Subject:Council Agenda Upcoming It was reported on local evening news today (3/19) that the City Council will be continuing its discussion of adopting an order for residents to “shelter in place”. If this correct, I would like to register my opposition. I would prefer a suggestion or recommendation rather than an order. I do not believe that present circumstances warrant such an order that would infringe upon my Constitutional rights and could be detrimental to my health. Respectfully, Clark P. Thompson 2114 Essex Street Bangor Sent from my iPhone 1 Coe, Katie From:Melanie Klein-Robbenhaar <kleinrobbenhaarmelanie@yahoo.com> Sent:Friday, March 20, 2020 11:56 AM To:Councilors Subject:Pandemic math Good morning, As a mathematics major, this article spoke to me. As a resident of Bangor, this needs to be required reading for all of Bangor leadership. We are taking appropriate steps, but we have not yet done enough to stem the spread of this deadly virus. Please share with state leadership as well. Please read: https://medium.com/@Jason_Scott_Warner/why-we-are-not-doing-enough-to-stop-the-pandemic-in- simple-math-1722a5053cda Sent from my iPhone 1 Coe, Katie From:Game Citadel <admin@gamecitadel.com> Sent:Friday, March 20, 2020 12:55 PM To:Councilors Subject:\[BULK\] Covid-19 Response Dear council members, First, you should be commended on a job well done. The measures enacted, in accordance with Governor Mills and Maine CDC have certainly achieved a 75% or more reduction in social contact. Congratulations, you should be very pleased with this result. And you should wait for guidance from the Governor's office before taking any further, more severe measures. There is no cause, at this time, for a full lockdown or shelter-in-place, or whatever you decide to deem it. San Francisco is it's own unique situation, and the response by that city is the result of weighing their own unique circumstances. There is no need to look to them as an example. There is 'progressive trophy' for which cities can arbitrarily institute the most draconic policies in a crisis. In fact, in the future, when deciding who our leaders will be, their ability to handle a crisis calmly and rationally, and without hysteria, will be on every voters mind. Do not make this mistake. Sincerely, Shawn Allaire President Game Citadel Inc 720 Broadway Bangor, ME 04401 1 Coe, Katie From:Niles Parker <nparker@mainediscoverymuseum.org> Sent:Friday, March 20, 2020 4:40 PM To:Councilors Subject:Fwd: URGENT: CONTACT THE SENATE To the Bangor City Councilors: Some interesting information about the impact on museums and the role they play. Thank you for doing whatever you can in this crisis to support the arts, museums, and non-profits. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Association of Children's Museums <jeannette.thomas@childrensmuseums.org> Date: Thu, Mar 19, 2020 at 1:18 PM Subject: URGENT: CONTACT THE SENATE To: <nparker@mainediscoverymuseum.org> Include Museums in the Economic Stimulus Contact your Senator TODAY, March 19, 2020 Last night, the Association of Children's Museums joined seven other museum associations to ask Congressional leaders for $4 billion in relief funding and economic stimulus for museums. COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on children's museums and the broader museum field--including the staff who work in museums and deliver vital services to our communities. Every U.S. children's museum has closed to the public. ACM, along with our colleagues at other national museum associations, estimate that nationwide, museums are losing at least $33 million a day due to closures resulting from COVID-19. We need your help TODAY. Call your Senators in Washington, DC, and let them know the museum industry needs your help. Right now our efforts are focused on the Senate, but if you have time, please contact your Representative, too. CONTACT YOUR SENATOR 1 Talking Points for Your Call Museums of all types (such as children's museums, zoos, gardens, science centers) are a $50 billion industry, employing 726,000 people. Museums have been suddenly and severely impacted by the sudden closures all across the country, to prevent the spread of coronavirus; more than 75 percent---and every U.S. children's museum---are closed to the public. Many cannot just shut their doors – but have ongoing obligations like zoos/aquaria continuing to care for their animals, art and history museums continuing to provide safe environments for cultural heritage, science and children’s museums (among others) providing educational resources and online events to assist the 28 million students (and their parents) home from school for weeks/months. They are continuing their service to communities while losing, on average, 45 percent of their revenue for weeks and months. Many museums have fewer than one month’s reserves. Most have committed to continuing to pay staff for some time, but this will not be sustainable. Museums’ other major source of revenue, charitable contributions, are at risk given the stock market’s volatility---and continue to be at risk due to the 2017 tax law that effectively reduces the incentive for Americans to make donations. We estimate 30 percent or more museums will not reopen if closures and financial decline continues for much longer; this will disproportionately hurt small and rural communities and lower socioeconomic visitors. Museums will be vital to the nation’s recovery---and recovery of communities all over the country. As places of inspiration and hope, gathering, and education---and among the nation’s most trusted resources---museums will bring people together, educate the public, and help to address/avoid xenophobia and other potential negative outcomes. We estimate museums need economic relief of $4 billion to keep their staffs employed through the next few months. Will you be one of our champions? Can't make a call today? Use this tool from the American Alliance of Museums to send a letter to your Senator. It only takes a minute. Questions? Contact Jeannette Thomas, Sr. Director, Development & Advocacy Association of Children's Museums | www.ChildrensMuseums.org Association of Children's Museums | 2550 S. Clark Street, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22202 2 Unsubscribe nparker@mainediscoverymuseum.org Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by jeannette.thomas@childrensmuseums.org in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today! -- Niles Parker | Executive Director p: 207.262.7200 f: 207.947.6281 nparker@mainediscoverymuseum.org mainediscoverymuseum.org 3 Coe, Katie From:Alan Cobo-Lewis <alanc@maine.edu> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 4:12 PM To:Councilors Dr Bangor Council, As the service center for our area of the state, you have an opportunity to blunt the impact of the covid emergency. There is community transmission in southern Maine. You may have the opportunity to stop or delay community transmission in Penobscot County...but only if act fast. Please use your powers to mandate the closure of all non-essential businesses. Please also issue a stay-at-home order, with limited exceptions for ppl who *need* to leave home and for people who might walk, provided that they maintain 6 foot distance Please do so TODAY. Do not wait till Monday. Do not even wait till Sunday. I have aging family in New Rochelle. Do not allow Bangor to be in the same awful situation as New Rochelle is currently in. I trust you read the op ed in today's BDN at https://bangordailynews.com/2020/03/21/opinion/contributors/bangor-should-order-shelter-in-place-now/ Dr Nesin is right. This is a significant t threat to public health, for this entire area of the state. The city took good action last weekend--and thank you for that!--but more is required, and fast Alan Cobo-Lewis 1 Coe, Katie From:Bill Wood <billwoodbangor@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 8:57 PM To:Councilors; Public Comment Cc:Geoff Gratwick; Sean Faircloth; Clare Mundell Subject: updates from Italy & NY "If Italy’s experience shows anything, it is that measures to isolate affected areas and limit the movement of the broader population need to be taken early, put in place with absolute clarity, then strictly enforced." from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-center- lessons.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage The hospital where I'm working, in Concord NH, just informed us that our first intubated ICU patient with COVID has been admitted. My friend who trained in my residency is in NYC @ NYU; he tells me this evening the health care system there is beginning to be overwhelmed, as in Italy. FEMA just declared a state of emergency for NY. It's coming to Bangor. Governor Cuomo in NY said if his measures "save one life, they're worth it." Do you all not feel the same? 1 Coe, Katie From:Bill Wood <billwoodbangor@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 9:04 PM To:Public Comment; Councilors Subject:from my colleague & friend in NYC (otolaryngologist/surgeon I trained with) English is Alec's third or fourth language; he's Swiss francophone ______________________________________________________________ Hi guys, it start to be bad here, my friends. Do Not scope unless life threatening , put a shield, N95 and ppe. Put your phone in Saran wrap, works great for me. Clean it often. change before you leave the office. The cleaner of our office just before we see cancer patients, was forced by her stupid manager to come to work while she was coughing, and had a fever, next day she was hospitalized with COVID and we have all to wear masks for 2weeks. Many of our colleagues are positive and sick. (I have a slight dry cough, hopefully mild case) Friday we tripled intubations for COVID patientd in one day, and this is just the beginning. 86% of patient that transmitted the disease did not know they had it. In the NEJM paper from this week, Virus is high in nasal swabs, and patients shed it for 2 weeks... New York Times plotting from last week shows dentists and OMFS at highest rate of getting infected per client interaction. We did not know it when we started residency but we are in the front line of this one. Take it seriously, even when everything looks fine, even in Bangor! South Korea did it right!!! New York fucked up, too late. Love you guys! Alec 1 Coe, Katie From:Bob Ziegelaar <bz@mainxpo.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 2:36 PM To:Councilors Subject:Stay at home mandate Dear Councilors, The mathematical odds are stacked against a speedy recovery in our COVID-19 battle. Reducing these odds is the single greatest priority. Please be pro-active in issuing home-confinement instructions to the extent practical. Thank you! Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device 1 Coe, Katie From:Clare Mundell <cemundell@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 3:28 PM To:Councilors Subject:Fwd: Shelter-in-Place/Stay-at-Home order now Dear Councillors, I'm writing to urge you to issue a shelter-in-place order immediately. Please do not underestimate this virus; Dr. Noah Nesin's opinion piece should persuade you. The nine of you hold lives in your hands. The state is moving too slowly, and Bangor can't wait. You must lead. I guarantee that in two years, when you look back at this time, you will be happy you acted so forcefully. It seems that local businesses are voluntarily shutting down, because they care about the community. National chains like Books a Million, Hobby Lobby, and Joann's are still open, allowing the virus to circulate. If you are concerned about local businesses, a shut-down will even the playing field. Thank you for treating this issue with the gravity it deserves. You will have many difficult decisions to make in the coming weeks and months. My best thoughts are with you as you navigate uncharted waters. Please, be brave. Sincerely, Clare Mundell 79 Norfolk St. 332-6992 1 Coe, Katie From:Dina Yacoubagha <dyacoubagha@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 5:32 PM To:Councilors Subject:Shelter in place Dear council members, I am writing today to thank you for your hard work trying to keep our community safe during this difficult time. I also want to kindly ask you to take more measures now and apply “shelter at home” order. Things are getting worse by the hour. It is critical that all unessential stores close to prevent the spread of the virus. I know it is tricky and has many layers to it, but I also know that a drastic measure is needed to save people’s lives before it is too late. I am worried about our elderly population, and individuals who are immunocompromised. Our community holds many of them. This “shelter in place” order is also important to avoid putting our healthcare professionals and hospitals in the danger of running out of supplies and beds. This will drain our system pretty quick. I hope you act on this now before it is too late. Thank you again for your hard work and patience. Dina Yacoubagha LMSW-CC 1 Coe, Katie From:Dr. Chuck LeBlanc <bangorchiropractor@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 9:31 PM To:Councilors Subject:SIP Dear members of the Bangor City Council, Thank you all for your service to the Queen City. I am writing as concerned healthcare provider at PCHC, a resident of Little City, a husband, and neighbor to many of you. Although I am pleased with the initial measures the council has taken to protect the community from Covid 19, I urge you to immediately consider more aggressive measures to protect residents by implementing an order for "shelter in place." Please evaluate the current CDC/WHO infection data, the limited local healthcare resources/capacity, and the risk of essential, frontline healthcare workers. Understand the current and upcoming hardships that Bangoreans will fight due to this highly contagious disease if we do not shelter in place. I know all of you will do the right thing and implement this unprecedented, but very necessary measure to limit Covid 19 spread in our great city, and beyond. Sincerely yours, Dr. Chuck LeBlanc 1 Coe, Katie From:Dr. Chuck LeBlanc <bangorchiropractor@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 9:48 PM To:Councilors Subject:SIP ASAP Dear Council members, Please order shelter in place measures immediately to further protect residents and flatten the curve of Covid 19 affects in Penobscot County before it is too late. Thank you for your leadership. Sincerely, Dr. Chuck LeBlanc 1 Coe, Katie From:Geoffrey Gratwick <ggratwick@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 6:27 PM To:'Sean Faircloth'; 'Bill Wood'; Councilors; 'Stephanie Harp'; 'Jennifer Anderson'; 'Noah Nesin, MD' Cc:'Clare Mundell'; 'Marwa Elkelani'; 'Lori Dwyer'; 'Chris Dalton'; 'Sydney Olson'; 'Laura Wittmann'; 'Michael Wittmann'; 'Laurie Osher'; 'Kathy Williams'; 'Amy Faircloth'; jparcak@gwi.net; 'Lucy Quimby' Subject:Gratwick RE: shut down " ­¦®±²§®´«£¬ ­£ ³¤²§¤«³¤±¨­¦¨­ ¯« ¢¤ȁ CƩƚƒʹSeanFaircloth<seanfaircloth01@gmail.com> {ĻƓƷʹSaturday,March21,20205:59PM ƚʹBillWood<billwoodbangor@gmail.com>;council@bangormaine.gov;StephanieHarp<harpmaine@gmail.com>; JenniferAnderson<jndrson@gmail.com>;NoahNesin,MD<nnesin@pchc.com> /ĭʹClareMundell<cemundell@gmail.com>;MarwaElkelani<melkelani4@gmail.com>;LoriDwyer <ldwyer@pchc.com>;ChrisDalton<cdalton@syncopation.com>;SydneyOlson<ursus.sydney@gmail.com>;Laura Wittmann<wittmannlaura@icloud.com>;MichaelWittmann<mcwittmann@gmail.com>;LaurieOsher <laurie.osher@gmail.com>;KathyWilliams<kateq22003@yahoo.com>;AmyFaircloth<amyfaircloth1@gmail.com>; GeoffGratwick<ggratwick@gmail.com>;jparcak@gwi.net;LucyQuimby<lucygquimby@gmail.com> {ǒĬƆĻĭƷʹRe:shutdown=savelives.Don'tshut=avoidabledeaths CouncilorsandPetitioners, Isawyourresponses,ClareandBen,toDr.BillWood,MD.Thankyou.Iknowthesearedifficulttimes.Iappreciateall thehardworkyouandcitystaffaredoing.Wecanagree,ordisagree,evenonlifeordeathissues,andstillbecordial.I knowyouagree.Thankyouagain.andIwillkeepmycommentstothemerits. Theproblemiswearefacedwithapolicychoiceandifwechoosethewrongpolicy,hardworkwillnotmakeupfora dangerouspolicy. Dr.WoodassertsthatShelterinPlacewill,Iquote,"savelives"andthatfailuretodoso,thecurrentCitypolicy,will resultindeathsthatcouldhavebeenavoided.PeoplecandisagreeandyouarefreetodisagreewithDr. Wood.EvidenceforcesmetoconcludethatDr.Woodisonthemoney. BelowIwilllayouthowShelterinPlaceworks,andalsohowtheBangororderworksrightnow,aswellasrespondto certainpointsyou'vemade. Seebelowinred. 