As The Commons moves closer to possibly reopening to the public, its board is still considering whether or not to require people to wear masks in the event space.
Manager Shanda Sasse said that right now, The Commons is “highly recommending” that masks are worn at private rental events, which have resumed.
“A lot of the clients have gone ahead and taken the initiative on their own to tell their clients or their guests or even provide masks for their guests,” Sasse said at Wednesday’s board meeting.
However, the board noted that mandating masks might be more difficult than simply recommending them. Columbus Parks and Recreation Director Mark Jones said that it is difficult to require masks at certain parks venues such at the downtown Farmers Market.
Parks Director of Business Services Pam Harrell said that the state department of health and the local health department are likely the entities that have the authority to make such a mandate. Attorney Alex Whitted said that this oversight just means that the Commons Board would need “an additional layer of approval” if they chose to move forward with requiring masks.
“I think the answer to whether we can require face masks in The Commons is a ‘yes,’ but practically speaking, how does that work?” Whitted asked. He said that while The Commons wouldn’t necessarily be required to provide masks to visitors if they go with the mandate, they should weigh that possibility in their decision.
“If we’re going to require that of them, should we then bear the expense of making that available to folks so that we’re not turning people away?” he asked.
Harrell added that the board should consider the expense of providing masks, as doing so could be costly both during public hours and at private rental events.
“Right now they can have up to 250 guests,” Sasse said of the rental events. “If we have a wedding reception on Friday, we have a wedding reception on Saturday and we have a wedding reception on Sunday, that’s a lot of masks. That’s a lot of budget dollars.”
If the board does choose to require masks, this mandate might not include “commercial spaces” such as restaurants, which already have social distancing requirements in effect, Whitted said.
Jones suggested that the decision to require masks at The Commons might be part of a bigger conversation about requiring masks at city facilities in general.
“I think if you do it at one or two locations, it’s got to be across the board,” he said. However, he added that it might be a “pick-and-choose” method where some facilities with closed quarters require masks and more open spaces, such as Noblitt Park, do not require masks.
Whitted commented that a “one-size-fits-all” solution for parks facilities might not fit for the indoor playground at The Commons.
He recommended that, moving forward, The Commons should include certain “stakeholders” in the mask discussion and that it should continue to be a conversation between The Commons, the parks department and the redevelopment department.
“One of the issues that we want to make sure is that it is a deliberate decision,” Whitted said. “That can reduce our liability and our exposure as well. … We haven’t been negligent, in other words. We’ve taken a look at it. We’ve made this decision based on the available information to take this particular course of action.”
A date for the Commons’ public reopening has not yet been set. Sasse said that the Commons will “continue to monitor the Governor’s Back On Track plan” and that an updated schedule will be posted on the parks department website. She added that they plan to reopen the playground once the “redesign construction is complete.”
“We are working with the Columbus Redevelopment Commission on a proposed reopening plan for the indoor restaurants,” Sasse said.
