Counties to apply to reopen Tri-Cities businesses, despite being far from state targets

County leaders said Tuesday they are ready to reopen the Tri-Cities, both for the economy and the people who’ve had to close or reduce staffing at their businesses for 2 1/2 months.

Commissioners in both Benton county signed a resolution directing the local health district to apply to the state for permission to move forward under Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Safe Start” process.

Franklin County commissioners were leaning toward a similar resolution.

The two counties join about 10 others in Washington state still in Phase 1. In that phase, people are still directed to stay home because of the coronavirus pandemic, gatherings of any size are prohibited and only essential businesses can be open with pick-up required for restaurants and retail.

Benton County is asking to move to Phase 2, while Franklin County is suggesting a modified Phase 1.5.

A modified phase allows some business activities with restrictions, such as limiting the percentage of building occupancy at a given time.

Benton Commissioner Shon Small said they are “trying to knock on the door” and hope the state opens it.

“Trust me, we have been trying to do as much as possible to try to open up the county. I want to make sure you understand that,” said Small.

The safe-distancing plan goes up to Phase 4, at which point people can resume all recreational activity, gatherings of more than 50, and attend large sporting events, nightclubs and concert venues.

The phases are based on “target metrics,” including COVID-19 activity, the local healthcare system’s readiness, testing for positive cases and contact tracing investigations.

Benton County needs to have no more than 50 new cases in two weeks and Franklin County needs to have no more than 24 cases. That would meet the requirement of 25 or fewer new cases for every 100,000 residents over a 14-day period.

The counties also must dramatically increase the number of people being tested each week.

In the two counties, there have been 84 deaths from complications of COVID-19 since March.

“I think it’s important that we push forward for Phase 2 because our economy and our county is struggling,” said Benton County Administrator Jerrod MacPherson. He said he hopes to have the application done by the end of this week or early next week.

The application must be submitted by the county executive, in agreement with the Benton Franklin Health District, to the state’s Secretary of Health.

Benton commissioners said they have the support of the local health department. The district’s governing body is made up of all six commissioners from the two counties.

Franklin County

Franklin County is still working on getting approval from the health district on its plan.

Commissioner Brad Peck was skeptical that they could get the state to sign off on letting them move to Phase 2. Preparing the application would cost them valuable time, when they would be more likely to be approved for the modified Phase 1.

Franklin Commissioner Clint Didier tried to get his board to approve a complete reopening — in defiance of Inslee’s orders that have been in place since late March.

But his fellow commissioners reminded Didier it is illegal, adding that they don’t want to give people false hope and send the wrong message to business owners that it’s OK to fully open their doors.

The Franklin board tried to reopen in late April, but rescinded its unanimous vote after the state told them it could not be done legally.

“I’m not going to mislead people,” Peck said. “It doesn’t matter how mad we get, we aren’t in a position to pick and choose what laws to follow.”

Didier is one of several who filed a federal lawsuit against Inslee over his stay-home order that was meant to reduce the spread of the deadly virus.

Benton Commissioner Jerome Delvin said it gives smaller counties hope that larger ones like Pierce County are pushing back on the governor’s reopening process.

He encouraged people to wear a face mask when out in public to keep the outbreak from spreading and get businesses open again.

“We need to acknowledge the sacrifices that our citizens have made and it’s time to help them get going,” said Delvin.

He noted that during the stay-home order, people have been struggling not only with their general health but mental health, and said there’s been an increase for police in domestic violence calls and assaults.

This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 3:51 PM.