1 Forwardedmessage From:.ĻƓ{ƦƩğŭǒĻ<bsprague1@gmail.com> Date:Sat,Mar21,2020at2:48PM Subject:Re:shutdown=savelives.Don'tshut=avoidabledeaths To:BillWood<billwoodbangor@gmail.com> Dr.Wood, Thankyou,asalways,forreachingout.Iwouldsubmittothecommunitythatwearealreadyveryclosetothe ordinancesintheseotherplaces. Ifby"otherplaces",Ben,youmeantheBayAreaShelterinPlaceorder,thatstatementisincorrect.That'swhyHobby LobbyisopeninBangorandnotopenintheBayArea.Thetwosystemsarequitedifferent.Forreasons,I'lldiscuss below,Dr.Nesin'srecommendation,ShelterinPlace,doesmoretoprotectlivesinthiscrisis.Seemorebelow: Ithinkpeoplebelievetheseordinancesareclosertototallockdownsthantheyactuallyarewhen,infact,those specificordinanceshavenumerousexceptionsandthereissignificantconfusionaboutwhatShelterinPlaceactually means. WhatShelterinPlaceactuallymeansisstraightforward: Therearethreecategoriesofbusiness: 1)veryopenfacingbusinessesthatareshutdownbothinBangorandintheBayArea:movietheaters,auditoriums, andsuch.ClosedinBangor.ClosedintheBayArea. 2)EssentialServices:OpeninBangor;OpenintheBayArea. 3)ThoseNONessentialbusinessesthatfallintoneithercategory#1nor#2.Bangorissilentonthosebusinesses, meaningHobbyLobbyandBAMstayopenastheysochoose.Dr.Nesinconcludesleavingthosenonessentialservices openchoiceendangerspublichealth.ThetwobusinessesInamearemerelyexamples.Therearenumeroussuch businessesopeninBangorrightnow.Peoplewithhealthrisksbeingcalledtononessentialofficeworkforexample, andnumerousothernonessentialretail. IntheBayAreaShelterinPlacemeansresidentsareleavingtheirhomesfornicewalksandrunsata6footdistance fromothersandtogoforessentialservices.Thatmeanstheywon'tbegoingtoBAMneitherasacustomernoras anemployeebecauseBAMisnonessential.Straightforward. Dr.NoahNesinandDr.BillWoodrecommendShelterinPlacebecausethispolicywill,asDr.Woodputsit,"save lives."Thereality,asuncomfortableasitmaybe,isthatrightnowBangorpolicyismoredangeroustothelivesofour residentsthanistheBayAreapolicytoresidentsthere.IknowweallcareaboutourfellowBangorresidents.I appreciatethat.Thesearedifficultdecisions.Iunderstandthat. Thatsaid,IencouragetheBangorCityCounciltosupportthepolicyconclusionssetforthbythesetwodoctors, specificallyShelterinPlacetodayasiswithinyourpowerbecauseeveryhourcountsaswepreparefortheburden comingtoourhospitalsandthespreadofthisdeadlycontagion. Weareinaveryseriousemergency.Everyhourcounts.IhopewefollowDr.Nesin'srecommendationofShelterin PlacetodayasstatedintheBDNguestcolumntoday. 2 Dr.Wooddrawsthesameconclusion.Ifindthesetwodoctorsveryconvincing. SoonBangorhospitalswillfillupwithCovid19cases,thusthesituationinwhichsomeoneinthisemailchainhadtheir cancersurgery,alreadyscheduledinBangor,postponedtoprepareforCovid19cases.Thiscancer patientdescribed thattoyouinanemailtotheCouncil.Also,anemployeeofBAMdescribedtotheCouncil,BenandClare,howpeople engagedinhighlycontagiousbehavioryesterdayatBAMafterthecityorderThursday.Why?BecausetheCityissilent onthisnonessentialbusiness.It's thesamereasonHobbyLobbyisopen. Contrastingly,Ifwegowiththeplanthesetwodoctorsrecommend,thedangerousbehaviordescribedatBAMwould notbeoccurringatall. Manyonthischainhavedescribedhowfamilyandfriendsareinfactindanger,particularlyasaresultofthepolicy contrastregarding#3above:nonessentialservices.Dr.Nesin,inhisguestcolumnthismorning,calledforustodo ShelterinPlacetoday. Asweallknow,wewillbegoingtoShelterinPlaceverysoonregardless.Wewillhavenochoiceasthisvirusattacks, andstartskilling,Bangorresidents.SothechoiceisnotShelterinPlace.Ofcoursethatisgoingtohappensoonbecause wehaveinsufficienttesting,insufficientmasks,insufficientventilators.ShelterinPlaceisourstrongestdefensefrom thispandemic,whichiswayitisbeingrapidlyadopted. No,theonlychoicebeforetheCounciliswhetheradoptShelterinPlacesoonenoughtoflattenthecurveandthussave lives.JustafewdaysearlieriswhatDr.Nesinrecommends.WearegoingtoShelterinPlacenodoubt. ButifsimplyfollowDr.Nesin'srecommendationofdoingtheinevitableShelterinPlaceTODAYasDr.Nesinputitin hisguestcolumnthismorningthenwiththosefewextradaysliveswouldinfactbesaved. Ifindthisargumentfromthesemedicalprofessionalstobeextremelypersuasive.ShelterinPlacetodayasthis Councilhasthepowertodowillsavelivessimplybydoingitafewdaysearlier. YouarewelcometosayDr.Nesiniswrong.YouarewelcometosayDr.Woodiswrong.Butwhynoterronthesideof lifeprotectionifthereisanydoubt?andorderShelterinPlacejustafewdayearlier.Orderitrightnow,tonight,asthe councilcan,aselectedrepresentatives,andinstructtheCitystafftodo. I'mgoingtohavetogowiththerecommendationofthesetwodoctorsonthisone.PleaseShelterinPlacetonight. Forexample,intheseotherplaces,thefollowingtypesofbusinessesareallowedtostayopen:grocerystores, conveniencestores,boxstoressellinggroceriesincludingWalmart,Target,Sam'sClub,BJ's,pharmacies, transportationcompanies,gasstations,restaurantsfortakeoutanddelivery,hardwarestores,utilitycompanies, plumbersandconstructionworkers,laundromats,mailandshippingcompanies,autorepairshops,funeralhomes, veterinarians,storagefacilities,banks,insurancecompanies,payrollservices,accountingoffices,securitycompanies, janitorialservices,ITsupportcompanies,andmanyothers.Thesebusinessesareallallowedtostayopenduring ShelterinPlaceandpeopleareallowedtogotothematleastintheseothercommunitiesandstates. Thisistrueandirrelevant.See#1above. Weareprettymuchalreadythere.Thisnottrue.See#3above. Specificstoreskeepgettingmentionedlikebookstoresandgameshops.Iamopentobroadeningthescopeofour existingordinance,fullstop.ButIanticipateconfusionaboutwhatisessentialandwhatisnot.Bangoralreadylists 3 EssentialServices.Ifyouaren'thappywiththeBangorlist,taketheBayAreaSanFranciscodefinition.Thedifferences arenotmajorandarenoreasontoslowdownShelterinPlace,sinceDr.NesinandDr.Woodtellusitwillsavelives. Manypeopleincludingthosewithchildrenathomemayconsiderbookstorestobeessentialespeciallysincethe libraryisclosed,forexample.Myguidelinewouldbethatbookstores(justasoneexample)shouldstrictlyabideby the10personrule IntheBayAreatheseareNonEssentialservices.InBangor,rightnow,theyarenonessentialservices.However,inBay Areapeopledon'tgotononessentialservices.Thatwhythesedoctorsareconcernedaboutthegreaterdangerof spreadingCovid19inBangor.Ifindthedoctorsconvincing. asitis,infact,thelawrightnowinMaineperthegovernor'sorder.Craftstores,piercingstudios,jewelrystores....yes maybesomeoftheseshouldcloseandIamopentothat. Wealreadyhavedefinitionsofessentialservices,bothintheBayAreaandinBangor.Theonebyoneapproachyou suggestabove,Ben,iscomplicatedanddifficulttomanage.Wealreadyhavemodelsthatarealreadyworking,much betterthanhere.ShelterinPlaceisclearandhastheadvantageofsavinglives. HobbyLobbyisclosedintheBayArea.Why?It'snonessential.HobbyLobbyisopenhere.SameforBooksAMillion. AtenfootruleisnotpracticalforstafftoenforceatBAM.ThereisnoneedtoenforcesucharuleinBangorifwesimply enactShelterinPlace,thusprotecting,asthedoctorsassert,morelives. YouhavethetimeandthepowertodirecttheCitytoissueaShelterinPlaceordertonight.Irespectfullyhopeyouwill heedtheirrecommendations.Everyhourcounts. BestWishes, Sean Anyway,Iappreciateyourthoughts.Iamthinkingaboutthisnotonlyeverydaybuteveryhourofeveryday.Thank youforhelpingtoinformmythoughts. Ben OnSat,Mar21,2020at1:49PMBillWood<billwoodbangor@gmail.com>wrote: Councillors,asfellowcitizenswithuniquepower: Youwillremember,fortherestofyourlives,whetheryoudidallyoucouldtolimitthenumberofcomingdeaths,or not. ThereisONEthingyoucando,NOW:mandatoryshelterinplace. WilliamA.WoodMD (cell:2073327276) 4 BenSprague Facebook Twitter (207)8521405 www.seanfaircloth.com www.seanfaircloth.com 5 Coe, Katie From:Geoffrey Gratwick <ggratwick@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 1:20 PM To:Councilors Subject:Gratwick - sheltering in place Pleasebeadvisedthatanyinformationsenttomeinmycapacityasalegislatormaybecomeamatterofpublicrecord asindicatedintheMaineFreedomofAccessActhttp://www.maine.gov/foaa/index.htm 1 Coe, Katie From:Janel Worcester-Brown <janelworcester@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 4:29 PM To:Public Comment Cc:Councilors Subject: Bangor needs to act! I hope you all are well. Iwrite to request that you please follow CA mandates for the greater Bangor community. Sheltering- in-Place will make us safer. This is especially important given the influx of people taking refugee in ME where they typically only vacation. We are the oldest state. This, even without with increasing inhabitants, makes us the most at-risk state in the country bringing concern that we will follow Italy's tragedy and resort to warzone triage and carnage. The sooner we mandate closing of all nonessential businesses and enforce a curfew, the sooner we prioritize health and get life back to how we know it. Since 2015 I have been living with a rare genetic condition which forces me to be primarily housebound. I am aware of the grief one might feel from losing freedoms and the fear of financial hardship, but unless we implement drastic changes now we will not be able to return to how we've lived; it will become unrecognizable from loss of loved ones to an economically crushed country. Please act quickly in this dire time of need to end the spread and flatten the curve. Respectfully, Janel Worcester-Brown 1 Coe, Katie From:jason preble <enadnum@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 2:06 PM To:Councilors Subject:Shelter in Place Please consider enacting a strict shelter in place policy for Bangor that will close ( temporarily) all non-essential Bangor businesses including those that are nationally owned. The chance to act to minimize damage is now, and waiting will only put the lives of Maine residents and those visiting in greater danger. These stores staying open are putting the public at risk and risking the health of their employees to negate falling revenues. The stores likely can’t make the decision to close themselves because it’s decided nationally or regionally so we have to take action as a community. Thank your your time and consideration. Respectfully, Jason Preble 176 Fountain Street Bangor Me Sent from my iPhone 1 Coe, Katie From:Jeff Graham <jgraham@autodist.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 11:26 AM To:Councilors Cc:Davitt, Clare; Fournier, Richard; Hawes, Susan; Nichols, Sarah; Okafor, Angela; Schaefer, Gretchen; Sprague, Benjamin; Supica, Laura; Tremble, Dan Subject:Restrictions due to COVID-19 DearCouncilorsΑ IamthePresidentofAutomaticDistributorsoperatingatTargetCircleinthisfinecityofBangor,Maine. I ǒƩŭĻ you ƓƚƷ toimplementanyfurtherrestrictionsinthecityduetotheCOVID19crisis. WhileIunderstandtheneedtoprotectlife,onemustalsoconsidertheextremeeconomicdamagebeingdonetothe businessesinthiscommunity.Thisisdamagethatmayneverberecovered.Thisisaverydifficultsituationbutjustas allowingforvehiclestodriveonourroads,therehastobesomeconsiderationoftheriskversusthegain.Weallow vehiclestodriveeventhoughweareawarethatitmayresultinaccidentalinjuryordeathbutitisanecessity. Ioverheardsomeonestatethatwemaysavea100,000livesbutthe349millionofusthatremainwillbebroke. Thisisanabsoluteterribledecisiontohavetoconsiderbuthowmuchdamagecantheeconomyendure?Placing additionalrestrictionswillnotstopthosethatarenotabidingbytheonesalreadyinplacebutitwillhaveaverylong termeffectonallbusinessΑmanythatwillnotrecover.Theeconomicdamagemustbeconsideredwhenmakingthese extremelydifficultdecisions. ThankYou JeffGraham JEFF GRAHAM Direct Line: 207-433-7349 Email jgraham @autodist.com Customer Service 207.942.6769 Fax 207.941.0247 1 Coe, Katie From:Joyce Petrosky <joyce.petrosky@hotmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 3:23 PM To:Councilors Subject:Clovid-19 Towhomeverhastheauthoritytomakemajordecisions,Iampleadingwithyouasahealthcare providertomandateashelterinplacewiththecommunity.Thiswouldhopefullypreventour hospitalsfrombeingoverwhelmedwithseriouscasesofthevirus.Icannotbelievehowmany peopleareoutshoppinginunnecessaryplaces.HobbyLobbyisstillopenasareseveralother largestores.Peopledonottakethisseriousenough.Drivethroughsforneededthingssuchas pharmaciesarewhatareneededonly. IamsetupathometocontinueseeingmyclientsanddiditalllastweekasIdon'twantthem outandmanyofthemweretalkingtomeintheircars!Iendedthosequicklyandnoneofthem wereactuallymovingatthetimebutanexampleofwhatishappeningoutthere.Whywait untilyouhave2020hindsightanddecideyoushouldhavemadethatdecisionearlier? Peoplewillnotmakegooddecisionsandthatiswhythereisacouncilandgovernortomake thosedecisions. JoycePetrosky,PMHNP Comfort Zone Mental Health, SC Joyce Petrosky, PMHNP-BC 157 Park Street Suite 34 Bangor, ME 04401 Phone: 207-570-5585 Fax: 207-433-1070 This email message, including any associated files, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain information that is confidential, privileged, or subject to copyright, trade secret or other protection. This message also may contain information protected by state and federal privacy laws that are enforced through serious civil and criminal sanctions. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not an intended recipient of this message, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this e-mail, and delete the original and all copies of this message from your computer or other device. 1 Coe, Katie From:Karen Pendleton <kapendletonme@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 5:22 PM To:Councilors; Public Comment Subject:Mandatory Shut Down I am writing to encourage you to mandate the shut down of all non-essential businesses in Bangor immediately and that all residents not involved in essential business stay home now. We are nearing the point of no return- another week and it is likely that we will not be able to avoid overwhelming our hospitals with corona cases. Karen Pendleton 29 Madison St, Bangor, ME 04401 -- Karen Pendleton 29 Madison St Bangor ME 04401 207/299-4559 Sent from Gmail Mobile 1 Coe, Katie From:Laura Wittmann <wittmannlaura@icloud.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 12:25 PM To:Councilors Subject:Shelter In Place order Hello Bangor City Councilors and City Manager- > > My name is Laura Wittmann and I am asking you to call for a Shelter in Place order for Bangor today. My own family has self-quarantined since my daughter came home from college because my husband has asthma, and because our workplaces have allowed us to work from home. > > I am asking you to do this because Bangor needs to stay 7-10 days ahead of the death curve, and the sooner we shut down as a city and move to remote working, the better chance we have of saving lives and saving our city. Our hospitals will be overwhelmed. > > We cannot wait for more cases to justify the Shelter In Place. Since so many people are asymptomatic for 5-14 days, we could be spreading the disease today without knowing it. > > I know people are worried about small businesses. We can order online from their webpages, we can pay in advance for future services, and we can have takeout and delivery options. > > In addition, I am a teacher and I have had conversations with students > and their families this week about the disruptions in their lives, from food insecurity to internet connectivity issues. But we have been able to find creative solutions to problems and I am sure that the City can continue to find solutions to problems as they arise. > > Please- call a meeting TODAY. 