Kenai City Council member James Baisden speaks in support of legislation opposing government COVID-19 mandates during a meeting of the Kenai City Council on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai City Council member James Baisden speaks in support of legislation opposing government COVID-19 mandates during a meeting of the Kenai City Council on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai council OKs grant funds for COVID leave, testing for city employees

The grant funds were made available under the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services

The City of Kenai will use up to $110,000 in state grant funds to pay for leave for city employees who test positive for COVID-19. The city council, which approved the move during its Wednesday night meeting, additionally approved up to $50,000 for testing for employees and immediate family members.

The money was made available to the city in spring 2021 under the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, according to the ordinance that accepted those funds. In all, about $327,000 was made available to the City of Kenai from the state to help implement a mobile COVID-19 vaccination unit, according to a memo from Kenai Fire Chief Tony Prior explaining the funds.

The legislation up for consideration by the council on Wednesday was amended by substitution to put caps on the amount of money that can be used for COVID leave and for testing, as well as to make the funds available retroactively to Jan. 20, 2022.

In making the additional leave available to city employees, the legislation cites recent high COVID transmission caused by new virus variants and says it is in the city’s best interest to “keep and promote a healthy working environment for all employees.”

“Addition of this leave will encourage employees to test for and stay home if they test positive for COVID-19, thereby protecting other City employees and the community from further spread,” the legislation says. “Due to the recent near exponential growth of the omicron variant and the increasing number of employees impacted by the virus, temporary COVID-19 employee leave will be provided retroactively to January 20, 2022.”

Prior wrote in a separate Jan. 12 memo that there is about $220,000 left of those funds that he does not expect the city to “get close” to spending. He went on to say that if half of city employees tested positive for COVID-19 and used 40 hours of leave, for example, the cost would be about $90,000.

“The health of our employees is vital to the daily operations of the City, as well as the health of community members that we serve,” Prior wrote. “One component of that health and wellness is making sure employees have adequate time to isolate, quarantine and recover, should they test positive for COVID-19. Another is making sure our employees are not passing this virus on to co-workers or the public they come in contact with.”

Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander said during Wednesday’s meeting that 22 of the city’s roughly 100 employees are currently in COVID protocols, nine of whom are COVID-positive and 13 who are close contacts. The city’s previous record, Ostrander said, that the most employees the city has previously had in COVID protocols was “eight or nine.”

“This is clearly an increase that we’ve seen here recently,” Ostrander said.

City council member James Baisden, who cast one of the two “no” votes on the ordinance, said that he supports helping city employees, but does not support the city’s current policy that requires city employees to mask if they are identified as a close contact or if they test positive and return to after a five-day quarantine.

“If close contact is going to continue to be an issue, we’re never going to get back to normal,” Baisden said.

Council member Teea Winger, who proposed the spending caps, also said she takes issue with the city’s masking policy for employees and would like to see it revisited. Winger also proposed making higher-quality masks, such as N95 or KN95 masks, available for city employees.

The ordinance passed by a vote of 5-2 with council members Baisden and Glenese Pettey voting in opposition. The council’s full meeting can be viewed on the City of Kenai’s YouTube channel.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

The Kenai Peninsula College main entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Chiappone and Dunstan to speak at the KPC Showcase

Kenai Peninsula College continues its showcase with two new speakers this week and next

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, talks about issues of concern regarding the proposed merger of supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons during a floor speech in the House chamber on Wednesday. (Screenshot from official U.S. House of Representatives video feed)
Begich leads in early results, but Alaska’s U.S. House race won’t be immediately decided

About 245,000 ballots had been counted by 11:32 p.m., and Peltola trailed by about 5 percentage points

The Alaska governor’s mansion on Wednesday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is considered a contender for a post in Donald Trump’s second presidential administration. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Election summary: Trump wins, GOP takes over U.S. Senate, Alaska may get new governor

Begich and repeal of ranked choice voting narrowly lead; GOP may lose control of state House.

Nesbett Courthouse in downtown Anchorage on Oct. 7, 2024. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Voters line up at the polling site at Anchorage City Hall on Nov. 4, 2024. City Hall was one of the designated early voting sites in Alaska’s largest city. It is not a designated site for Election Day voting. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Republicans lose two seats in state House, increasing odds of leadership switch

Rural Alaska precincts had reported few results by 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Donald Trump won or was leading as of Wednesday morning in all seven swing states in the 2024 presidential election. (Doug Mills / The New York Times)
Donald Trump returns to power, ushering in new era of uncertainty

He played on fears of immigrants and economic worries to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris.

A voter is handed as ballot at Woodworth School in Dearborn, Mich., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. One of the most consequential presidential elections in the nation’s modern history is well underway, as voters flocked to churches, schools and community centers to shape the future of American democracy. (Nick Hagen/The New York Times)
Trump verges on victory, picking up Pennsylvania

Donald Trump has captured Pennsylvania, the biggest prize of the seven battleground… Continue reading

Signs and supporters line the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Unofficial results for the 2024 general election

Preliminary, unofficial election results as of 9:55 p.m.

Poll worker Carol Louthan helps voters submit ballots at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Bjorkman, Ruffridge, Elam and Vance lead in election night results

Several residents said that they came out to vote because they knew this election was “a big one.”

Most Read