Moscow City Council voted Tuesday to allow live entertainment return to the Farmers Market beginning July 3.
Ordinances for reopening the Hamilton-Lowe Aquatic Center and community event applications also passed.
The market is scheduled to begin May 1 with limited amenities. The return of some programs for this year’s market is still in consideration, but the council specifically addressed a proposal to bring back the Market The program brings in live artists to play music. With this program, bands and artists can play in person.
In order to bring back the live music, the proposal considered COVID-19 safety protocols. The council proposed May 1 as an alternate start date for live music, but was decided against.
“I think July 3 is my inclination,” City Councilor Gina Taruscio said. “The vaccinations will be in higher amounts and we’ll potentially move towards a healthier environment as well.”
When entertainers are reintroduced, additional safety precautions will be taken. Musicians will be within a 8 foot tall barrier without any surrounding seating.
“We would encourage singers to wear masks,” Community Events Manager Amanda Argona said. “It would be on us to be screening all the acts, figuring out if we can accommodate them and if we can accommodate them with the public safely.’”
With the later date, there will be a waiver on vendor registration fees.
Approved by the council, the Hamilton-Lowe Aquatic Center will be open for their full season starting June 11, but with COVID-19 protocols.
Visitors will be expected to wear masks outside the pool. Furniture will be cleaned by staff throughout the day between uses. While restrooms will remain open, showers will be closed due to the tight space and lack of division between individuals.
“The best part is, I think we can manage to have the facility open to everyone who wants to use it,” Recreation Supervisor Greg Morrison said.
The pool will have a limited capacity of 360 people.
Morrision believes these protocols will help the center stay safe with supportive research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is “not aware of any scientific reports of the virus that causes COVID-19 spreading to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, water playgrounds or other treated aquatic venues.”
Regarding the vaccine, Morrison said half their lifeguards may not be old enough.
Another ordinance approved reinstates the application process for right-of-way public events. Right-of-way events include demonstrations, block parties and similar events. Back in August, similar events were suspended due to the pandemic.
The application review process will now be reinstated. Events with 50 or more attendees will require additional approval by Public Health – Idaho North Central District.
“As you can see, we’re inching along forward,” Mayor Bill Lambert said. “We’re getting back a little bit closer to normalcy.”
The Fair Housing Resolution was also adopted in the meeting. The resolution included an announcement from Lambert announcing April as Fair Housing Month.
The resolution also calls for the display of fair housing information, an assessment to address barriers to housing and designating a fair housing resource person.
Haadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq