Dear Commissioner,
I am writing about concerns I have about the occupancy restrictions for critical businesses during the County’s declaration. While I think that the goal of the commission to flatten the curve has merit, the extreme measure of 1 person per 1000 sqft. should be relaxed a bit. I have several thoughts about it.
First, let’s take a look at the mathematics behind it. The CDC guidelines recommend social distancing of at least 6 ft to avoid close contact. Assuming a 6 ft radius around a person, this allows just over 113 sq ft per person (Area of a circle of radius 6 feet). The current order by the county commissioners is currently 9x greater than the CDC guidelines. I acknowledge the fact that in many critical businesses such as grocery stores, banks/credit unions, and the like, you would lose roughly half the area due to product or furniture. Double then the square footage a customer would then need to be socially distance themselves. That comes to just over 225 square foot per customer. Mathematically, you can allow for more individuals to shop safely in groceries, etc and more than meet the current CDC guidelines.
Secondly, the community skews to a lower income profile. Many individuals in the community rely heavily on the benefit checks that come at the end of the month/beginning of next month. Those times will be busier at the end of the month for many financial institutions. Traditional branches generally average 4000 to 6000 square foot per branch, while more recent financial institution branches average 2500 square feet. The current ordinance would generally allow only 6 customers at a time for all financial needs, whether it is withdrawing needed money from their benefit checks, working with customer service about a potential fraud with their ID, or getting a loan to tide them over in this economic crisis we are going to be facing. Some of these transactions are short, while others may be complicated. It is very likely that in some areas of the community people will be standing in line for a very long time just to do what is needed for them to live over the next month.
Finally, logistically, with the reduced hours of many of the groceries stores in the area, those (like myself) that work in essential businesses and critical infrastructure already have a reduced window of getting groceries on a normal day. Many of us will do our weekly shopping for our groceries on the weekend, which will lead to even longer lines at the stores. During the meeting broadcast on Tuesday, Commissioner Hutchinson had visited stores at off peak hours on a generally slow shopping day. There are reasons that Publix puts out their weekly ads on Thursday, as studies show that shopping for groceries increases greatly on weekends, Saturdays are the most common day for obtaining groceries as studies show that nearly 41 million people nationwide purchase their weekly groceries on that day. The lines that were 10-20 minutes on Tuesday will likely be more than an hour on Saturday if you keep the current guidelines. If the goal of the ordinance is to keep people at home to reduce the exposure, limiting the number of people in a store would keep people in line longer, exposed to others waiting to shop. In my case, shopping at off-peak hours, it generally takes me 45 minutes to an hour to do my weekly shopping for a family of five. By increasing the number of people allowed in stores to a more reasonable number, people will quickly get what they may need from the stores and return home in a timely manner.
The meeting shows the appetite from your fellow commissioners. It appears that Commissioners Cornell and Chestnut have the wherewithal to allow for more people to get what they need and get home. Other locales that have similar orders are requiring social distancing for critical businesses, as was the case with Colorado that just announced their stay at home order today. As I had said earlier in the email, a 6 foot radius around people comes to just over 113 square foot. As your constituent, I ask that you reconsider the occupancy restrictions that are in the current order for Alachua County and allow for more reasonable levels of occupancy for your critical businesses.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Kirk Becker