2am if necessary. Please tell people they are required to stay home except for essential services. > > Now is the time for bold action. Bangor can lead, and hopefully the surrounding communities will follow. Call for Shelter in Place today. > > Sincerely, > > Laura Wittmann > > > > Sent from my iPhone 1 Coe, Katie From:Marwa Elkelani <melkelani4@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 10:37 AM To:Councilors; Councilors Subject:Plea for Shelter at Home Good morning, Councilors, I am writing to implore you to order a shelter-at-home for Bangor immediately (only grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospitals remain open). My husband is a medical professional, and I truly worry about him and his colleagues in the coming weeks! We do not want to see overcrowded hospitals and lack of masks/equipment/resources for them, which is inevitable if we don’t flatten the curve and do this NOW! I also worry about the elderly and immunocompromised individuals in our community like my parents. This is a significant majority of Bangor residents. Each moment of each day counts. Please do the right thing and make this tough decision that could quite possibly save so many lives! Thank you for all your hard work, Marwa Hassanien Elkelani 92 Chestnut Trail, Bangor 207-478-7333 1 Coe, Katie From:monica gray <moepett00@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 3:14 PM To:Councilors Subject:Bangor shelter in place Good afternoon I am writing to plead with you to please put Bangor into a shelter in place right away. Noah nesin, a respected physician in this community has plead with you to do so. 4 states in the United States have already done this because they realize the importance of doing this in order to stop the spread of COVID 19. Currently they are refusing to test individuals Unless they are not only high risk but symptomatic. Unfortunately, you can be asymptomatic but contagious with COVID-19 and so this disease Continues to spread. While we have made Some great strides in shutting down dine in eating and “asking” people to social distance and not gather in groups of 10 or more, however there are stores in Bangor that are not necessary that continue to remain open despite others that did the right thing and closed. Hobby lobby, books a million, Burlington coat factory. Christmas tree shop. All unnecessary. And when you go to The grocery stores; they are packed! If people have been hoarding and stocking up, why are they continuing to shop all the time at the store? We may need to learn to get by with what we have and become creative. In other countries, they are doing it right. Being told they have 30 Minutes to grocery shop; only one member of the household; and then grab prescriptions and home. That’s it. No dilly dallying. Space it out so not as many are out and about. And only pharmacies grocery stores gas stations emergency medical services police and veterinary services stay open. (Maybe a few others I’m Missing but they have to be absolutely necessary. ) we may be inconvenienced for Awhile. Uncomfortable but we will survive! I have an autoimmune disease. I’m high risk. My parents are 70 with diabetes and high risk. I want us to make it through this. But if we don’t do something and immediately. We have a low Chance of surviving this. Do what is right for the citizens of Bangor, for the citizens of Maine and protect them. Some of them may be upset at first but they will thank you later when we survive this pandemic. Sincerely. Monica gray. Sent from my iPhone 1 Coe, Katie From:Sean Faircloth <seanfaircloth01@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 5:59 PM To:Bill Wood; Councilors; Stephanie Harp; Jennifer Anderson; Noah Nesin, MD Cc:Clare Mundell; Marwa Elkelani; Lori Dwyer; Chris Dalton; Sydney Olson; Laura Wittmann; Michael Wittmann; Laurie Osher; Kathy Williams; Amy Faircloth; Geoff Gratwick; jparcak@gwi.net; Lucy Quimby Subject:Re: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths Councilors and Petitioners, I saw your responses, Clare and Ben, to Dr. Bill Wood, MD. Thank you. I know these are difficult times. I appreciate all the hard work you and city staff are doing. We can agree, or disagree, even on life or death issues, and still be cordial. I know you agree. Thank you again. and I will keep my comments to the merits. The problem is we are faced with a policy choice and if we choose the wrong policy, hard work will not make up for a dangerous policy. Dr. Wood asserts that Shelter in Place will, I quote, "save lives" and that failure to do so, the current City policy, will result in deaths that could have been avoided. People can disagree and you are free to disagree with Dr. Wood. Evidence forces me to conclude that Dr. Wood is on the money. Below I will lay out how Shelter in Place works, and also how the Bangor order works right now, as well as respond to certain points you've made. See below in red. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Ben Sprague <bsprague1@gmail.com> Date: Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 2:48 PM Subject: Re: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths To: Bill Wood <billwoodbangor@gmail.com> Dr. Wood, Thank you, as always, for reaching out. I would submit to the community that we are already very close to the ordinances in these other places. If by "other places", Ben, you mean the Bay Area Shelter-in-Place order, that statement is incorrect. That's why Hobby Lobby is open in Bangor -- and not open in the Bay Area. The two systems are quite different. For reasons, I'll discuss below, Dr. Nesin's recommendation, Shelter in Place, does more to protect lives in this crisis. See more below: I think people believe these ordinances are closer to total lockdowns than they actually are when, in fact, those specific ordinances have numerous exceptions and there is significant confusion about what Shelter in Place actually means. What Shelter in Place actually means is straight-forward: 1 There are three categories of business: 1) very open-facing businesses that are shut down both in Bangor and in the Bay Area: movie theaters, auditoriums, and such. Closed in Bangor. Closed in the Bay Area. 2) Essential Services: Open in Bangor; Open in the Bay Area. 3) Those NON-essential businesses that fall into neither category #1 nor #2. Bangor is silent on those businesses, meaning Hobby Lobby and BAM stay open as they so choose. Dr. Nesin concludes leaving those non-essential services open choice endangers public health. The two businesses I name are merely examples. There are numerous such businesses open in Bangor right now. People with health risks being called to non- essential office work for example, and numerous other non-essential retail. In the Bay Area Shelter-in-Place means residents are leaving their homes for nice walks and runs at a 6-foot distance from others -- and to go for essential services. That means they won't be going to BAM -- neither as a customer nor as an employee -- because BAM is non-essential. Straight-forward. Dr. Noah Nesin and Dr. Bill Wood recommend Shelter-in-Place because this policy will, as Dr. Wood puts it, "save lives." The reality, as uncomfortable as it may be, is that right now Bangor policy is more dangerous to the lives of our residents than is the Bay Area policy to residents there. I know we all care about our fellow Bangor residents. I appreciate that. These are difficult decisions. I understand that. That said, I encourage the Bangor City Council to support the policy conclusions set forth by these two doctors, specifically Shelter in Place -- today -- as is within your power -- because every hour counts as we prepare for the burden coming to our hospitals and the spread of this deadly contagion. We are in a very serious emergency. Every hour counts. I hope we follow Dr. Nesin's recommendation of Shelter in Place -- today -- as stated in the BDN guest column today. Dr. Wood draws the same conclusion. I find these two doctors very convincing. Soon Bangor hospitals will fill up with Covid-19 cases, thus the situation in which someone in this email chain had their cancer surgery, already scheduled in Bangor, postponed to prepare for Covid-19 cases. This cancer patient described that to you in an email to the Council. Also, an employee of BAM described to the Council, Ben and Clare, how people engaged in highly contagious behavior yesterday at BAM -- after the city order Thursday. Why? Because the City is silent on this non-essential business. It's the same reason Hobby Lobby is open. Contrastingly, If we go with the plan these two doctors recommend, the dangerous behavior described at BAM would not be occurring at all. Many on this chain have described how family and friends are in fact in danger, particularly as a result of the policy contrast regarding #3 above: non-essential services. Dr. Nesin, in his guest column this morning, called for us to do Shelter-in-Place -- today. As we all know, we will be going to Shelter-in-Place very soon regardless. We will have no choice as this virus attacks, and starts killing, Bangor residents. So the choice is not Shelter-in-Place. Of course that is going to happen soon because we have insufficient testing, insufficient masks, insufficient ventilators. Shelter-in-Place is our strongest defense from this pandemic, which is way it is being rapidly adopted. 2 No, the only choice before the Council is whether adopt Shelter-in-Place soon enough to flatten the curve and thus save lives. Just a few days earlier is what Dr. Nesin recommends. We are going to Shelter in Place no doubt. But if simply follow Dr. Nesin's recommendation of doing the inevitable Shelter in Place -- TODAY -- as Dr. Nesin put it in his guest column this morning -- then -- with those few extra days -- lives would in fact be saved. I find this argument from these medical professionals to be extremely persuasive. Shelter in Place -- today -- as this Council has the power to do -- will save lives simply by doing it a few days earlier. You are welcome to say Dr. Nesin is wrong. You are welcome to say Dr. Wood is wrong. But why not err on the side of life protection if there is any doubt? -- and order Shelter in Place just a few day earlier. Order it right now, tonight, as the council can, as elected representatives, and instruct the City staff to do. I'm going to have to go with the recommendation of these two doctors on this one. Please Shelter-in-Place tonight. For example, in these other places, the following types of businesses are allowed to stay open: grocery stores, convenience stores, box stores selling groceries including Walmart, Target, Sam's Club, BJ's, pharmacies, transportation companies, gas stations, restaurants for take-out and delivery, hardware stores, utility companies, plumbers and construction workers, laundromats, mail and shipping companies, auto repair shops, funeral homes, veterinarians, storage facilities, banks, insurance companies, payroll services, accounting offices, security companies, janitorial services, IT support companies, and many others. These businesses are all allowed to stay open during Shelter in Place and people are allowed to go to them at least in these other communities and states. This is true and irrelevant. See #1 above. We are pretty much already there. This not true. See #3 above. Specific stores keep getting mentioned like book stores and game shops. I am open to broadening the scope of our existing ordinance, full stop. But I anticipate confusion about what is essential and what is not. Bangor already lists Essential Services. If you aren't happy with the Bangor list, take the Bay Area San Francisco definition. The differences are not major and are no reason to slow down Shelter in Place, since Dr. Nesin and Dr. Wood tell us it will save lives. Many people including those with children at home may consider book stores to be essential especially since the library is closed, for example. My guideline would be that bookstores (just as one example) should strictly abide by the 10-person rule In the Bay Area these are Non-Essential services. In Bangor, right now, they are non-essential services. However, in Bay Area people don't go to non-essential services. That why these doctors are concerned about the greater danger of spreading Covid-19 in Bangor. I find the doctors convincing. as it is, in fact, the law right now in Maine per the governor's order. Craft stores, piercing studios, jewelry stores....yes maybe some of these should close and I am open to that. We already have definitions of essential services, both in the Bay Area and in Bangor. The one by one approach you suggest above, Ben, is complicated and difficult to manage. We already have models that are already working, much better than here. Shelter in Place is clear -- and has the advantage of saving lives. 3 Hobby Lobby is closed in the Bay Area. Why? It's non-essential. Hobby Lobby is open here. Same for Books A Million. A ten foot rule is not practical for staff to enforce at BAM. There is no need to enforce such a rule in Bangor if we simply enact Shelter-in-Place, thus protecting, as the doctors assert, more lives. You have the time and the power to direct the City to issue a Shelter in Place order tonight. I respectfully hope you will heed their recommendations. Every hour counts. Best Wishes, Sean Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts. I am thinking about this not only every day but every hour of every day. Thank you for helping to inform my thoughts. -Ben On Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 1:49 PM Bill Wood <billwoodbangor@gmail.com> wrote: Councillors, as fellow citizens with unique power: You will remember, for the rest of your lives, whether you did all you could to limit the number of coming deaths, or not. There is ONE thing you can do, NOW: mandatory shelter in place. William A. Wood MD (cell: 207 332 7276) -- Ben Sprague Facebook Twitter (207) 852-1405 -- www.seanfaircloth.com -- www.seanfaircloth.com 4 Coe, Katie From:Stephanie Harp <harpmaine@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 2:55 PM To:Councilors; Public Comment Subject:Please overreact Thank you for all your work so far to mitigate the coronavirus here. I won't bombard you with news articles but am adding my voice to the calls to please shut down everything right now. Medical professionals around the world - and right here in Bangor - say that's our only hope of not overwhelming our healthcare system and potentially endangering the very medical professionals who are on the front lines. If Bangor shuts down, we still will get inundated with sick people from our service region. If we shut down now, we can give our local healthcare system a fighting chance. If we shut down and nothing happens, then we've won! Dr. Anthony Fauci said if we feel like we're overreacting, then we're doing the right thing. Please overreact and please do it immediately. Thank you, Stephanie Harp Bangor 1 Coe, Katie From:Steve Weizenecker <dubweize@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 6:59 PM To:Councilors Subject:hammer and dance https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56 My cousin is a radiologist in Columbus, Ohio. He shared this with me. I shared it with Geoff Gratwick, who is a physician. Not a science denier. He suggested I share it with you.Stay well. Not to be too partisan, but stupid is lethal... e.g. GOP. FOX. Etcetera. I would beg to differ with Kudlow's "airtight" comments, for example. We can do better. This is another opportunity for Maine to lead. Take care, be well, thanks for your service. best regards, Steve Weizenecker 1 Coe, Katie From:Bill Wood <billwoodbangor@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 21, 2020 1:50 PM To:Councilors Subject:Fwd: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths Councillors, as fellow citizens with unique power: You will remember, for the rest of your lives, whether you did all you could to limit the number of coming deaths, or not. There is ONE thing you can do, NOW: mandatory shelter in place. William A. Wood MD (cell: 207 332 7276) 1 Coe, Katie From:Bruce Moore <bmoore7996@aol.