Franklin County commissioners divided on move to ‘yellow’ phase

Franklin County Commissioners are not in agreement over moving Franklin County from “red” to “yellow.”

Last month, Gov. Tom Wolf announced his plan to reopen Pennsylvania in three phases: red, yellow and green.

The current red phase is aimed at minimizing the spread of COVID-19 through strict social distancing, non-life-sustaining business and school closures and building safety protocols.

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The yellow phase eases some restrictions on work and social interactions, including the opening of child care centers and in-person retail and allows social gatherings of under 25 people.

Moving from one phase to another depends, according to the Wolf administration, on Department of Health metrics including COVID-19 cases per capita.

As of Tuesday, Franklin County, with a population of 155,000, had 522 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths, according to the Department of Health.

In a letter to Gov. Wolf Saturday, several lawmakers who represent the county told Wolf they intend to move the county into the yellow phase on Friday, May 15 without his endorsement.

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“We, the undersigned, as duly elected state and local officials take the safety of our constituents very seriously. Reviewing the analytics, and the initial conditions laid out by your administration, Franklin County has achieved the milestones delineated by the Secretary of Health,” the letter says. “The curve has been flattened, ICU beds are in abundance, and access to ventilators is not in question, therefore, the undersigned stand with any business in Franklin County that chooses to reopen. Subsequent movement to returning to normal operations will be at the discretion of the undersigned when certain thresholds are achieved.”

The letter was signed by Sens. Doug Mastriano and Judy Ward and Reps. Paul Schemel, Rob Kauffman, John Hershey and Jesse Topper, as well as Franklin County Commissioner John Flannery.

Not unanimous

Flannery did not respond to a request for comment by press time, but told media partner NewsTalk 103.7 that he signed the letter because he believes small businesses don’t pose any more risk to the general public than big box stores.

“What people have to understand is if they read the difference from red to yellow, what we’re looking at are small business people. Right now, you can go to almost any big box store ... and there’s hundreds of people in these stores, yet we have small businesses ... independent offices ... they are small shops that can control their environment much better, in my opinion, than some of these big box stores,” Flannery, who owns a local restaurant, told the radio station Saturday. “What it all comes down to, if you don’t want to go out and be exposed ... then stay home. That is your choice. I don’t know when it became an issue for government to legislate and be concerned about our health.”

Flannery said the perception that small businesses are owned by rich people isn’t true.

“Some of these people work for $2 or $3 an hour, yet they can’t maintain a livelihood in an environment that is much more controlled right now than the businesses the governor has allowed to stay open,” he said.

But he was just one of three county commissioners who could have signed the letter.

Noticeably absent were the signatures of Commissioners Dave Keller and Bob Ziobrowski.

“I was made aware of the letter prior to its release,” Ziobrowski said. “No one specifically asked me to sign the letter, however, an early draft included signature lines for each of the commissioners, so one could infer that such a signature would be welcome. I agreed with neither the content nor tone of the letter. I chose not to add my signature.”

“I was invited to sign the letter,” Keller said. “I share the concern of Franklin County small business owners who see their stores shuttered while Walmart and Lowe’s remain open, siphoning off their customers. I share the frustration of our Franklin County legislators who signed the letter. I question the legal authority of the letter’s statement that, “subsequent movement to returning to normal operations will be at the discretion of the undersigned when certain thresholds are met.” In my opinion, neither the undersigned, nor the board of commissioners have that authority.”

Keller said he supports a transition from red to yellow as soon as it is safe.

“The governor’s office conveyed a protocol for the transition several weeks ago, and I found no fault in the metrics,” he said. “Those metrics have not been met in Franklin County. My first duty as commissioner is to protect the health of the citizens of Franklin County.”

Money at stake?

On Monday, Wolf responded to the letter and several others sent by Central Pennsylvania counties Lancaster, Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill, and threatened to withhold COVID-19 funding to any county that defies his order.

The federal relief law signed by President Donald Trump in late March provides about $5 billion to Pennsylvania, of which $1 billion was direct aid to seven heavily-populated counties. The Wolf administration and lawmakers in the GOP-controlled legislature must decide how to spend the rest of the money.

Wolf also warned businesses that choose to reopen too soon that they risk businesses licenses, certificates of occupancy and other required governmental approvals to operate. He said companies that ignore the shutdown order could also be jeopardizing their insurance coverage and putting themselves at risk of having their claims denied.

“I must and I will impose consequences if a county locally lifts restrictions when it has not yet been given the go-ahead by the state,” Wolf said.

Keller said he doesn’t know how much funding could be at stake for the county.

“Neither DCED nor PCCD have given us any indication on the allocation amount for Franklin County stimulus funding,” he said. “We are in frequent contact with the state agencies that will administer the funding, but we are still awaiting further details or specifics depending on the situation.”

Andrea Rose is a Gannett reporter based in Waynesboro.