DiGiorgio in self-quarantine with COVID-19

By TOM LAVENTURE

[email protected]

Ironwood — Andrew DiGiorgio, the director of Ironwood Public Safety Department, announced Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

The announcement came during the regular meeting of the Ironwood City Commission that DiGiorgio attended virtually. He let the commissioners know of his status during his COVID-19 report.

“I will let you know that I’m positive with the coronavirus so I’m quarantined for 14 days,” DiGiorgio said during the meeting.

DiGiorgio said in his discussions with the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department that he was told the area is now in the beginnings of community spread of COVID-19. Prior to the summer reopening, the relatively few COVID-19 cases were of people who traveled outside the area and returned infected and may have infected only another family member.

Now infected people who live outside the area are bringing the coronavirus here in addition to residents who left and returned infected, he said. The increasing coronavirus activity may be contributing to a community spread within the community.

“We are seeing a variety of different types of cases in talking with the health department,” DiGiorgio said. “It’s moving throughout our community and it’s being shared amongst our members.”

One big challenge now is that Michigan is returning to more strict COVID-19 guidelines than Wisconsin, he said. As a border community the crossover between the two states is a concern regarding coronavirus.

There are now 14 positive cases of COVID-19 in Gogebic County, according to DiGiorgio, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order on mandating masks in crowded outdoor spaces and all indoor public spaces, went into effect Monday.

“Wear masks, stay 6 feet apart and be diligent about handwashing,” DiGiorgio said. “Continue moving forward, monitoring changes that she brings down.”

Scott Erickson, Ironwood city manager, said the city is monitoring changes closely and continues to follow the governor’s orders along with state and federal health organization guidelines. City departments will meet this week to determine if it will be necessary to return to a previous status with closed parks and city offices.

The city has protocols in place so that when someone tests positive the departments know how to manage the situation, Erickson said. The planning allows the city to be proactive and not reactive to these situations.

“We’ve been working through that over the last few months to have that in place and it actually worked very well in this case,” Erickson said.

As second in command, Lt. Adam Clemens is in charge of the public safety department during DiGiorgio’s absence. The department is structured to have officers working remotely when possible during the pandemic. Although DiGiorgio is not physically at the department for the duration of the quarantine he does interact through the phone and in virtual meetings.

“I think having our protocols in place really worked well and having Andrew respond to them in the right manner really minimized the chance of spreading the virus,” Erickson said.

City staff perform a self-wellness check before coming to work and will not come in if they feel symptomatic of coronavirus until they are tested.

DiGiorgio learned he was positive for COVID-19 after he was tested, Erickson said. He is very diligent about wearing his mask and social distancing which minimized the potential exposure to others he came in contact with on-and-off-duty, he said.

More people would have needed to be tested were he not so stringent with his protocols, he said.

Commissioner Joseph Cayer said the city should consider closing parks and other public areas. It is not possible to enforce masking everywhere and by closing amenities it removes the city’s role in the risk of community spread.

Erickson said the city department heads would be meeting this week to determine the response to the increase in positive COVID-19 cases and to be consistent with the governor’s most recent orders.

Following a closed executive session the commission 3-1 approved the city manager’s contract effective July 1 through June 30, 2025. Cayer voted against the contract and Commissioner Rick Semo was not present at the meeting.

Cayer said on Tuesday that his no-vote was based on the advice of a previous city attorney who recommended that the commission not extend employee contracts beyond two years or the length of the current term of the commissioners. A five-year contract went against that advice, he said.

Cayer said his decision was also based in part on his repeated requests to city staff to provide information on meeting agenda items ahead of the meetings. The contract extension and the commercial marijuana ordinance were two examples where he had no information until the afternoon of the meeting.

“There should be more transparency and openness,” Cayer said. “That is pretty much why I voted how I did on that.”

Mayor Annette Burchell said in the meeting that city leadership, including Erickson, have worked well as a team and especially with performing their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. She said Erickson was instrumental in helping the city compete for and receive millions of dollars in grant funds to improve infrastructure and make Ironwood a better place to live.

“Through Scott’s leadership and through wonderful staff we have Ironwood moving forward,” Burchell said.

Erickson’s contract extension contains a 2% salary increase and a cost of living adjustment for one year. It is similar to the city employee contracts approvals made at the previous meeting.

In other business, the commission 5-0 approved:

—Authorizing bids for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Mountain Bike Trail Project and Trail Head Development Project in Miners’ Memorial Park.

—Authoring bids for sale of dasher boards that are being replaced at the Pat O’Donnell Civic Center.

—Authorizing bids for sale of seized property by Ironwood Public Safety Department. The seized property list is divided into 19 lots and includes vehicles, electronics, fishing gear, collectibles, growing equipment, tools and jewelry that will be auctioned on websites and in publications for 30 days. The items may be viewed from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday at the public safety building.

—A $1,000 hazard pay premium to public safety officers and paid-on-call firefighters contingent upon receiving funding from the Michigan Department of Treasury’s First Responder Hazard Pay Premiums Program.

—Reappointment of Annabelle O’Brien to the city Housing Commission Board.