The Flagstaff City Council deals with re-entry into outdoor sports and special events politics

After schools in Arizona returned from the spring break and resumed face-to-face classes in March, there will be more data in the coming weeks to support re-entry decisions, Engelthaler said.

Regarding the increased field occupancy, Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy said he would prefer to wait for more dates before extending the occupancy beyond recommendations from city officials. Deasy recommended that the council wait two weeks for the next scheduled discussion on COVID-19 to address the matter.

As eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine is expanding to include anyone aged 16 and over, we are receiving promising news about the vaccine’s effectiveness in children who are much younger.

For this upcoming meeting, the council agreed to consider implementing a COVID-19 occupancy calculator for outdoor events. Public commentator Art Babbott, who helps manage the Flagstaff Community Market, advocated such a system.

For example, if one inmate is allowed per 150 square feet of space, about 400 people can attend an event in Wheeler Park or about 75 people in Heritage Square. However, this is the case before taking into account areas that are reduced by event facilities such as tents.

Engelthaler addressed larger gatherings such as outdoor soccer tournaments and said: “It’s good to get involved, but maybe with a little caution, at least for the next few months.”

One such event is Flagstaff’s annual July 4th parade, which Engelthaler says should start safely by summer. By then, he expects that every adult resident would already have had access to a vaccination and that the risk of an outdoor parade would be “extremely low”.