By Brooklynn Wong
While no cases of COVID-19 have been reported in or around Buena Park, a shuttered Knott’s Berry Farm, quiet restaurants and attractions on the entertainment corridor, and employees being encouraged to work from home, had some residents anxious and wondering what implications the global pandemic and reactions to it will have on their small town.
Mayor Fred Smith called an emergency meeting of the City Council for the early evening of this past Tuesday, to update Buena Park residents.
Residents were discouraged from attending the meeting in-person, so it was live streamed online, an event that around 100 people tuned in to. City staff and Council Members were still there in person, however, the Council Members had been given the option to stay home and call in instead. Councilwoman Beth Swift was the only one that took advantage of that offer.
A few city officials spoke, and a few questions sent in from residents were discussed, but information given was largely a repeat of what has already been announced by federal and state government.
Police implications
Buena Park Police Chief Corey Sianez gave an update from the police department’s perspective, saying their services will of course continue as usual. However, if a resident makes a call for service at or from a residence, when police arrive, they will, for the health of all involved, not go inside the residence. They will ask the caller to step outside, and handle as much of the business from there as possible.
Street sweeping tickets will also not be written for the next couple of weeks. However, other parking tickets, for parking in places like handicapped spots and fire lanes, will continue to be issued.
Mayor Pro Tem Connor Traut asked Chief Sianez how things have been at the city’s grocery stores and if there will be “police visibility” at them. Sianez said there have been no issues there that have arisen from shortages and limits on the number of certain items people can buy. He said they are monitoring the stores and will “continue to have high visibility at” them.
Emergency Operations Center
The city does have Emergency Operations Center (EOC) protocols in place, which go into effect when a level of emergency activation is deemed necessary in the city. According to that group, Buena Park is currently experiencing a “Level 3” emergency, which is the lowest level of emergency activation. “Section chiefs” were put in place, and they met with the City Manager earlier in the afternoon to plan.
So what’s canceled?
Nearly everything except City Council Meetings. Those will go on as planned, but the public is discouraged from attending.
Community Services Director Jim Box gave an update, saying that the Senior Center is now closed, and classes at city facilities and upcoming city events have almost all been canceled.
This includes adult daycare, the High School Art Show Ceremony, Paws in the Park, the all-city track meeting, the Family Art Fest, and, yes, the beloved Spring Eggstravaganza annual Easter gathering.
The Ehlers Event Center and the Community Center are currently closed, and the events that had been scheduled to use them as venues—there were 29 of them—have been called off.
Box said that frozen meals can be provided to seniors at the Senior Center, but they will need to drive thru and pick them up.
Commission Meetings have been canceled until further notice, except for the Planning Commission. They will still meet “as scheduled and needed,” according to City Clerk Adria Jimenez.
City Council Meetings will continue on their previously scheduled evenings. However only essential items will be discussed. Things like presentations, recognitions and study sessions that require public involvement and draw a crowd, will be postponed.
These meetings will be live streamed on local television and on the city’s website.
Jimenez said if residents have questions they’d like asked of the Council at these meetings, they can email her at cityclerk@buenapark.com.
Councilwoman Sunny Park said she’d driven around to check on local businesses, and was discouraged by how much business they were losing. “I’m very worried about the impact on the local economy,” she said. She inquired about a stimulus package for local businesses and hourly employees who are now losing money. The city said, like municipalities around the nation, it will keep this in mind and look into possibilities as it assesses the fallout.
Speaking of local businesses, Mayor Pro Tem Traut asked about Pirates Dinner Adventure, one of the most spacious and popular businesses along the entertainment corridor, which, Traut pointed out, draws gatherings of over 200 people every day. To his knowledge, at that time, it had announced that it would be staying open. Traut called their position “an embarrassment to our city.”
However, later in the meeting, it was announced that Pirates Dinner Adventure had announced that it would be closing that day at 4 p.m.
The organization CityNet is partnering with the city to serve Buena Park’s homeless population during this time.
At the time of the meeting, it was announced that there were 22 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County, but none in Buena Park.
City Manager Jim Vanderpool said for city-specific information, social media (primarily Facebook) will have the quickest, most up-to-the-minute information. And countywide, ocgov.com will have the most up-to-date information regarding closures and orders to close and local mandates.
Police and fire will still be fully operational. City staff is experimenting with closing City Hall to the public for some days, though employees will still be there. Call City Hall for the most up to date information regarding being open to the public. The city recommends that all business that can be taken care of online or over the phone be done so, as opposed to in person.
Mayor Smith assured viewers that, “We’ll get through this,” and encouraged them to take every precaution to “look out for our neighbors.”
The Buena Park City Council has a regularly scheduled meeting that the public is invited to view online or on TV next Tuesday, March 24, at 5 p.m.
