Title
Authorizing the Saint Paul Public Library Agency to apply for and accept grant funds to plan, prepare for, or respond to the COVID-19 outbreak
Body
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued Executive Order 20-01, “Declaring a Peacetime Emergency and Coordinating Minnesota’s Strategy to Protect Minnesotans from COVID-19,” declaring a peacetime emergency under Minn. Stat. § 12.31, subd. 2; and
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, Mayor Melvin Carter issued an emergency declaration, directing City departments to review operations and legal proceedings to determine whether any such operations or proceedings need adjusted or suspended, among other directions; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the Saint Paul City Council extended the emergency declaration for ninety (90) days until June 15, 2020; and
WHEREAS, the Center for Disease Control has labeled COVID-19 as a pandemic illness; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 poses a risk to the health, welfare, and safety of the public; and
WHEREAS, the necessary resources to respond to and recover from this pandemic will exceed those resources available within the City and the Saint Paul Public Library Agency, and additional resources will be needed from Ramsey County, and state and federal sources; and
WHEREAS, to avoid delays of approving this funding due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saint Paul Public Library Agency needs expedited approval to apply for and accept grants; and
WHEREAS, once a grant is awarded and the amount is known the Saint Paul Public Library Agency will submit a Library Board resolution to amend the budget in the amount specified by said grant; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Library Board authorizes the Saint Paul Public Library Agency to apply for and accept grant funds to plan, prepare for, or respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, and if awarded, authorizes the appropriate Saint Paul Public Library Agency officials to execute the grant agreement.