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 4:50 PM To:Councilors Subject:pandemic when you vote, think of what is happening in Italy or New York City NOW what are surrounding communities doing to decrease the viral spread. We need their STRONG cooperation, otherwise. whatever Bangor does will be fruitless. anyone examining using Cross Insurance Center for some other function,as a storage area for equipment,, back up medical area for non infectious conditions , whatever is needed ?. 1 Coe, Katie From:heidi crosier-sypitkowski <heicrosyp@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 5:55 PM To:Councilors Subject:okay JUST sent a long email to you and then read that while i was composing it there was a notice on facebook articulating your new regulations. If these match the suggestions of the public health officials i am very happy! thank you. 1 Coe, Katie From:heidi crosier-sypitkowski <heicrosyp@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 6:03 PM To:Councilors Subject:questioning still I realized that you were not advising staying at home. For me this has to be the goal and clearly stated. thank you. 1 Coe, Katie From:heidi crosier-sypitkowski <heicrosyp@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 5:40 PM To:Councilors Subject:covid-19 and shelter in place for Bangor Although i do not find it on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting I believe that there was still some discussion about taking a step further towards more strict social distancing in our city and that the public health officials are recommending that the city shut down more than it is already. Time is of the essence. We could make a huge difference in the safety our neighbors now, but in a week or maybe two that window will close. There is no doubt about this. One of the concerns for the council members seems to be a philosophical one. The question becomes "Do you believe that people will naturally 'do the right thing'?" Some of us are less certain that people will accept and act on the suggestions already made to slow this virus down unless it is clearly stated that there are more guidelines from the city council. We would prefer to trust that people are informed and dedicated to the public good and their own safety. But we do not have the luxury of time to experiment with that question.In many other parts of the world we have already seen the tragic results of waiting for people to understand the consequences of gathering together. i am thinking of the challenge we faced recently as we tangled with the issue of hand held devices while driving. People did not want to have that convenience removed from them. Even after much education about the dangers we continuted to use our phones while driving--until it was illegal. We are asking people to stay at home if we shut down. That is not a matter of mere inconvenience. It requires significant sacrifice on our parts. We cannot expect them to do this voluntarily. We need a clear and immediate message from our leaders that this is unacceptable here in Bangor--as it is in many other places now. Please listen to the public health officials you have entrusted with guiding you. Thank you. Heidi Croser-Sypitkowski 104 Royal Road 1 Coe, Katie From:Katharine Appleyard <kwappleyard@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 8:05 AM To:Councilors Bangor City Council, Please strongly urge people to shelter in place. I don’t know the best way to reduce fear and whether urging is enough but we have only hours and days to make it work. Otherwise, we only need look at Italy to see our fate. NPR reports today that this virus Was seen in Italy before the first confirmed China cases. We need to hold our chain stores to the same standard as our small businesses. We are about to see a consolidation of power and wealth unlike ever before - just look at who’s making money during this crisis. Your decision isn’t easy. Your leadership is appreciated. Hindsight will be 20/20 (with implicit bias). Thank you for considering. Sincerely, Katharine Appleyard 175 Maple St Bangor 207-852-3377 — According to the Johns Hopkins map, the US is steadily climbing and right behind Italy and China. We're on an infection trajectory that is likely to be the worst in the world. We will be Italy next week. We have to do more NOW. We needed a national lockdown yesterday. A statewide one in Washington State is imperative, at the very least! That was from my friend Krystal Kyer in WA. And Maine we aren’t far behind. I know there aren’t enough tests and the results aren’t accurate which is why this is even more imperative. Please ask your local officials to urge their communities to shelter in place. Our schools and our local businesses are making tough decisions. There is risk and disproportionate harm to those most vulnerable. We will have to reconcile that in months and years ahead. There are people and organizations who know this all too well and we will support their work moving forward. Our healthcare providers need us to request action for a formal order to shelter in place to reduce the spread of this virus. This will help us avoid overwhelming healthcare resources. We are stronger together. We are resilient and we will get through this. We can come together and we can make future decisions that reflect this time of growth. In the process let’s not let the DOJ suspend our Constitutional Rights. -- 1 DISCLAIMER: This communication (including all attachments) is intended solely for the use of the person or persons to whom it is addressed and should be treated as a confidential communication. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, distribution, printing, or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you received this e-mail in error, please immediately delete it from your system and notify the originator. Your cooperation is appreciated. Thank you. 2 Coe, Katie From:Kirsten Reed <kirstenreed@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 9:35 AM To:Lucy Quimby Cc:Michael Wittmann; Sean Faircloth; Bill Wood; Councilors; Stephanie Harp; Jennifer Anderson; Noah Nesin, MD; Clare Mundell; Marwa Elkelani; Lori Dwyer; Chris Dalton; Sydney Olson; Laura Wittmann; Laurie Osher; Kathy Williams; Amy Faircloth; Geoff Gratwick; jparcak@gwi.net Subject:Re: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths Hi all, and happy to have found a pocket of common sense and compassion here. (I know common sense is a relative term, but I feel the greater good should be at the forefront of issues like this one.) Many people in my life are already in lockdown. My mother (75 years old) lives in Oakland, as do some of my good friends. If anyone wants a more personal perspective on how these measures are effecting people, I'm happy to provide it. For now, my mother is glad the lockdown was ordered. She is still going for walks around her neighborhood, and is stocked up on cooking supplies. The lockdown makes her feel safer, and she is quite anxious about me sans lockdown. My friends, who run a dog rescue, are also embracing the safety measures, and finding the silver lining, like walking their dogs on a peaceful, deserted golf course. Friends in LA are using this time to write and create. Some of them have lost jobs, and are filing for unemployment. My father (in Paris, France) and his wife are in lockdown. He's going to venture out for a walk today, he says. They are a little bored, but otherwise fine. My friends in Australia have, of course, just weathered the brunt of the fires, and now this. They are embracing shelter-in-place as the only viable option, and are alarmed it is not happening here. So, a wide cross-section of people and places: some young and working, some self-employed, some retired, all taking their 'lockdowns' in stride. Best, Kirsten Kirsten Reed https://www.kirstenreed.com/ On Sun, Mar 22, 2020 at 7:35 AM Lucy Quimby <lucygquimby@gmail.com> wrote: Good morning Michael Thank you so much for this wonderful letter!!! As a service center, the City of Bangor carries the load of taking care of the many needs of a large catchment area - basically all of northern Maine. If we don’t protect ourselves by instituting Shelter in Place ASAP we will drown in the flood. Our community can show that it has the political will to do the right thing to save lives - let’s do it! There will be those who will resist and complain- but better to move ahead now to save lives than to bear the burden of regrets for not acting when we could. Thank you! Lucy Quimby Sent from my iPad 1 On Mar 22, 2020, at 12:26 AM, Michael Wittmann <mcwittmann@gmail.com> wrote: Dear councilors and others, This is a follow-up to an email I sent earlier this week. Two states chose different paths in the past few weeks, and the data make clear how it matters. The below should act as a guide for us all. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10107464398617260&id=12904706 <image0.jpeg> A forceful response saves lives. Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St Bangor —- —- —- Earlier email... Dear City Council Members, Thank you for the hard decisions you make at times like these - thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. But, there is a right decision: We can feed and shelter those in need, while we cannot help hospitals that will soon be overwhelmed. We need to act on this distinction. I am writing as a physicist and education researcher whose specialty is not in the area of epidemiology or medicine, but who uses social science data analysis methods and modeling every day. I trust in my scientific colleagues throughout the world. I also trust history and the experiences of other countries. The data show that the US is experiencing the exact same exponential growth in coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases as Italy. We know what will come next unless we act now. The Imperial College of London (link below) ran models which suggest the consequences of 3 scenarios: 1. Do nothing: 2.2 million deaths in the US. 80% of Americans would get the disease, about 1% of them would die. For Americans over 70, between 4 and 8% would die. 2. Mitigation: 1.1 million deaths. We place all symptomatic cases of the disease in isolation. We quarantine their families for 14 days. We practice social distancing. There would still be too few ventilators in hospitals. 3. Suppression: I am asking the Bangor City Council to support a suppression strategy. We isolate symptomatic cases and quarantine their families. The whole population engages in social distancing. Schools and universities close. We have started this but must go further: Workplaces 2 are shut down. Public gatherings are prohibited. If we assume 75% compliance with these rules, we succeed in the short term in halting the spread. In the long term, SARS-CoV-2 is now part of humanity, and we must hope for future vaccines to truly address this situation. Until then, our actions today determine the health of our community in 2 weeks and beyond. Exponential growth is scary, but also empowering. Small decisions today have huge effects later. Yes, the choice to shelter in place will affect our society, our economy, our families. This is where the city must do the right thing, leading locally to protect lives while the state and the federal governments catch up. The city council must act twice, first to restrict interactions and then to use its powers to support those affected by the decision. To repeat: Thank you, THANK YOU for making the hard decisions you are asked to make at times like these. Thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. We can help those who need food and shelter. We cannot help those who need the ventilators and hospital beds that will soon be unavailable to them. Please act for the best of Bangor, so that our greater health can be protected. Please choose the suppression scenario. Small decisions today will have huge effects a month from now. Thank you, Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St., Bangor 207-951-0129 mcwittmann@gmail.com Link to paper by the Imperial College of London: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial- College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf 3 Coe, Katie From:Kirsten Reed <kirstenreed@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 9:42 AM To:Lucy Quimby Cc:Michael Wittmann; Sean Faircloth; Bill Wood; Councilors; Stephanie Harp; Jennifer Anderson; Noah Nesin, MD; Clare Mundell; Marwa Elkelani; Lori Dwyer; Chris Dalton; Sydney Olson; Laura Wittmann; Laurie Osher; Kathy Williams; Amy Faircloth; Geoff Gratwick; jparcak@gwi.net Subject:Re: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths ...I forgot to mention a good friend in South Africa, who is also embracing the safety measures for herself and her young family: only venturing out for essentials, keeping distance, and home-schooling. She is hoping for a lockdown here for my sake. I know typically Mainers tend to prize work above all else, but that attitude of bearing through no matter what and remaining unflappable is best applied to circumstances like Winter, I think, which eventually, sans intervention, gives way to Spring. For things that require an adjustment and acknowledgment, like the opioid crisis, and now this, I think that head-down-bear-through-just-getting-on-with- my-life rigid approach fails, or at best, falters. We do need to do better, and more, to meet this. Kirsten Reed https://www.kirstenreed.com/ On Sun, Mar 22, 2020 at 9:34 AM Kirsten Reed <kirstenreed@gmail.com> wrote: Hi all, and happy to have found a pocket of common sense and compassion here. (I know common sense is a relative term, but I feel the greater good should be at the forefront of issues like this one.) Many people in my life are already in lockdown. My mother (75 years old) lives in Oakland, as do some of my good friends. If anyone wants a more personal perspective on how these measures are effecting people, I'm happy to provide it. For now, my mother is glad the lockdown was ordered. She is still going for walks around her neighborhood, and is stocked up on cooking supplies. The lockdown makes her feel safer, and she is quite anxious about me sans lockdown. My friends, who run a dog rescue, are also embracing the safety measures, and finding the silver lining, like walking their dogs on a peaceful, deserted golf course. Friends in LA are using this time to write and create. Some of them have lost jobs, and are filing for unemployment. My father (in Paris, France) and his wife are in lockdown. He's going to venture out for a walk today, he says. They are a little bored, but otherwise fine. My friends in Australia have, of course, just weathered the brunt of the fires, and now this. They are embracing shelter-in-place as the only viable option, and are alarmed it is not happening here. So, a wide cross-section of people and places: some young and working, some self-employed, some retired, all taking their 'lockdowns' in stride. Best, Kirsten Kirsten Reed https://www.kirstenreed.com/ 1 On Sun, Mar 22, 2020 at 7:35 AM Lucy Quimby <lucygquimby@gmail.com> wrote: Good morning Michael Thank you so much for this wonderful letter!!! As a service center, the City of Bangor carries the load of taking care of the many needs of a large catchment area - basically all of northern Maine. If we don’t protect ourselves by instituting Shelter in Place ASAP we will drown in the flood. Our community can show that it has the political will to do the right thing to save lives - let’s do it! There will be those who will resist and complain- but better to move ahead now to save lives than to bear the burden of regrets for not acting when we could. Thank you! Lucy Quimby Sent from my iPad On Mar 22, 2020, at 12:26 AM, Michael Wittmann <mcwittmann@gmail.com> wrote: Dear councilors and others, This is a follow-up to an email I sent earlier this week. Two states chose different paths in the past few weeks, and the data make clear how it matters. The below should act as a guide for us all. