This coming week the Town of Silver City Council will continue to hear public input on a town ordinance that city councilor Cynthia Bettison is sponsoring to force Silver City residents to wear masks in town while conducting business or in public places. You can read the ordinance here. It would require individuals in Silver City to wear masks any time they are "in public" which includes exercising, according to the ordinance.

Face covering requirement.

1. The use of a face covering is required by every person within the boundaries of the Town of Silver City as detailed below. Every person over the age of thirteen (13) must wear a face covering when:

a) inside a building open to the public, including gyms, meditation centers, medical and dental offices, other facilities where members of the public tend to congregate;
b) waiting to enter a building open to the public;
c) interacting with other people in outdoor space, including but not limited to curbside pickup, delivery, and service calls;
d) when engaging in business activities in private space (for example, house showings, indoor service calls for appliances, tow trucks, etc.);
e) utilizing public or private transportation; or
f) walking or running in public;
g) during outdoor physical activities such as exercising and sports.

 If you’re a Grant County resident, as a number of this writer's readers are, please feel free to reach out to the Silver City Town Council and tell them what you think of the ordinance. I’m sure Councilor Cynthia Bettison could use an extra amount of emails with feedback from the community telling her what you think. And even if you’re not in the county, feel free to share your insight.

Councilor Cynthia Bettison: councilordistrict1@silvercitynm.gov
Phone: 575-597-7031

Lynda D. Aiman-Smith: councilordistrict2@silvercitynm.gov
Phone: 575-597-7032 or Cell: 575-519-1680

Guadalupe E. Cano:councilordistrict4@silvercitynm.gov
Phone: 575-597-7034

Jose A. Ray, Jr.: jose_r88061@yahoo.com
Phone: 575-313-4944

Additionally, you can complain to the Town Manager Alex Brown here:

townmanager@silvercitynm.gov 575-534-6358

The Town Council has said they will allow comment on this ordinance until this coming Tuesday. their last meeting before they’ve proposed a vote on the ordinance, which is planned for two weeks later on September 8. Please share your input. Remind them that they haven’t given those who work in the city, but live in the county the chance to be informed like they did with the city residents and generally tell the councilors that this is an awful idea and repetitive, when we already have emergency health orders which the state can, and does, enforce.

So far, the ordinance hasn't received a lot of public blow-back. But it should. We already have a state mandate on masks. We don't need this legislation at the local level that, additionally, gives the city the authority to require face coverings without any future expiration. So…in 2030, when the babes in arms today are ten years old, there will still be some ordinance on the books requiring people to wear masks in public, while jogging?

Rebekah Stevens

Silver City