By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Bronson Fire Chief Dennis Russell on Monday told the Bronson Town Council he is leaning toward cancelling the annual October Trunk or Treat fun day for local children due to rising COVID-19 numbers in Levy County.

            Russell said the latest numbers show 800 new cases in the county and he doesn’t want to create a situation where children and their parents could be exposed to the virus when a large crowd gathers for the event.

            Trunk or Treat is a program the town council adopted a number of years ago to take the place of traditional door-to-door trick or treating. It was intended to protect kids from people who might hurt them going door-to-door for Halloween.

            The program consists of businesses, civic organizations, and churches setting up tents on the soccer field of James H. Cobb Park and giving away candy and treats to children as they pass by the tents in costumes.

            Councilman Jason Hunt asked Russell if he was inclined to say yes, or say no to Trunk or Treat.

“My personal opinion, for the safety of everyone involved, no,” Russell said.

He said he will get fresh numbers on COVID cases before the Sept. 27 council meeting. He said if the numbers keep surging, he would recommend cancellation.

            “Ultimately it’s going to be you all making the decision,” Russell said.

            Hunt said he would prefer to give parents the option of going to the event with their children and taking precautions if they felt it was necessary or staying home if they felt it was unsafe.

            “I agree with that, but we have to look at the safety of everyone that’s involved in it, our staff, plus the kids and all the parents,” Russell said.

            Hunt preferred allowing the event to take place and giving parents the option of taking precautions with masks, or not taking precautions, or staying home. Hunt said everyone is still going to the Dollar General, everyone’s going to Save-a-Lot and the gas station. He preferred to give parents a choice.

            “Because these are still kids. They still need to live. I hate to be like this, but it (the virus) ain’t never going away. It’s never going to go away. It’s here forever,” Hunt said. “Trunk or Treat – not only are we taking away from the citizens but we’re taking it away from the children.”

            Hunt noted that the July 4 celebration was cancelled due to COVID 19. He said he is tired of taking things away from the community.

            Public Works Director Curtis Stacy asked if his employees could be required to take part in Trunk or Treat if they didn’t want to participate.

            Mayor Beatrice Roberts said they can’t be forced to work at Trunk or treat if they don’t feel comfortable being there.

            Russell will return with fresh COVID=19 statistics for the Sept. 27 council meeting.

            Council Cancels October Meetings

            Town council members voted unanimously to cancel both October council meetings in keeping with what they have been doing for the past 20 years.

            Roberts said the council will continue to be paid, even though it won’t meet in October.

            Rank and file council members earn $500 per month and the mayor $800.

            “The reason we don’t do October meetings is to give everybody downtime, to catch up on all the budget stuff, all the work that’s been done and get everything ready for the new council,” she said. “The council is more than just coming to meetings. If you’re like me, people get tired of seeing me, so it’s not like you’re not doing anything. You’re going to still be doing your job.”

            Discussion of cancelling the October meetings was raised by Town Manager Sue Beaudet. She plans on taking a week and a half of vacation on her birthday around the first of October. She said the Oct. 4 meeting would have followed the September 27 meeting by a week.

            No one on the council was certain if the cancellation of October meetings was authorized by the council charter or it is was simply a tradition.

            “We need to decide if we want to go back to the old ways – no meetings in October,” Roberts said.

            “I can use the rest,” Beaudet chuckled. “It’s been crazy.”

            Roberts asked if anyone on the council had objections to cancelling the October meetings. Councilman Robert Partin responded, “Unless something comes up,” he had no objections. Partin is up for re-election on Tuesday.

            Roberts said the council went back to holding October council meetings last year at the request of Hunt. She said the council had been expecting a large agenda last October.

            “It’s not in your charter though? (to cancel meetings)” a reporter asked.

            “I don’t know,” Roberts said.

            Hunt, who pushed last year to restore October council meetings on grounds that the council needed to continue doing its job, even in October, made the motion to cancel both meetings next month and return to regular meetings in November.

            His motion passed unanimously.

————————–

Town of Bronson Regular Meeting September 13, 2021; Posted September 13, 2021