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10107464398617260&id=12904706 <image0.jpeg> A forceful response saves lives. Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St Bangor —- —- —- Earlier email... Dear City Council Members, Thank you for the hard decisions you make at times like these - thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. But, there is a right decision: We can feed and shelter those in need, while we cannot help hospitals that will soon be overwhelmed. We need to act on this distinction. I am writing as a physicist and education researcher whose specialty is not in the area of epidemiology or medicine, but who uses social science data analysis methods and modeling every day. I trust in my scientific colleagues throughout the world. I also trust history and the experiences of other countries. The data show that the US is experiencing the exact same exponential growth in coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases as Italy. We know what will come next unless we act now. 2 The Imperial College of London (link below) ran models which suggest the consequences of 3 scenarios: 1. Do nothing: 2.2 million deaths in the US. 80% of Americans would get the disease, about 1% of them would die. For Americans over 70, between 4 and 8% would die. 2. Mitigation: 1.1 million deaths. We place all symptomatic cases of the disease in isolation. We quarantine their families for 14 days. We practice social distancing. There would still be too few ventilators in hospitals. 3. Suppression: I am asking the Bangor City Council to support a suppression strategy. We isolate symptomatic cases and quarantine their families. The whole population engages in social distancing. Schools and universities close. We have started this but must go further: Workplaces are shut down. Public gatherings are prohibited. If we assume 75% compliance with these rules, we succeed in the short term in halting the spread. In the long term, SARS-CoV-2 is now part of humanity, and we must hope for future vaccines to truly address this situation. Until then, our actions today determine the health of our community in 2 weeks and beyond. Exponential growth is scary, but also empowering. Small decisions today have huge effects later. Yes, the choice to shelter in place will affect our society, our economy, our families. This is where the city must do the right thing, leading locally to protect lives while the state and the federal governments catch up. The city council must act twice, first to restrict interactions and then to use its powers to support those affected by the decision. To repeat: Thank you, THANK YOU for making the hard decisions you are asked to make at times like these. Thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. We can help those who need food and shelter. We cannot help those who need the ventilators and hospital beds that will soon be unavailable to them. Please act for the best of Bangor, so that our greater health can be protected. Please choose the suppression scenario. Small decisions today will have huge effects a month from now. Thank you, Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St., Bangor 207-951-0129 mcwittmann@gmail.com Link to paper by the Imperial College of London: 3 https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida- fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf 4 Coe, Katie From:Thomas Cassidy <thomas.emmett.cassidy@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 7:17 PM To:Councilors Subject:Support Shelter in Place Dear Councilors, We are writing this letter out of great concern for our community, hospital and medical staff. As you are well aware, COVID-19 is rapidly spreading through our country. Hospitals in New York are currently being overwhelmed with critically ill patients. Stories we are hearing from colleagues belong in Steven King Novels. Unfortunately, we are only at the very start and this is going to get much worse before it gets better. Currently, as physicians, we have limited tools available to us. We do not have enough tests available for our population. A vaccine is likely at least a year away. Multiple medications are being attempted, but there is no proven medication to treat this infection. All we can do is support people who have the illness, which often requires extensive resources in our ICU. Bangor hospitals, while doing their absolute best to prepare, have limited physical space, equipment and staff. Our tertiary referral centers in Boston are expected to be beyond capacity well before us. That leaves us with only one other tool: Aggressive social distancing. While this can be economically devastating, it is all we have. We feel it is time for Bangor to mandate that all non-essential businesses close and people stay home. We already have positive tests in Bangor, and since we are not able to test everyone, that means more people than we know are likely already infected. We cannot afford any additional infections. In this week's New England Journal of Medicine there was an editorial describing how hospitals had to make an age cutoff of 80 for aggressive treatment, only to find that some hospitals could not meet that demand and had to lower the cutoff to 75. Please keep in mind Italy is a first world country. We do not want to tell the families in Bangor Maine the same thing as physicians in Italy. Bangor should order shelter-in-place; it is likely the only treatment we have right now. Thank you, Klaus Till Meinhof, MD Thomas Cassidy, DO FHM Lea Cassidy, PharmD 1 Coe, Katie From:Kristin Tlili <kristintlili@yahoo.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 10:52 AM To:Councilors Subject:Shelter in Place Dear Members of Bangor Council, I would write to each of you individually, but the website is experiencing routine maintenance. I am urging you to order Shelter in Place or something of that nature to protect not only the citizens of Bangor but also all of our health care workers. Many themselves are at risk and many have family members at risk. We have the opportunity to stop the virus here if we take extra steps to keep people safely in their homes. We must take drastic measures to ensure the safety of all. I understand none of these decisions are made easily. We have limited numbers of hospital beds, ventilators, and proper equipment to protect our health care providers as Dr. Shah has stated. This is why we must act today. We cannot wait weeks or even days. We must act today. The public looks to their public officials for information on how handle these difficult times. If you act now people will follow. Thank you, Kristin Tlili 1 Coe, Katie From:Lori Dwyer <ldwyer@pchc.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 10:44 AM To:Kirsten Reed; Lucy Quimby Cc:Michael Wittmann; Sean Faircloth; Bill Wood; Councilors; Stephanie Harp; Jennifer Anderson; Noah Nesin, MD; Clare Mundell; Marwa Elkelani; Chris Dalton; Sydney Olson; Laura Wittmann; Laurie Osher; Kathy Williams; Amy Faircloth; Geoff Gratwick; jparcak@gwi.net Subject:RE: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths Goodmorning. AsIwritethis,agoodfriendofƒźƓĻ͸ƭbrotherhasbeenhospitalizedwithCOVID19.Heisdoingbetter,butitwasvery frighteningforafewdays.IĻ͸ƭahealthy50somethingyearold.MyŷǒƭĬğƓķ͸ƭprostatecancersurgeryhasbeen postponedindefinitelyforalltheobviousreasons.Weareworriedthatthiswillleadtotheavoidablebutclear ƦƚƭƭźĬźƌźƷǤΑmetastasizedcancer,whenweknowthatiscompletelyavoidable,andperhapsanuntimelydeath,even thoughwedideverythingrightbycatchingitearly.Iwatchedmygrandfatherdiefrommetastasizedprostatecancer, andźƷ͸ƭawful.Thisisreal.NotonlywillpeoplediefromCOVID19,butforthousandsofotherreasonslikethis.LƷ͸ƭ personaltome,andźƷ͸ƭanabidingconvictionIhaveasaleaderofahealthcareorganization. Thefasterwecangetbacktoournewnormal,thesoonerwecansaveotherliveswithearlyinterventioncancer surgeriesandalltherest.Bolderactionnowwillhelpsavethehealthcaresystem,andallowotherlifesavinghealthcare procedurestoresume.Aperiodoftimewhenwecannotgooutaswenormallydoseemsasmallsacrificewhenso manyliveswillbesavednowandwellintothefutureasaresult. IbelieveyourjobrightnowistoprioritizethehealthofourĭƚƒƒǒƓźƷǤΑunfortunatelyabovethefinancialfitnessand wellbeingofbusinessesandindividuals.SayingthelistofclosedbusinessesisͻĭƌƚƭĻĻƓƚǒŭŷͼorͻğƌƒƚƭƷͼaseffectiveas ashelterinplaceorderissimplynotgoodenough.LƷ͸ƭalsonotfairtothosebusinesswhohavebeenrequiredtoclose orhavevoluntarilyclosed,whenothersthatarenonessentialarestillopen.LƷ͸ƭtruethatifthisworks,wewillnotknow forsurethatitworked.Theviruswillpasswithlessimpactthanweexpected,andtherewillbeplentywhosaywe ͻƚǝĻƩƩĻğĭƷĻķ͵ͼButifthereverseistrue,we,you,willhavemadeagravemistake.Youhavethepowerascitycouncilors tomakethischangerightnow,andweareaskingyoutoexercisethatauthority.Itisnotuptocitystaff.Itisinfactup toourelectedofficials.Whyriskunderreacting? IimagineMainewillgointolockdownsoonlikeNewYork,California,Illinoisandothers.Whetheryoudothisornot,it willcome.Thepointhereistiming.SanFranciscomovedfirst,thenCaliforniadidso.Theyunderstood,asyoushould, thateveryhourcounts.Doitnow,nottomorrow,orthenextday.Thedebateoverthepastcoupleofweeksmeans moreandmorepeoplehavebecomeinfectedinMaineandinBangor,farmorethanweknowbecausewearetestingso fewpeople. Ofcourse,alsoveryimportantisoureconomichealth.Wemustredoubleoureffortsasacommunitytosupport businesses,vulnerablecommunitymemberswhomaybeonreducedincomeforatime,individualsexperiencing homelessness,thosewhoarealreadyill,andeveryoneelse,asweworktofightthis.Butthatcannotholdupactionto protecthealthnow. Asmostofyouknow,IamalsoCEOofalarge(forBangor)companyofover800employees.Weareahealthcare organization,butwearenotahospital.Wearelendingstafftothehospitals,settingupaquarantinefacilityforthe homelessonbehalfofthecityandtheentirecommunity,seeingwalkincarepatients,doingasmuchaspossiblevia telemed,andgenerallymakingourselvesavailableasmuchaspossibletoworkwithinourscope.Wearepayingpeople 1 andkeepingthemonstaffaslongaspossible,butsomeofouremployeeswillgowithout,asourcashisdwindlesrapidly duetoanabout80%90%reductioninvisits.TheseareagonizingchoicesΑbuttheyhavetobemade.Wemadethe decisionasanexecutive teamtoprioritizethehealthofourstaffandourcommunityfirst,andthenworklikehellto figureoutfinancialsurvivalforouremployeesandourcompanythereafter.Ibelievethisistheproperorderofthings, anditisthewayinwhichtheCityshouldbeorganizing źƷ͸ƭdecisionmaking. Unfortunately,thedecisionwemadeatPCHCisnotthedecisionbeingmadebyallbusinessleadersortheCityright now.Asmanyhavealreadypointedout,unnecessarybusiness,suchasHobbyLobby,ammostores,etc.,arestill open.Thatiswhythisearnestgroupofconcernedandwisecitizensisstillaskingyoutoleadtodomorethanyou havealreadyΑandorderfolkstostayathomeandonlyallowessentialservicestobeopen.OnceƷŷğƷ͸ƭdone,you shouldsetupataskforcecomprisedofcounselors,theChamber,andbusinessleaderstogettoworkonstrategiesto helplocalbusinessesandtheiremployees. Thepublichealthevidenceforthismoveisclear.Iaskyoutopleasefollowtheadviceofmedicalexpertsand epidemiologists.Listentothescience,andtotheexperienceoftherestoftheworld. Thankyou. LoriDwyer CƩƚƒʹKirstenReed<kirstenreed@gmail.com> {ĻƓƷʹSunday,March22,20209:35AM ƚʹLucyQuimby<lucygquimby@gmail.com> /ĭʹMichaelWittmann<mcwittmann@gmail.com>;SeanFaircloth<seanfaircloth01@gmail.com>;BillWood <billwoodbangor@gmail.com>;council@bangormaine.gov;StephanieHarp<harpmaine@gmail.com>;Jennifer Anderson<jndrson@gmail.com>;NoahNesin,MD<nnesin@pchc.com>;ClareMundell<cemundell@gmail.com>; MarwaElkelani<melkelani4@gmail.com>;LoriDwyer<ldwyer@pchc.com>;ChrisDalton<cdalton@syncopation.com>; SydneyOlson<ursus.sydney@gmail.com>;LauraWittmann<wittmannlaura@icloud.com>;LaurieOsher <laurie.osher@gmail.com>;KathyWilliams<kateq22003@yahoo.com>;AmyFaircloth<amyfaircloth1@gmail.com>; GeoffGratwick<ggratwick@gmail.com>;jparcak@gwi.net {ǒĬƆĻĭƷʹRe:shutdown=savelives.Don'tshut=avoidabledeaths ---External email. See bottom for details.--- Hi all, and happy to have found a pocket of common sense and compassion here. (I know common sense is a relative term, but I feel the greater good should be at the forefront of issues like this one.) Many people in my life are already in lockdown. My mother (75 years old) lives in Oakland, as do some of my good friends. If anyone wants a more personal perspective on how these measures are effecting people, I'm happy to provide it. For now, my mother is glad the lockdown was ordered. She is still going for walks around her neighborhood, and is stocked up on cooking supplies. The lockdown makes her feel safer, and she is quite anxious about me sans lockdown. My friends, who run a dog rescue, are also embracing the safety measures, and finding the silver lining, like walking their dogs on a peaceful, deserted golf course. Friends in LA are using this time to write and create. Some of them have lost jobs, and are filing for unemployment. My father (in Paris, France) and his wife are in lockdown. He's going to venture out for a walk today, he says. They are a little bored, but otherwise fine. My friends in Australia have, of course, just weathered the brunt of the fires, and now this. They are embracing shelter-in-place as the only viable option, and are alarmed it is not happening here. So, a wide cross-section of people and places: some young and working, some self-employed, some retired, all taking their 'lockdowns' in stride. Best, Kirsten Kirsten Reed 2 https://www.kirstenreed.com/ On Sun, Mar 22, 2020 at 7:35 AM Lucy Quimby <lucygquimby@gmail.com> wrote: Good morning Michael Thank you so much for this wonderful letter!!! As a service center, the City of Bangor carries the load of taking care of the many needs of a large catchment area - basically all of northern Maine. If we don’t protect ourselves by instituting Shelter in Place ASAP we will drown in the flood. Our community can show that it has the political will to do the right thing to save lives - let’s do it! There will be those who will resist and complain- but better to move ahead now to save lives than to bear the burden of regrets for not acting when we could. Thank you! Lucy Quimby Sent from my iPad On Mar 22, 2020, at 12:26 AM, Michael Wittmann <mcwittmann@gmail.com> wrote: Dear councilors and others, This is a follow-up to an email I sent earlier this week. Two states chose different paths in the past few weeks, and the data make clear how it matters. The below should act as a guide for us all. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10107464398617260&id=12904706 <image0.jpeg> A forceful response saves lives. Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St Bangor —- —- —- Earlier email... Dear City Council Members, Thank you for the hard decisions you make at times like these - thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. But, there is a right decision: We can feed and shelter those in need, while we cannot help hospitals that will soon be overwhelmed. We need to act on this distinction. I am writing as a physicist and education researcher whose specialty is not in the area of epidemiology or medicine, but who uses social science data analysis methods and modeling every day. I trust in my scientific colleagues throughout the world. I also trust history and the 3 experiences of other countries. The data show that the US is experiencing the exact same exponential growth in coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases as Italy. We know what will come next unless we act now. The Imperial College of London (link below) ran models which suggest the consequences of 3 scenarios: 1. Do nothing: 2.2 million deaths in the US. 80% of Americans would get the disease, about 1% of them would die. For Americans over 70, between 4 and 8% would die. 2. Mitigation: 1.1 million deaths. We place all symptomatic cases of the disease in isolation. We quarantine their families for 14 days. We practice social distancing. There would still be too few ventilators in hospitals. 