Board of Aldermen 5-21-2020 Page 36
Alderman Dowd
Yes. | would have been more in the favor of the motion or the amendment if there was no warning because
who is going to track the warnings? And | don’t think that’s practical. First of all, | don’t think the Police are
going to be walking around trying to fine somebody because they don’t have a mask. | think | heard when |
first came on that the issue is going to be we are backing up the businesses who the Board of Health has
said, if you want to be in business, you have to require masks. If we back up the Board of Health and
somebody pushes their way into a restaurant or a store refusing to wear a mask. They are not going to be
fined for not wearing a mask. They are going to be fined for trespassing or disorderly conduct which has a
different type of fine structure, and maybe even an arrest. So if people want to stay six feet from people
and they are not in a restaurant or a store and they don’t want to wear a mask, fine. Let them. But if they
get within six feet or people or if they are downtown and they want to go in a restaurant or a store, at least
for the time being, they need to wear a mask. That’s my opinion. | would support something that reduced
the fine structure because $1,000.00 is a pretty steep fine, but | really don’t see the Police going around
and fining people because they don’t have a mask on.
President Wilshire
Anyone else? Alderman Lopez?
Alderman Lopez
| just want to reiterate that the — my understanding and Attorney Bolton please correct me if | am wrong, the
Ordinance stipulates up to $1,000.00, it doesn’t stipulate $1,000.00 so a lot of room for discussion there?
President Wilshire
Ok, Alderman Schmidt.
Alderman Schmidt
Thank you. | just wanted to make it clear that nobody is going to force people to go into shops. If you need
something from a shop, you can pick it up curbside, you can have it delivered. This isn’t like we are trying
to force these on to people. It will be their choice and it is for safety of the other person, that’s why you wear
the mask, not for yourself, but for the other person. And | really only wanted to say one more thing, there
were 9 more deaths in New Hampshire yesterday. Thank you.
President Wilshire
Thank you. Alderman Jette?
Alderman Jette
Thank you, Madam Chairman. If | could through you again call upon Attorney Bolton, you know | — and |
am sure we all have received many e-malls from people on this issue, pretty much evenly divided on one
side or the other. But the people against this Ordinance and very passionately against and | want
everybody to know that | read all of your e-mails and | have received some phone calls. | must say | don’t
think I’ve received as much communication about a proposed Ordinance until back when the Tobacco 21
was an issue.
But some of the people who are against this Ordinance seem to basically have two major objections in
different degrees but they fall into two categories. One if that they don’t think masks are effective and that
they are not going to do any good. And | must say that | rely upon our medical professionals on the Board
of Health to guide us in that regard. They are the people with the expertise, they have determined that this
