New Beaufort Co. committee will draft COVID rules. One councilman wants to shut it down
Hours after Beaufort County saw a record-breaking weekly average of new COVID-19 cases, County Council Chair Joe Passiment announced the creation of an ad hoc COVID committee that will recommend policies and requirements for the county’s 1,300 employees and the people who visit county-owned buildings.
The committee, made up of three County Council members and three staff employees, will decide whether to recommend that the county implement mask requirements, vaccine policies and cleaning protocols for buildings. County Council will decide whether to pass the proposals next month.
Passiment made no mention of any upcoming COVID-related requirements or recommendations for the general public as the number of new coronavirus cases increases across the county and as Beaufort Memorial Hospital CEO Russell Baxley urges local officials to consider new mask mandates.
Monday’s County Council meeting, where none of the six people who addressed council during the public comment period mentioned anything about COVID-19, stood in contrast to the Beaufort County School Board meeting 5 miles away, where 66 people spoke for hours about a potential mask requirement in schools.
Passiment acknowledged Monday the county’s struggles in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, citing previous building shutdowns, emergency mask rules and vaccine clinics. The county last week briefly required employees to get vaccinated to receive paid COVID leave before backtracking on the policy three days later.
“We still have not found the perfect solution,” Passiment said Monday. “We are now faced with rising infections and pressures on the hospitals and first responders to treat those who are being infected by the virus.”
Passiment’s announcement during Monday night’s County Council meeting surprised several on council. The issue was not on the agenda publicized before the meeting — an apparent strategic move.
Last week, a group of anti-mask protesters derailed a Hilton Head Island Town Council meeting in which officials planned to discuss the town’s new COVID state of emergency. Hilton Head’s elected officials adjourned the meeting early and left the room flanked by police.
Council member Logan Cunningham, who has regularly fought all county COVID restrictions, was visibly upset after Passiment’s announcement. He said he hopes Beaufort County employees will push back against any potential requirements.
After the meeting, Cunningham went live on Facebook from his car and accused Passiment of “closed-door politics.” He encouraged his followers to “share the mess out of this post.”
“I will do everything I can on my end to bring this to light and get as much information as possible,” Cunningham told his Facebook followers. “I’ll ... hopefully get this entire group shut down. There’s no reason for this whatsoever.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Cunningham’s post has more than 290 reactions, 160 comments and 340 shares.
Council member York Glover said he also was surprised by Passiment’s committee, but applauded it.
“This is really a serious situation that we’re in right now,” he said. “I commend you for doing it even though I didn’t know you were going to do it. It’s all right. It’s for the good.”
Passiment responded: “As chairman, I have the authority to create these committees, and I did.”
Who’s on the committee?
In his announcement to council on Monday, Passiment named the six people who will be tasked with creating recommendations for county employees:
▪ Council member Larry McElynn will serve as committee chair and will represent Hilton Head Island;
▪ Council member Mark Lawson will represent areas south of the Broad River;
▪ Council member Alice Howard will represent areas north of the Broad River;
▪ Tom Keaveny, deputy county attorney, will give legal advice;
▪ Scott Marshall, human resources director, will give policy advice;
▪ Quandara Grant, detention center director, will give the committee employee information and advice.
The committee will present a full report of recommendations to county council on Sept. 27, Passiment said.
“Time is of the essence,” he said.