3. Suppression: I am asking the Bangor City Council to support a suppression strategy. We isolate symptomatic cases and quarantine their families. The whole population engages in social distancing. Schools and universities close. We have started this but must go further: Workplaces are shut down. Public gatherings are prohibited. If we assume 75% compliance with these rules, we succeed in the short term in halting the spread. In the long term, SARS-CoV-2 is now part of humanity, and we must hope for future vaccines to truly address this situation. Until then, our actions today determine the health of our community in 2 weeks and beyond. Exponential growth is scary, but also empowering. Small decisions today have huge effects later. Yes, the choice to shelter in place will affect our society, our economy, our families. This is where the city must do the right thing, leading locally to protect lives while the state and the federal governments catch up. The city council must act twice, first to restrict interactions and then to use its powers to support those affected by the decision. To repeat: Thank you, THANK YOU for making the hard decisions you are asked to make at times like these. Thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. We can help those who need food and shelter. We cannot help those who need the ventilators and hospital beds that will soon be unavailable to them. Please act for the best of Bangor, so that our greater health can be protected. Please choose the suppression scenario. Small decisions today will have huge effects a month from now. Thank you, Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St., Bangor 207-951-0129 mcwittmann@gmail.com 4 Link to paper by the Imperial College of London: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial- College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf ------------------------------------------------------ Message from the email administrator: This email was received from outside the organization. If you do not trust the sender, we strongly recommend that you avoid clicking links, do not open attachments, and do not reply with any personal or confidential information. This message was sent from: kirstenreed@gmail.com Sending IP: 209.85.160.172 ------------------------------------------------------- CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, and any documents, files, or previous email messages attached to it, is intended only for use by the individual or entity named above and may contain information which is confidential or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this email and any attachments thereto is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail message in error, please immediately notify me by replying to this message and permanently delete the original and copy of this e-mail and any printout thereof. Thank you. 5 Coe, Katie From:Conlow, Cathy Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 4:22 PM To:Councilors Subject:Fwd: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths Begin forwarded message: From: Lori Dwyer <ldwyer@pchc.com> Date: March 22, 2020 at 2:27:12 PM EDT To: "Hamilton, Patty" <patty.hamilton@bangormaine.gov>, "Cromwell, Richard" <richard.cromwell@bangormaine.gov>, "Conlow, Cathy" <cathy.conlow@bangormaine.gov> Subject:FW: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths Patty/Rich/CathyΑL͸ƒforwardingtoyou(below)oneofthemanyemailsbeingsenttotheCouncil aboutsocalledshelterinplace.Iknowthismayfeellikeadistractionrightnow,butbothemergency response ğƓķ thispolicyissuemattergreatlyrightnow.Ialsoknowthatthismayriskmyrelationship withCitystaff,andIsincerelyhopethatdoesnotoccurΑźƷ͸ƭcertainlynotmygoal.Ivalueeachofyou andreallyappreciateyourcollaborativeresponsetothisunprecedentedcrisis,andIhopeinthelongrun thismakesusstrongertogether.Iknowyoucareasmuchaseveryoneelseaboutthiscommunity.But I,alongwithmajorhealthcareleaders(NoahNesin,BillWood,GeoffGratwick,etc.)inthecommunity, believe,basedonthescienceandrecommendationsofexperts,thatweneedtodomorethanthe currentorder.LƷ͸ƭprettysimple.LƷ͸ƭnotcomplicatedΑandattemptstosayitiscomplexarered herringsmeanttodistractfromtheswiftactionwecouldbetaking. AsIhavetoldmystaffhundredsoftimessincethisbegan,wecannotpossiblyknowalltheunintended consequencesofourdecisionsrightnow.Thatcannotandshouldnotstopusfrommakingthem,as bestwecanrightnow.Wewillcontinuetodealwiththefalloutbymakingadjustmentsinthecoming weeksandmonths.ButƌĻƷ͸ƭnotsacrificethegoodtotheperfectrightnow. IhopeyouwillreadtheseemailstotheCouncil,andconsidertakingthisnextstep. Thankyou! Lori CƩƚƒʹLoriDwyer {ĻƓƷʹSunday,March22,202011:39AM ƚʹ'Janet.t.mills@msine.gov'<Janet.t.mills@msine.gov> {ǒĬƆĻĭƷʹFW:shutdown=savelives.Don'tshut=avoidabledeaths GovernorMills:BelowisanemailIsenttotheBangorCityCouncilthismorning.Iamsharingwithyou now.Ihavebeenaskingforweeksforashelterinplaceorder.Ibelievethisshouldnotjusthappenat thelocallevel,though,butalsoatthestatelevel.IamlobbyingwithasmanylocalofficialsasIcanto makeithappenherebecauseIamhopingleadershiplocallywillpushthestatetomovemore 1 quickly.ButIalsowanttoaskyoudirectlytopleasemandateshelterinplacetoday.LƷ͸ƭclearthatthis isbyfarthemosteffectivewaytoflattenthecurveandcontainthevirus.So,whywait? Thankyousoverymuchfortheamazingworkyouandyourteamaredoinginthiscrisis.Isendthis emailtoyouwithdeepgratitude,andbecauseIfeelźƷ͸ƭmyobligationasaprivatecitizenanda healthcareleader.Considerbolderaction,now. LoriDwyer CƩƚƒʹLoriDwyer {ĻƓƷʹSunday,March22,202010:44AM ƚʹ'KirstenReed'<kirstenreed@gmail.com>;LucyQuimby<lucygquimby@gmail.com> /ĭʹMichaelWittmann<mcwittmann@gmail.com>;SeanFaircloth<seanfaircloth01@gmail.com>;Bill Wood<billwoodbangor@gmail.com>;council@bangormaine.gov;StephanieHarp <harpmaine@gmail.com>;JenniferAnderson<jndrson@gmail.com>;NoahNesin,MD <nnesin@pchc.com>;ClareMundell<cemundell@gmail.com>;MarwaElkelani <melkelani4@gmail.com>;ChrisDalton<cdalton@syncopation.com>;SydneyOlson <ursus.sydney@gmail.com>;LauraWittmann<wittmannlaura@icloud.com>;LaurieOsher <laurie.osher@gmail.com>;KathyWilliams<kateq22003@yahoo.com>;AmyFaircloth <amyfaircloth1@gmail.com>;GeoffGratwick<ggratwick@gmail.com>;jparcak@gwi.net {ǒĬƆĻĭƷʹRE:shutdown=savelives.Don'tshut=avoidabledeaths Goodmorning. AsIwritethis,agoodfriendofƒźƓĻ͸ƭbrotherhasbeenhospitalizedwithCOVID19.Heisdoingbetter, butitwasveryfrighteningforafewdays.IĻ͸ƭahealthy50somethingyearold.MyŷǒƭĬğƓķ͸ƭprostate cancersurgeryhasbeenpostponedindefinitelyforalltheobviousreasons.Weareworriedthatthiswill leadtotheavoidablebutclearƦƚƭƭźĬźƌźƷǤΑmetastasizedcancer,whenweknowthatiscompletely avoidable,andperhapsanuntimelydeath,eventhoughwedideverythingrightbycatchingitearly.I watchedmygrandfatherdiefrommetastasizedprostatecancer,andźƷ͸ƭawful.Thisisreal.Notonly willpeoplediefromCOVID19,butforthousandsofotherreasonslikethis.LƷ͸ƭpersonaltome,andźƷ͸ƭ anabidingconvictionIhaveasaleaderofahealthcareorganization. Thefasterwecangetbacktoournewnormal,thesoonerwecansaveotherliveswithearly interventioncancersurgeriesandalltherest.Bolderactionnowwillhelpsavethehealthcaresystem, andallowotherlifesavinghealthcareprocedurestoresume.Aperiodoftimewhenwecannotgoout aswenormallydoseemsasmallsacrificewhensomanyliveswillbesavednowandwellintothefuture asaresult. IbelieveyourjobrightnowistoprioritizethehealthofourĭƚƒƒǒƓźƷǤΑunfortunatelyabovethe financialfitnessandwellbeingofbusinessesandindividuals.Sayingthelistofclosedbusinessesis ͻĭƌƚƭĻĻƓƚǒŭŷͼorͻğƌƒƚƭƷͼaseffectiveasashelterinplaceorderissimplynotgoodenough.LƷ͸ƭalso notfairtothosebusinesswhohavebeenrequiredtocloseorhavevoluntarilyclosed,whenothersthat arenonessentialarestillopen.LƷ͸ƭtruethatifthisworks,wewillnotknowforsurethatitworked.The viruswillpasswithlessimpactthanweexpected,andtherewillbeplentywhosaywe ͻƚǝĻƩƩĻğĭƷĻķ͵ͼButifthereverseistrue,we,you,willhavemadeagravemistake.Youhavethepower ascitycouncilorstomakethischangerightnow,andweareaskingyoutoexercisethatauthority.Itis notuptocitystaff.Itisinfactuptoourelectedofficials.Whyriskunderreacting? IimagineMainewillgointolockdownsoonlikeNewYork,California,Illinoisandothers.Whetheryou dothisornot,itwillcome.Thepointhereistiming.SanFranciscomovedfirst,thenCaliforniadid 2 so.Theyunderstood,asyoushould,thateveryhourcounts.Doitnow,nottomorrow,orthenext day.Thedebateoverthepastcoupleofweeksmeansmoreandmorepeoplehavebecomeinfectedin MaineandinBangor,farmorethanweknowbecausewearetestingsofew people. Ofcourse,alsoveryimportantisoureconomichealth.Wemustredoubleoureffortsasacommunityto supportbusinesses,vulnerablecommunitymemberswhomaybeonreducedincomeforatime, individualsexperiencinghomelessness,thosewhoarealreadyill,andeveryoneelse,asweworktofight this.Butthatcannotholdupactiontoprotecthealthnow. Asmostofyouknow,IamalsoCEOofalarge(forBangor)companyofover800employees.Wearea healthcareorganization,butwearenotahospital.Wearelendingstafftothehospitals,settingupa quarantinefacilityforthehomelessonbehalfofthecityandtheentirecommunity,seeingwalkincare patients,doingasmuchaspossibleviatelemed,andgenerallymakingourselvesavailableasmuchas possibletoworkwithinourscope.Wearepayingpeopleandkeepingthemonstaffaslongaspossible, butsomeofouremployeeswillgowithout,asourcashisdwindlesrapidlyduetoanabout80%90% reductioninvisits.TheseareagonizingchoicesΑbuttheyhavetobemade.Wemadethedecisionas anexecutiveteamtoprioritizethehealthofourstaffandourcommunityfirst,andthenworklikehellto figureoutfinancialsurvivalforouremployeesandourcompanythereafter.Ibelievethisistheproper orderofthings,anditisthewayinwhichtheCityshouldbeorganizingźƷ͸ƭdecisionmaking. Unfortunately,thedecisionwemadeatPCHCisnotthedecisionbeingmadebyallbusinessleadersor theCityrightnow.Asmanyhavealreadypointedout,unnecessarybusiness,suchasHobbyLobby, ammostores,etc.,arestillopen.Thatiswhythisearnestgroupofconcernedandwisecitizensisstill askingyoutoleadtodomorethanyouhavealreadyΑandorderfolkstostayathomeandonlyallow essentialservicestobeopen.OnceƷŷğƷ͸ƭdone,youshouldsetupataskforcecomprisedofcounselors, theChamber,andbusinessleaderstogettoworkonstrategiestohelplocalbusinessesandtheir employees. Thepublichealthevidenceforthismoveisclear.Iaskyoutopleasefollowtheadviceofmedical expertsandepidemiologists.Listentothescience,andtotheexperienceoftherestoftheworld. Thankyou. LoriDwyer CƩƚƒʹKirstenReed<kirstenreed@gmail.com> {ĻƓƷʹSunday,March22,20209:35AM ƚʹLucyQuimby<lucygquimby@gmail.com> /ĭʹMichaelWittmann<mcwittmann@gmail.com>;SeanFaircloth<seanfaircloth01@gmail.com>;Bill Wood<billwoodbangor@gmail.com>;council@bangormaine.gov;StephanieHarp <harpmaine@gmail.com>;JenniferAnderson<jndrson@gmail.com>;NoahNesin,MD <nnesin@pchc.com>;ClareMundell<cemundell@gmail.com>;MarwaElkelani <melkelani4@gmail.com>;LoriDwyer<ldwyer@pchc.com>;ChrisDalton<cdalton@syncopation.com>; SydneyOlson<ursus.sydney@gmail.com>;LauraWittmann<wittmannlaura@icloud.com>;LaurieOsher <laurie.osher@gmail.com>;KathyWilliams<kateq22003@yahoo.com>;AmyFaircloth <amyfaircloth1@gmail.com>;GeoffGratwick<ggratwick@gmail.com>;jparcak@gwi.net {ǒĬƆĻĭƷʹRe:shutdown=savelives.Don'tshut=avoidabledeaths ---External email. See bottom for details.--- Hi all, and happy to have found a pocket of common sense and compassion here. (I know common sense is a relative term, but I feel the greater good should be at the forefront of issues like this one.) 3 Many people in my life are already in lockdown. My mother (75 years old) lives in Oakland, as do some of my good friends. If anyone wants a more personal perspective on how these measures are effecting people, I'm happy to provide it. For now, my mother is glad the lockdown was ordered. She is still going for walks around her neighborhood, and is stocked up on cooking supplies. The lockdown makes her feel safer, and she is quite anxious about me sans lockdown. My friends, who run a dog rescue, are also embracing the safety measures, and finding the silver lining, like walking their dogs on a peaceful, deserted golf course. Friends in LA are using this time to write and create. Some of them have lost jobs, and are filing for unemployment. My father (in Paris, France) and his wife are in lockdown. He's going to venture out for a walk today, he says. They are a little bored, but otherwise fine. My friends in Australia have, of course, just weathered the brunt of the fires, and now this. They are embracing shelter-in-place as the only viable option, and are alarmed it is not happening here. So, a wide cross-section of people and places: some young and working, some self-employed, some retired, all taking their 'lockdowns' in stride. Best, Kirsten Kirsten Reed https://www.kirstenreed.com/ On Sun, Mar 22, 2020 at 7:35 AM Lucy Quimby <lucygquimby@gmail.com> wrote: Good morning Michael Thank you so much for this wonderful letter!!! As a service center, the City of Bangor carries the load of taking care of the many needs of a large catchment area - basically all of northern Maine. If we don’t protect ourselves by instituting Shelter in Place ASAP we will drown in the flood. Our community can show that it has the political will to do the right thing to save lives - let’s do it! There will be those who will resist and complain- but better to move ahead now to save lives than to bear the burden of regrets for not acting when we could. Thank you! Lucy Quimby Sent from my iPad On Mar 22, 2020, at 12:26 AM, Michael Wittmann <mcwittmann@gmail.com> wrote: Dear councilors and others, This is a follow-up to an email I sent earlier this week. Two states chose different paths in the past few weeks, and the data make clear how it matters. The below should act as a guide for us all. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10107464398617260&id=129047 06 <image0.jpeg> 4 A forceful response saves lives. Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St Bangor —- —- —- Earlier email... Dear City Council Members, Thank you for the hard decisions you make at times like these - thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. But, there is a right decision: We can feed and shelter those in need, while we cannot help hospitals that will soon be overwhelmed. We need to act on this distinction. I am writing as a physicist and education researcher whose specialty is not in the area of epidemiology or medicine, but who uses social science data analysis methods and modeling every day. I trust in my scientific colleagues throughout the world. I also trust history and the experiences of other countries. The data show that the US is experiencing the exact same exponential growth in coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases as Italy. We know what will come next unless we act now. The Imperial College of London (link below) ran models which suggest the consequences of 3 scenarios: 1. Do nothing: 2.2 million deaths in the US. 80% of Americans would get the disease, about 1% of them would die. For Americans over 70, between 4 and 8% would die. 2. Mitigation: 1.1 million deaths. We place all symptomatic cases of the disease in isolation. We quarantine their families for 14 days. We practice social distancing. There would still be too few ventilators in hospitals. 