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City Council <br />Meeting Minutes <br />November 24, 2020 <br />Page 4 of 7 <br />Cindy Mueller, 746 West Fir Court, stated having outdoor seating in the parking spaces is <br />not enough room for sufficient tables to help the restaurants. <br />Reed Damon, 924 Grant, stated he moved here to be close the downtown and that is <br />what makes Louisville special. He supports keeping the street closed to help the <br />restaurants. <br />Eric Reed, Acme Fine Goods, agreed with other callers that these businesses are the <br />draw for downtown. His business relies on those people coming to the restaurants. He <br />supports keeping the closure. <br />Councilmember Lipton stated he has received a number of calls from LaFarge residents <br />concerned this is the beginning of a process for a permanent closure. He stated that is <br />not being considered here tonight. This is just a conversation on a bridge from now until <br />the spring when we hope it will be more normal. This is a lifeline for this winter not a <br />permanent closure. <br />Councilmember Brown asked what Boulder County Public Health's data on COVID are <br />showing. City Manager Balser stated the caseload is currently beyond the red level based <br />on current indicators; all ages and areas are being impacted. Mayor Stolzmann added the <br />current case rates are well past red and are very concerning particularly for <br />hospitalization rates. We have three active outbreaks in Louisville right now and people <br />should not be socializing. <br />Councilmember Leh reiterated this is not a prelude to a permanent closure of Main Street. <br />He does not want this discussion to pit the restaurants against the residents. There are <br />good arguments on both sides and we need to find the best way forward. <br />Councilmember Fahey stated she does not support a permanent closure of Main Street. <br />She stated the biggest responsibility we have as a Council is the health and wellbeing of <br />our residents. If we can prevent the spread to one person it is huge. The only reason we <br />don't have bigger spread is because of the protections we have in place. She stated she <br />wants to support all of the restaurants and businesses across town but there are more <br />effective and safer ways to do this than having the outdoor dining through the winter. She <br />supports the partial closure recommended by staff. <br />Councilmember Dickinson stated he doesn't think allowing tables on Main Street is the <br />largest transmission factor. He feels outdoor dining within a family group is acceptable <br />and will help the restaurants. We all want to help the restaurants and keep people safe. It <br />is clear the businesses and residents want us to keep this closed and he stated he can't <br />ignore that. He supports keeping the closure for the winter. He also agreed this is not a <br />discussion of a permanent closure. <br />Councilmember Brown stated this is not a binary decision; that opening the street <br />automatically means all the restaurants will fail and keeping the closure means they will <br />all survive. He would like a way to support restaurants without creating safety concerns <br />