Complaints pouring in over COVID changes at Mecklenburg parks, officials say

Two Mecklenburg commissioners want county officials to reconsider new COVID-19 restrictions that have temporarily closed parks at dusk and reduced recreation options.

All recreation, senior and nature centers, along with indoor shelters, are temporarily closed, county officials announced last week. That includes the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center, the Skatepark at Naomi Drenan Recreation Center and camping at McDowell Nature Preserve.

Outdoor picnic shelters remain open, but gatherings are generally prohibited except among household family members.

The changes were made alongside a directive from Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris, calling for people to stay home as often as possible and to suspend group indoor exercise or close-contact sports activity, including the use of indoor swimming pools.

Harris’ directive is slated to expire in less than two weeks, though county officials have acknowledged it could be extended if coronavirus conditions don’t show sufficient improvement. Unlike previous stay-at-home orders, the directive does not carry the weight of a mandatory government order, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has said it will only issue citations as a “last-measure.”

County Commissioner Laura Meier, who represents southeast Charlotte, said she’s received about 125 complaints from residents in her district — mostly about lights not being turned on at tennis courts and athletics fields. Meier pressed Harris about reversing that guidance, saying outdoor activity is important for people’s mental health in the evening hours after work and remote learning.

“If there’s no contact tracing to tennis, why can the lights not stay on?” Meier asked Harris.

“I’d love for the parks to be open,” Harris told commissioners during their board meeting Wednesday. “I want sports, but I want kids in school, too...

“As long as our numbers are as high as they are, everybody is at risk, and that’s why we’re asking people for a short period of time to consider staying home unless it’s absolutely necessary or essential for them to be out,” the health director said.

Harris’ recommendations came in the aftermath of a post-holiday surge in new infections that could strain hospital resources. Still, the health directive is less restrictive than local measures taken at the start of the pandemic.

To clamp down on gatherings in April, County Manager Dena Diorio had ordered park gates closed to car traffic. Tennis courts were locked, nets for volleyball courts taken down, and basketball goals zip-locked to deter people from contact sports.

Elaine Powell, vice chair of the county commissioners, said she has received hundreds of complaints calling Mecklenburg’s directive tied to parks “unreasonable” and “nonsensical.” Powell said she visits nature preserves while wearing a mask and walking more than six feet away from people.

“I need that time outside,” Powell said. “If we’re going to have a directive like this, the public deserves to understand it ... They deserve to understand why the pools are closed, why we’re not turning the lights on. It shouldn’t be a mystery.”

The comments forged an unusual departure for commissioners as they openly critiqued part of the county’s pandemic response, while also reaffirming their support and trust for the health director. Harris said people should not mingle at parks right now — but they can enjoy their backyards with family members.

“The (coronavirus) numbers that I have provided to you every week are the the reason,” she told Powell. “The deaths that we’re seeing in our community are the reason.”

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The county has logged more than 79,000 coronavirus cases and 721 deaths, Mecklenburg officials said Thursday afternoon.

Compared to last spring, Mecklenburg’s coronavirus conditions are in “much worse shape now,” Harris told commissioners.

“If people are choosing to go the parks, I’m not stopping them,” Harris said. “ This was a recommendation from us based on what we believe makes a difference.”

Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Director W. Lee Jones, Jr. said his department will follow Harris’ example and limit the prospects of people congregating at fields. Turning on lights at night, Jones said, could also create equity issues based on different park amenities throughout the county.

“This is the definitely the way to go, and I stand by our decision to do that,” Jones said.

‘Only three weeks’

The virus is circulating rapidly throughout the county, Harris repeatedly emphasized on Wednesday.

Hospitalizations, considered a lagging indicator in the COVID-19 pandemic, are still increasing. In the past week, the average number of people needing hospital-level care reached 540 — nearly 100 more patients since the start of January, a Charlotte Observer analysis of public health data finds.

The positivity rate, meanwhile, has decreased to 12.4% in the past week, Harris said. Still, the volume is more than double the state’s target to get the virus under control. The positivity rate averaged 10% after Thanksgiving and 15% after Christmas.

George Dunlap, chairman of the Mecklenburg County commissioners, strongly endorsed Harris’ directive, saying some residents are ignoring coronavirus safeguards and putting the community at heightened risk of infection.

“People want to do what they want to do, which is why we have so much spread,” Dunlap said.

“This is in lieu of shutting the place down,” he said, referencing the latest directive, which seeks voluntary compliance instead of instituting another stay-at-home order. “But we’re not trying to do that — we don’t want to do that ... In this case, the reasonable measure was only three weeks. For three weeks.”

Harris’ directive asks people to avoid non-essential travel, remain at home between 10 p.m-5 a.m., and avoid recreational activities that could involve close contact with others. Under the state’s modified stay-at-home order, there’s already an enforceable curfew but travel, recreation and businesses are largely open, albeit with capacity limitations and social distancing requirements.

The county’s directive also calls for businesses and school to use full virtual options instead of in-person activity, which prompted Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools recently to further delay a return of students to classrooms.