3. Suppression: I am asking the Bangor City Council to support a suppression strategy. We isolate symptomatic cases and quarantine their families. The whole population engages in social distancing. Schools and universities close. We have started this but must go further: Workplaces are shut down. Public gatherings are prohibited. If we assume 75% compliance with these rules, we succeed in the short term in halting the spread. In the long term, SARS-CoV-2 is now part of humanity, and we must hope for future vaccines to truly address this situation. Until then, our actions today determine the health of our community in 2 weeks and beyond. Exponential growth is scary, but also empowering. Small decisions today have huge effects later. 5 Yes, the choice to shelter in place will affect our society, our economy, our families. This is where the city must do the right thing, leading locally to protect lives while the state and the federal governments catch up. The city council must act twice, first to restrict interactions and then to use its powers to support those affected by the decision. To repeat: Thank you, THANK YOU for making the hard decisions you are asked to make at times like these. Thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. We can help those who need food and shelter. We cannot help those who need the ventilators and hospital beds that will soon be unavailable to them. Please act for the best of Bangor, so that our greater health can be protected. Please choose the suppression scenario. Small decisions today will have huge effects a month from now. Thank you, Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St., Bangor 207-951-0129 mcwittmann@gmail.com Link to paper by the Imperial College of London: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida- fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf ------------------------------------------------------ Message from the email administrator: This email was received from outside the organization. If you do not trust the sender, we strongly recommend that you avoid clicking links, do not open attachments, 6 and do not reply with any personal or confidential information. This message was sent from: kirstenreed@gmail.com Sending IP: 209.85.160.172 ------------------------------------------------------- CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, and any documents, files, or previous email messages attached to it, is intended only for use by the individual or entity named above and may contain information which is confidential or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this email and any attachments thereto is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail message in error, please immediately notify me by replying to this message and permanently delete the original and copy of this e-mail and any printout thereof. Thank you. 7 Coe, Katie From:Lucy Quimby <lucygquimby@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 7:35 AM To:Michael Wittmann Cc:Sean Faircloth; Bill Wood; Councilors; Stephanie Harp; Jennifer Anderson; Noah Nesin, MD; Clare Mundell; Marwa Elkelani; Lori Dwyer; Chris Dalton; Sydney Olson; Laura Wittmann; Laurie Osher; Kathy Williams; Amy Faircloth; Geoff Gratwick; jparcak@gwi.net; kirstenreed@gmail.com Subject:Re: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths Good morning Michael Thank you so much for this wonderful letter!!! As a service center, the City of Bangor carries the load of taking care of the many needs of a large catchment area - basically all of northern Maine. If we don’t protect ourselves by instituting Shelter in Place ASAP we will drown in the flood. Our community can show that it has the political will to do the right thing to save lives - let’s do it! There will be those who will resist and complain- but better to move ahead now to save lives than to bear the burden of regrets for not acting when we could. Thank you! Lucy Quimby Sent from my iPad On Mar 22, 2020, at 12:26 AM, Michael Wittmann <mcwittmann@gmail.com> wrote: Dear councilors and others, This is a follow-up to an email I sent earlier this week. Two states chose different paths in the past few weeks, and the data make clear how it matters. The below should act as a guide for us all. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10107464398617260&id=12904706 <image0.jpeg> A forceful response saves lives. Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St Bangor —- —- —- Earlier email... Dear City Council Members, 1 Thank you for the hard decisions you make at times like these - thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. But, there is a right decision: We can feed and shelter those in need, while we cannot help hospitals that will soon be overwhelmed. We need to act on this distinction. I am writing as a physicist and education researcher whose specialty is not in the area of epidemiology or medicine, but who uses social science data analysis methods and modeling every day. I trust in my scientific colleagues throughout the world. I also trust history and the experiences of other countries. The data show that the US is experiencing the exact same exponential growth in coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases as Italy. We know what will come next unless we act now. The Imperial College of London (link below) ran models which suggest the consequences of 3 scenarios: 1. Do nothing: 2.2 million deaths in the US. 80% of Americans would get the disease, about 1% of them would die. For Americans over 70, between 4 and 8% would die. 2. Mitigation: 1.1 million deaths. We place all symptomatic cases of the disease in isolation. We quarantine their families for 14 days. We practice social distancing. There would still be too few ventilators in hospitals. 3. Suppression: I am asking the Bangor City Council to support a suppression strategy. We isolate symptomatic cases and quarantine their families. The whole population engages in social distancing. Schools and universities close. We have started this but must go further: Workplaces are shut down. Public gatherings are prohibited. If we assume 75% compliance with these rules, we succeed in the short term in halting the spread. In the long term, SARS-CoV-2 is now part of humanity, and we must hope for future vaccines to truly address this situation. Until then, our actions today determine the health of our community in 2 weeks and beyond. Exponential growth is scary, but also empowering. Small decisions today have huge effects later. Yes, the choice to shelter in place will affect our society, our economy, our families. This is where the city must do the right thing, leading locally to protect lives while the state and the federal governments catch up. The city council must act twice, first to restrict interactions and then to use its powers to support those affected by the decision. To repeat: Thank you, THANK YOU for making the hard decisions you are asked to make at times like these. Thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. We can help those who need food and shelter. We cannot help those who need the ventilators and hospital beds that will soon be unavailable to them. Please act for the best of Bangor, so that our greater health can be protected. Please choose the suppression scenario. 2 Small decisions today will have huge effects a month from now. Thank you, Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St., Bangor 207-951-0129 mcwittmann@gmail.com Link to paper by the Imperial College of London: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial- College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf 3 Coe, Katie From:Melissa Berky <berkymrb@aol.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 8:41 AM To:Councilors Subject:Covid-19 Dear Bangor City Councilors, I agree with the assessment of Dr. Noah Nesin and Dr. Wood that lives will be saved if we Shelter in Place now. My mother is in a senior facility and I have to visit her through her window. She is 95 years old with lung disease. I fear for her life. The sooner we control the virus, the better for all. Please talk directly with Dr. Nesin in making your deliberations. But I think your decision is simple. We either: (1)Shelter in Place now or (2)Shelter in Place later, after deaths begin. Thanks for all you do, Melissa Berky, retired R.N., C.N.M. berkymrb@aol.com #262-9055 1 Coe, Katie From:Michael Wittmann <mcwittmann@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 12:26 AM To:Sean Faircloth Cc:Bill Wood; Councilors; Stephanie Harp; Jennifer Anderson; Noah Nesin, MD; Clare Mundell; Marwa Elkelani; Lori Dwyer; Chris Dalton; Sydney Olson; Laura Wittmann; Laurie Osher; Kathy Williams; Amy Faircloth; Geoff Gratwick; jparcak@gwi.net; Lucy Quimby; kirstenreed@gmail.com Subject:Re: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths Dear councilors and others, This is a follow-up to an email I sent earlier this week. Two states chose different paths in the past few weeks, and the data make clear how it matters. The below should act as a guide for us all. 1 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10107464398617260&id=12904706 2 3 A forceful response saves lives. Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St Bangor —- —- —- Earlier email... Dear City Council Members, Thank you for the hard decisions you make at times like these - thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. But, there is a right decision: We can feed and shelter those in need, while we cannot help hospitals that will soon be overwhelmed. We need to act on this distinction. I am writing as a physicist and education researcher whose specialty is not in the area of epidemiology or medicine, but who uses social science data analysis methods and modeling every day. I trust in my scientific colleagues throughout the world. I also trust history and the experiences of other countries. The data show that the US is experiencing the exact same exponential growth in coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases as Italy. We know what will come next unless we act now. The Imperial College of London (link below) ran models which suggest the consequences of 3 scenarios: 1. Do nothing: 2.2 million deaths in the US. 80% of Americans would get the disease, about 1% of them would die. For Americans over 70, between 4 and 8% would die. 2. Mitigation: 1.1 million deaths. We place all symptomatic cases of the disease in isolation. We quarantine their families for 14 days. We practice social distancing. There would still be too few ventilators in hospitals. 3. Suppression: I am asking the Bangor City Council to support a suppression strategy. We isolate symptomatic cases and quarantine their families. The whole population engages in social distancing. Schools and universities close. We have started this but must go further: Workplaces are shut down. Public gatherings are prohibited. If we assume 75% compliance with these rules, we succeed in the short term in halting the spread. In the long term, SARS-CoV-2 is now part of humanity, and we must hope for future vaccines to truly address this situation. Until then, our actions today determine the health of our community in 2 weeks and beyond. Exponential growth is scary, but also empowering. Small decisions today have huge effects later. Yes, the choice to shelter in place will affect our society, our economy, our families. This is where the city must do the right thing, leading locally to protect lives while the state and the federal governments catch up. The city council must act twice, first to restrict interactions and then to use its powers to support those affected by the decision. To repeat: Thank you, THANK YOU for making the hard decisions you are asked to make at times like these. Thank you for representing the greater good of our society at a time when it seems like there are no right decisions to be made. 4 We can help those who need food and shelter. We cannot help those who need the ventilators and hospital beds that will soon be unavailable to them. Please act for the best of Bangor, so that our greater health can be protected. Please choose the suppression scenario. Small decisions today will have huge effects a month from now. Thank you, Michael Wittmann 140 Grant St., Bangor 207-951-0129 mcwittmann@gmail.com Link to paper by the Imperial College of London: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College- COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf 5 Coe, Katie From:Nicole Lovell <nlovell1970@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 11:23 AM To:Councilors Subject:COVID-19 10 person limit My question is this: If Governor Mills is requesting no more than 10 people can congregate at any one place why are the grocery stores and box stores not abiding to these requirements? There is little to no social distancing there. Especially in the checkout lines and the toilet paper aisle. Just curious. Thanks Nikki 1 Coe, Katie From:Rob Ketch <rketch22@affappraisals.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 6:40 PM To:CityManager-WWW; Councilors Cc:HealthCommunityServices-WWW Subject: 3/32/2020 update Ladies and Gentlemen, This email is in regards to todays announcement shutting down all non-essential business in the City of Bangor. I have gone through the list of exclusions and though it says banks and other financials are excluded, it does not specifically say anything about real estate or appraisal. I am a local real estate appraiser and operate in more than just Bangor. I need to know if I need to cease all interior inspections in Bangor or is my business excluded? We have slowed and limited the number of inspections and are taking every precaution possible but don't want to violate any order and risk civil penalties. We have been told by some clients that we are essential. However the health of the public and ourselves takes priority. Thanks for any info or clarification you can provide. Sincerely Rob Ketch 1 Coe, Katie From:Melissa Berky <berkymrb@aol.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 8:55 AM To:Councilors Subject:Covid-19 Dear City Councilors, I am urging you to order an emergency to allow essential services only In Bangor. Too many people are still shopping and gathering unnecessarily. I have a history of cancer, and high blood pressure. I am already sheltering in place. Thank you, Ronald Lamb 1 Coe, Katie From:Sean Faircloth <seanfaircloth01@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 12:05 AM To:Bill Wood; Councilors; Stephanie Harp; Jennifer Anderson; Noah Nesin, MD Cc:Clare Mundell; Marwa Elkelani; Lori Dwyer; Chris Dalton; Sydney Olson; Laura Wittmann; Michael Wittmann; Laurie Osher; Kathy Williams; Amy Faircloth; Geoff Gratwick; jparcak@gwi.net; Lucy Quimby; kirstenreed@gmail.com Subject:Re: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths https://covidactnow.org/state/ME?fbclid=IwAR0Hr1mzUc7D- ZrleEuZ742mRPnFa63XpLFWMfys5JVruOMdQ2vvA_wy31k Bangor City Councilors: "The only thing that matters is the speed of your response." (See link above.) True? Not True? I'm agnostic. I am sure I could be wrong. I'm sure this Covid-19 business could be, possibly, way overblown. From my experience, I respect that decisions in the legislature and City Council, in any elective office, are difficult, and time consuming. Unless I take time seeking out differing opinions, then I'm failing. You have a harder job, given this virus, than I've ever had, but you still must decide. Today, Dr. Nesin, Dr. Wood, and Dr. LeBlanc, urged immediate "Shelter-in-Place." "Now," said Dr. Nesin, this morning of Shelter-in-Place for Bangor. "Now," said Dr. Wood, this afternoon. "Immediately," said, Dr. LeBlanc, this evening. Hours mean lives, these Bangor-area medical doctors said. All Bangor City Councilors have gotten this message, repeatedly, throughout Saturday, March 21, the same day the New Yorker published a story entitled, "In Boston, Doctors Wait for a Deluge." Sometimes City Council decisions can be mundane. One, two -- six -- decades from now, this decision won't be mundane. Your decision in these next few hours will play a major role in the life and death of 100,000+ people in Eastern Maine -- an almost negligible number compared to the world population, but they're our neighbors, family, friends. What's the right decision? The petitioners conclude that Dr. Nesin, Dr. Wood, and Dr. LeBlanc are caring, thoughtful, and know more than we do. These doctors conclude we should Shelter-in-Place -- "immediately." Hours = lives, as these doctors say. So, what is the harm of Shelter-in-Place -- now? As opposed to a few days from now, when we inevitably will Shelter-in-Place? The harm? The possible difference? To quote Dr. Wood: Now = "Saving Lives." It's possible Dr. Wood is dead wrong. It's possible Dr. LeBlanc is dead wrong. It's possible Dr. Noah Nesin is dead wrong. And yet, what is the harm of following their advice? -- just a few days earlier than you otherwise will be forced to do regardless. Our petitioners are over fifty people, more when you add Facebook add-ons. Still, not a lot of people, a small percentage of the total Bangor population -- that happens to include public health leaders, people with with diabetes, with a history of cancer, with history of pulmonary disease, lawyers, business owners, and, of course, people 60+ -- so many of whom have a significantly elevated likelihood of death from Covid-19. We petitioners respectfully request that you go with the recommendation of Dr. LeBlanc, Dr. Wood and Dr. Nesin -- and declare Shelter-in-Place -- to quote the doctors: "now" -- "immediately." 