WOODLAND PARK • The City Council on Thursday deadlocked on a resolution branding Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and gatherings as unconstitutional, unable to break a tie vote because the mayor is hospitalized with the virus.

Mayor Pro Tem Hilary Labarre announced at the beginning of the council’s regular meeting that Mayor Val Carr was absent because he had been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19.

Labarre said she would not provide further details on Carr’s condition and asked that the public respect Carr’s, and his family’s, privacy. 

A draft resolution asking the governor to “minimize the harm of the unconstitutional orders” and reclassify every business as an essential business stalled on a 3-3 vote. The tie vote will bring the item back to the council, who are expected to reconsider it at the next meeting on Feb. 18.

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The resolution, which has no effect on state mandates or restrictions, mirrored one Monument trustees approved unanimously on Jan. 11.

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“All businesses, places of worship and governmental meetings are essential to the exercise of individuals’ fundamental rights and it is discriminatory for the state to treat some, but not all, establishments with preference by labeling them as ‘essential,’” Woodland Park’s draft resolution states.

It also states councilmembers do not support COVID-19 restrictions that would shut down businesses in the city, and Woodland Park will not follow “any executive orders limiting attendance of and free speech at public meetings within the city.”

“The City Council understands that, notwithstanding their unconstitutional nature, state authorities might attempt to pressure businesses to comply and may threaten their livelihoods,” part of the resolution reads. “The city of Woodland Park does not have the ability to preclude state enforcement actions. The City Council therefore calls on each business and individual to determine for themselves the level of which they desire to comply, in their best interest, with the governor’s unconstitutional orders.”

Businesses should evaluate their own establishments and their capacity to safely accept customers, and individuals should use their best judgment when entering any store, according to the resolution.

“I believe we need to take COVID seriously. People are being greatly harmed when they get it, so we should all respect one another and help one another deal with this serious virus,” Councilman Jim Pfaff said. “What we don’t need is the government telling us how to deal with it.”

Some councilmembers and residents said the resolution could cause unintended consequences, legal or otherwise.

“If this resolution is passed, it will be seen as a consent by council for businesses to disobey directives of the state department and the governor,” resident Bob Volpe said. “Even if the resolution is nonbinding, the result of the passage may backfire on business.”

It could draw more scrutiny to city businesses and the county Public Health department, and additional, more infectious, variants of COVID-19 make passing the resolution “an even more poorly timed action to take at this time,” he said.

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Councilwoman Stephanie Alfieri, who sponsored the resolution, said it was clear “the council has no authority to overturn these mandates. (The resolution) provides no protection to individuals or businesses who choose to negate those mandates. What it does do is send a very clear message that everyone has the right to live their lives as they choose, operate their businesses as they choose and do with their personal property as they choose.”

When asked about pushback to his statewide COVID-19 regulations in a news conference in early January, Polis said the courts have upheld health restrictions as constitutional. 

“These extraordinary steps have saved the lives of thousands of Coloradans, and we have sought since the beginning to balance the need for economic activity, the need for social and emotional fulfillment, with the need to save lives, prevent agony and loss, and we have done that in Colorado,” Polis said.

Resident Elijah Murphy said he supported the resolution, arguing state mandates and business restrictions were discriminatory because they forced small businesses to close while large businesses remained open .

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“How counterintuitive is all this?” Murphy asked. “Let’s close all the small businesses and make everybody gather up at the same spots at Walmart and Lowes and Home Depot. … It defies the common-sense test when dealing with diseases.”

“I never signed anything as a citizen giving up my rights,” resident Kelli Kane said. “I’ve been made to do things that I shouldn’t have to do. I would do them for my neighbor, but the government doesn’t have the right to tell me not to do certain things.”

The council is expected to reconsider the item at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 18. Visit bit.ly/2MGZZTU to participate via Zoom.