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Elkader Council approves street closures, begins Sweet Corn Days talks

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By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

 

The March 22 Elkader City Council meeting saw a bevy of items and resolutions receive approval. 

 

One of the most notable was the hot topic of street closures, but the upcoming closures for the grand opening of GEAR Elkader (May 8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the Romper Room motorcycle ride (June 19 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.) hardly registered much conversation. 

 

However, Sweet Corn Days (SCD), a topic with a contentious history because of COVID-19, did provoke some debate.

 

While it has currently not been approved, SCD Chairperson Danielle Shea intends to submit the application at the next meeting. She will do so with a majority of council members ready to sign off, as all but Peggy Lane currently expressed support for the event. 

 

“I’m all for it,” council member Bob Hendrickson said, a sentiment Randy Henning seconded.

 

“I’d like to see you do it,” echoed council member Daryl Koehn, while and mayor Josh Pope suggested, “I think the community is ready to bring it back.” 

 

New council member Tony Hauber, who was not on the council during last year’s debate, also made his support known, focusing on the decreasing risks of COVID-19 and the time frame between now and the event. By that time, it should be safe to hold it,” he said. 

 

In a follow-up interview, Hauber added, “Sweet Corn Days is 17.5 weeks away. This makes me feel very confidently that Elkader will be secured from any kind of COVID breakout that might occur from having a large event. And I feel comfortable continuing with the planning of it. Barring extraordinary circumstances or a very large deviation from our vaccination schedule, I will stand by this position.”

 

Only Lane expressed doubt. “Given what happened last year, I’m not ready. Things went downhill really fast,” she said. 

 

Lane later clarified this statement in an email exchange: “I did not say I wouldn’t support Sweet Corn Days. I did say I wasn’t ready to commit to it yet. We got painted into a corner last year and I will not do that again this year. There are no guarantees with a pandemic, and I feel that is what they are asking us to give.” 

 

Lane’s apprehension at the meeting led Hendrickson to state, “the risk is outweighed by benefit. We’re in a different place now,” before reaffirming to Shea that SCD has his support.

 

Also responding to Lane’s hesitancy during the follow-up interview, Hauber again focused on the timeline. 

 

“Clayton County has 25 percent of its citizens in the ‘at-risk’ age category for COVID-19,” he said. “I’d like to see those people safely receive their vaccinations before we have an event like Sweet Corn Days. As of Feb. 26, the number of people who had initiated vaccination was 2,081 (12 percent), and as of the last city council meeting (March 22, 3.5 weeks’ time) it was 4,921 (27 percent).”

 

“The eligible number of people that can receive the vaccine (we don’t vaccinate 16 and below) is about 13,000 in Clayton County. If we continue at the current rate of 710 to 950 vaccines a week, we will have all of those people initiating their vaccination in eight to 11 weeks. Meaning they will be fully vaccinated in 14 to 17 weeks,” Hauber continued. “That would get us well into the projected herd immunity numbers required to protect the community from COVID.”

 

Of course, hearing this support crossed with a hint of nervousness about the unknowns of COVID-19, prompted Shea to have flashbacks to last year, when she initially had council support. 

 

“I need your support. It’s important to have it [but] will that support be pulled afterward?” Shea asked. 

 

In an interview after the meeting, Shea expanded on this question. “In learning from our mistakes, I needed to address what happened last year. After seeking out their recommendations as to hold SCD in 2020 or not, all members went on record stating that they support whatever our committee decides. Then, last minute changed their minds and voted against having SCD,” she said. “I needed to address this, as our volunteers give up hundreds of hours. This is time taken away from their careers, their families, their friends and any free time they may have. If I am going to ask our volunteers of this, I need to know it’s not going to be for nothing.”

 

During the meeting, Hauber said “it would be hard to say for certain, given recent history.” Hendrickson made a similar statement, stating, “I can’t give you 100 percent. We don’t know what will happen.” 

 

Meanwhile, Lane stated via an email exchange that “if vaccination rates continue to improve and the trends continue as outlined by councilman Hauber, then I think we will be in a better position,” and she’d “evaluate the request when it’s made.” 

 

As for Shea, the lack of a guarantee, while not unexpected, brings a sense of anxiety. 

 

“I was told by the majority, given the current information we have, that while they do not foresee this, that they do reserve the right to change their mind, especially if CDC recommendations change,” she said during an interview. “As elected officials, it is their responsibility to make decisions first and foremost in the best interest of the city and the community members. As with all things, this can mean different ideas for different people. For our committee, this means holding SCD, and we are hopeful that the members are able to see how badly our community needs this event—to gather and socialize, enjoy each other’s company and to laugh together and to have something positive to look forward to after this past year.”

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