1 Sincerely, Petitioners On Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 5:58 PM Sean Faircloth <seanfaircloth01@gmail.com> wrote: Councilors and Petitioners, I saw your responses, Clare and Ben, to Dr. Bill Wood, MD. Thank you. I know these are difficult times. I appreciate all the hard work you and city staff are doing. We can agree, or disagree, even on life or death issues, and still be cordial. I know you agree. Thank you again. and I will keep my comments to the merits. The problem is we are faced with a policy choice and if we choose the wrong policy, hard work will not make up for a dangerous policy. Dr. Wood asserts that Shelter in Place will, I quote, "save lives" and that failure to do so, the current City policy, will result in deaths that could have been avoided. People can disagree and you are free to disagree with Dr. Wood. Evidence forces me to conclude that Dr. Wood is on the money. Below I will lay out how Shelter in Place works, and also how the Bangor order works right now, as well as respond to certain points you've made. See below in red. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Ben Sprague <bsprague1@gmail.com> Date: Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 2:48 PM Subject: Re: shut down = save lives. Don't shut = avoidable deaths To: Bill Wood <billwoodbangor@gmail.com> Dr. Wood, Thank you, as always, for reaching out. I would submit to the community that we are already very close to the ordinances in these other places. If by "other places", Ben, you mean the Bay Area Shelter-in-Place order, that statement is incorrect. That's why Hobby Lobby is open in Bangor -- and not open in the Bay Area. The two systems are quite different. For reasons, I'll discuss below, Dr. Nesin's recommendation, Shelter in Place, does more to protect lives in this crisis. See more below: I think people believe these ordinances are closer to total lockdowns than they actually are when, in fact, those specific ordinances have numerous exceptions and there is significant confusion about what Shelter in Place actually means. What Shelter in Place actually means is straight-forward: There are three categories of business: 1) very open-facing businesses that are shut down both in Bangor and in the Bay Area: movie theaters, auditoriums, and such. Closed in Bangor. Closed in the Bay Area. 2 2) Essential Services: Open in Bangor; Open in the Bay Area. 3) Those NON-essential businesses that fall into neither category #1 nor #2. Bangor is silent on those businesses, meaning Hobby Lobby and BAM stay open as they so choose. Dr. Nesin concludes leaving those non-essential services open choice endangers public health. The two businesses I name are merely examples. There are numerous such businesses open in Bangor right now. People with health risks being called to non- essential office work for example, and numerous other non-essential retail. In the Bay Area Shelter-in-Place means residents are leaving their homes for nice walks and runs at a 6-foot distance from others -- and to go for essential services. That means they won't be going to BAM -- neither as a customer nor as an employee -- because BAM is non-essential. Straight-forward. Dr. Noah Nesin and Dr. Bill Wood recommend Shelter-in-Place because this policy will, as Dr. Wood puts it, "save lives." The reality, as uncomfortable as it may be, is that right now Bangor policy is more dangerous to the lives of our residents than is the Bay Area policy to residents there. I know we all care about our fellow Bangor residents. I appreciate that. These are difficult decisions. I understand that. That said, I encourage the Bangor City Council to support the policy conclusions set forth by these two doctors, specifically Shelter in Place -- today -- as is within your power -- because every hour counts as we prepare for the burden coming to our hospitals and the spread of this deadly contagion. We are in a very serious emergency. Every hour counts. I hope we follow Dr. Nesin's recommendation of Shelter in Place -- today -- as stated in the BDN guest column today. Dr. Wood draws the same conclusion. I find these two doctors very convincing. Soon Bangor hospitals will fill up with Covid-19 cases, thus the situation in which someone in this email chain had their cancer surgery, already scheduled in Bangor, postponed to prepare for Covid-19 cases. This cancer patient described that to you in an email to the Council. Also, an employee of BAM described to the Council, Ben and Clare, how people engaged in highly contagious behavior yesterday at BAM -- after the city order Thursday. Why? Because the City is silent on this non-essential business. It's the same reason Hobby Lobby is open. Contrastingly, If we go with the plan these two doctors recommend, the dangerous behavior described at BAM would not be occurring at all. Many on this chain have described how family and friends are in fact in danger, particularly as a result of the policy contrast regarding #3 above: non-essential services. Dr. Nesin, in his guest column this morning, called for us to do Shelter-in-Place -- today. As we all know, we will be going to Shelter-in-Place very soon regardless. We will have no choice as this virus attacks, and starts killing, Bangor residents. So the choice is not Shelter-in-Place. Of course that is going to happen soon because we have insufficient testing, insufficient masks, insufficient ventilators. Shelter-in- Place is our strongest defense from this pandemic, which is way it is being rapidly adopted. No, the only choice before the Council is whether adopt Shelter-in-Place soon enough to flatten the curve and thus save lives. Just a few days earlier is what Dr. Nesin recommends. We are going to Shelter in Place no doubt. 3 But if simply follow Dr. Nesin's recommendation of doing the inevitable Shelter in Place -- TODAY -- as Dr. Nesin put it in his guest column this morning -- then -- with those few extra days -- lives would in fact be saved. I find this argument from these medical professionals to be extremely persuasive. Shelter in Place -- today -- as this Council has the power to do -- will save lives simply by doing it a few days earlier. You are welcome to say Dr. Nesin is wrong. You are welcome to say Dr. Wood is wrong. But why not err on the side of life protection if there is any doubt? -- and order Shelter in Place just a few day earlier. Order it right now, tonight, as the council can, as elected representatives, and instruct the City staff to do. I'm going to have to go with the recommendation of these two doctors on this one. Please Shelter-in-Place tonight. For example, in these other places, the following types of businesses are allowed to stay open: grocery stores, convenience stores, box stores selling groceries including Walmart, Target, Sam's Club, BJ's, pharmacies, transportation companies, gas stations, restaurants for take-out and delivery, hardware stores, utility companies, plumbers and construction workers, laundromats, mail and shipping companies, auto repair shops, funeral homes, veterinarians, storage facilities, banks, insurance companies, payroll services, accounting offices, security companies, janitorial services, IT support companies, and many others. These businesses are all allowed to stay open during Shelter in Place and people are allowed to go to them at least in these other communities and states. This is true and irrelevant. See #1 above. We are pretty much already there. This not true. See #3 above. Specific stores keep getting mentioned like book stores and game shops. I am open to broadening the scope of our existing ordinance, full stop. But I anticipate confusion about what is essential and what is not. Bangor already lists Essential Services. If you aren't happy with the Bangor list, take the Bay Area San Francisco definition. The differences are not major and are no reason to slow down Shelter in Place, since Dr. Nesin and Dr. Wood tell us it will save lives. Many people including those with children at home may consider book stores to be essential especially since the library is closed, for example. My guideline would be that bookstores (just as one example) should strictly abide by the 10-person rule In the Bay Area these are Non-Essential services. In Bangor, right now, they are non-essential services. However, in Bay Area people don't go to non-essential services. That why these doctors are concerned about the greater danger of spreading Covid-19 in Bangor. I find the doctors convincing. as it is, in fact, the law right now in Maine per the governor's order. Craft stores, piercing studios, jewelry stores....yes maybe some of these should close and I am open to that. We already have definitions of essential services, both in the Bay Area and in Bangor. The one by one approach you suggest above, Ben, is complicated and difficult to manage. We already have models that are already working, much better than here. Shelter in Place is clear -- and has the advantage of saving lives. Hobby Lobby is closed in the Bay Area. Why? It's non-essential. Hobby Lobby is open here. Same for Books A Million. 4 A ten foot rule is not practical for staff to enforce at BAM. There is no need to enforce such a rule in Bangor if we simply enact Shelter-in-Place, thus protecting, as the doctors assert, more lives. You have the time and the power to direct the City to issue a Shelter in Place order tonight. I respectfully hope you will heed their recommendations. Every hour counts. Best Wishes, Sean Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts. I am thinking about this not only every day but every hour of every day. Thank you for helping to inform my thoughts. -Ben On Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 1:49 PM Bill Wood <billwoodbangor@gmail.com> wrote: Councillors, as fellow citizens with unique power: You will remember, for the rest of your lives, whether you did all you could to limit the number of coming deaths, or not. There is ONE thing you can do, NOW: mandatory shelter in place. William A. Wood MD (cell: 207 332 7276) -- Ben Sprague Facebook Twitter (207) 852-1405 -- www.seanfaircloth.com -- www.seanfaircloth.com -- 5 www.seanfaircloth.com 6 Coe, Katie From:Marwa Elkelani <melkelani4@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, March 22, 2020 9:56 AM To:Lucy Quimby Cc:Michael Wittmann; Sean Faircloth; Bill Wood; Councilors; Stephanie Harp; Jennifer Anderson; Noah Nesin, MD; Clare Mundell; Lori Dwyer; Chris Dalton; Sydney Olson; Laura Wittmann; Laurie Osher; Kathy Williams; Amy Faircloth; Geoff Gratwick; jparcak@gwi.net; kirstenreed@gmail.com Subject:Urgency One more from my husband: Good morning Councilors, I would like to lend my voice to the pleas of the other doctors and citizens who have written in concern. I urge you to order a shelter-at-home effective immediately. Only grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospitals should remain open. As a physician who works in the OR, I do not ever want to make wrenching triage choices as to who to keep alive. As we saw in Italy and other countries, older patients were not being resuscitated and died alone without appropriate palliative care due to the lack of hospital room, equipment, and resources. We need to act fast to curb the spread of this deadly disease, contain community transmission, and keep the number of new cases at a manageable level, so as not to overwhelm our healthcare systems. Please do not be lulled into complacency by the seeming calm right now. The time for drastic action should happen before the storm hits! You need to take full control measures; it is our one and only chance to slow this pandemic. I implore you to take every precaution possible and shutdown all nonessential businesses for the sake of yourselves, your families, our patients, and our country. Thank you, Tarek Elkadi, MD 207-469-5156 1 Coe, Katie From:Tsai, Angela <atsai@northernlight.org> Sent:Monday, March 23, 2020 12:14 PM To:Councilors Subject:Shelter in place order HelloBangorCityCouncil, IamaresidentofHampden,MEandamanOtolaryngologistatEMMC.Myhusband,Dr.BrandonLibby,isanEmergency PhysicianatEMMC.IamwritingtoyouonbehalfofourentirecommunityinthegreaterBangorregiontoaskyouto considerinstitutingashelterinplace(SIP)order.AsyoumayhaveseeninƷƚķğǤ͸ƭnews,theSurgeonGeneralhas explainedthingswillgetworsethisweekinregardstoCOVID19.Notenoughpeoplearestayinghometocurbthe spreadofthisvirus.IunderstandthatBangorhasorderedmanybusinessestoclose,howeveraformalSIPordermaybe themorestringentinstructionthatpeopleneedtohelpͻŅƌğƷƷĻƓtheĭǒƩǝĻ͵ͼCOVID19isalreadyinourcommunity.Itisa factthatwedonothaveenoughtestingtoproperlyunderstandhowextensivethediseaseisnordowehavetheproper PPEtoprotectourhealthcareworkers.Pleasetakeheedofthewarningsofscientistsandhealthcareworksfromacross thenation. Thankyouforyourtime, AngelaTsai,MD DepartmentofOtolaryngologyHeadNeckSurgery NorthernLightEasternMaineMedicalCenter Phone:(207)9739595 Fax:(207)9737898 1 Coe, Katie From:Conlow, Cathy Sent:Monday, March 23, 2020 11:16 AM To:'cherishlyn1989@yahoo.com'; Councilors Subject:RE: Hold on rent and mortgage no evections Expires:Tuesday, March 23, 2021 12:00 AM Charity,Thestatehastakenafewmeasurestoaddresstheseissuesduringthiscrisis.Thecourtshavesuspended evictionsthroughMay1,2020.ThePUChassuspendedutilityshutoffsthatincludewaterandelectricity.Wecannot orderalandlordtonotaskforandacceptrent,howevertherewillbenonewevictionsuntilafterMay1attheearliest. CƩƚƒʹCharityLawrence<cherishlyn1989@yahoo.com> {ĻƓƷʹMonday,March23,202011:04AM ƚʹCouncilors<Councilors@bangormaine.gov> {ǒĬƆĻĭƷʹHoldonrentandmortgagenoevections People of Bangor are out of work and unable to manage rent and mortgage. Unemployment is hard to reach at the moment. Their will be more Citizens to be homeless in the up coming weeks. Their has been petition a for a hold on rent untill the threat of coronavirus is gone. The citizens of Bangor would like you to please help stop the evections and hold off payment of rent. Thank you for reading this request. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android 1 Coe, Katie From:Melissa Berky <berkymrb@aol.com> Sent:Monday, March 23, 2020 7:53 AM To:Councilors Subject:COVID-19 Dear Bangor City Councilors, Thank you for doing the right thing by helping citizens to shelter in place. You will never regret doing this. Sincerely, Melisa Berky, RN 1