What happened when Boise inspected nearly 100 businesses over alleged virus violations
City officials have conducted nearly 100 inspections involving potential violations of Boise Mayor Lauren McLean’s mask order, but no businesses have actually had their licenses suspended, city data shows.
Meanwhile, more than 140 businesses have called police for help with customers refusing to obey mask-wearing or other pandemic safety measures, resulting in one arrest and three citations.
The inspections and the threat of citations or arrests are the two enforcement measures the city is using to try to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect the local economy.
The city says it performed 99 inspections through Sunday, Jan. 10. Nearly every inspection in the first few weeks resulted from residents’ reports of customers or employees not wearing masks.
A business that violates the health order that went into effect on Nov. 23 could have its license suspended.
Customers who violate the order or a business’s protocols and refuse to leave can be cited or arrested for trespassing. The city says 141 businesses requested assistance through Jan. 10.
Complaints to Boise hotline
The city licenses child-care centers and places that serve food and alcohol. Boise opened a hotline on Nov. 23 for people to file complaints about businesses and for businesses to report non-compliant customers.
“We believe the program has been very successful,” said Lynda Lowry, the city’s director of finance and administration, said in an email on Thursday, Jan. 7. “This partnership with local businesses has ensured COVID-19 guideline compliance in Boise, and as of today, no licenses have been suspended.”
Before the newest order, the city relied on educating people on the importance of the health orders. That meant no one faced penalties for violating the orders, although two people were arrested for misdemeanor trespassing in October after refusing to wear a mask at a Central District Health board meeting.
Many of the calls that came in when the hotline opened were spam calls intended to tie up phone lines, Lowry told the Boise City Council last month. In the first three weeks, the hotline received nearly a thousand calls. Since then, Seth Ogilvie, spokesperson for McLean, said the city hasn’t been keeping close tabs on how many calls have come in, as some are spam.
Records obtained by the Idaho Statesman in response to a public records request show that many of the businesses inspected are restaurants and grocery stores, although gas stations, child care centers and a strip club also appear on the list. The records show 55 cases closed from Nov. 23 to Jan. 5, none of which were subject to any action.
Most complaints are from businesses where either customers or employees weren’t wearing masks, including a food delivery driver picking up an order and customers working at a coffee shop without masks on.
At one business, a caller reported that the business was operating without masks and was having employees and customers sign a waiver. At another, the caller reported that a manager lived with someone who tested positive but still came into work. No violations were given to either establishment.
Two businesses were reported for hosting large events, according to the complaints reviewed by the Statesman, although neither was given a violation.
Some businesses have been inspected multiple times. The Maverik convenience store at 4680 S. Federal Way has been visited at least three times by inspectors, each time because of customers not wearing masks and employees not asking them to. A person who answered the phone at the store said no one was available to comment for this story. A call to Maverik’s corporate media line was not returned.
The Walgreens at 8100 W. Fairview Ave. was visited at least three times, according to the records. Walgreens did not respond to an email to its media line.
The Rite-Aid at 5005 W. Overland Road had at least two visits because of employees not wearing masks properly. A store manager said that while he was new in his role and was unable to confirm that number, customers have generally been very good about wearing masks.
‘We have to stay open’
The Axiom Fitness gym at 801 E. ParkCenter Blvd. was visited three times because of mask concerns, Annie Ostolasa, Axiom’s vice president of operations, said by phone. The city does not license gyms, but Axiom is licensed through the city to sell food and drink.
Ostolasa estimated that Axiom had canceled between 15 and 20 memberships of people who wouldn’t wear masks after they were rude to employees.
She said it can be difficult to enforce the city’s orders and to navigate the different requirements in Boise and the rest of Ada County.
“It’s kept us honest and kept us doing the right thing, but I think it’s been tough to navigate for the employees that are working in the clubs,” Ostolasa said. “That’s not what they come to work for. Trainers want to train, and general managers want to run the facility. We love our members, but we have to stay open.”
Ostolasa said she has reached out to the city for guidance.
“They sent me to one compliance person, and he was helpful, but he didn’t set the rules,” she said. “There is no place for the business to get help or ask questions. It’s just to complain, so if you don’t like how I’m running it, you can call and complain.”
Ogilvie said the directives are laid out in the health order. The city is not able to provide additional guidance outside the order, he said, and he suggested businesses with questions ask their lawyers.
How enforcement works
The process for enforcement has evolved, Ogilvie said in a phone interview.
Typically, when a complaints comes in about a business, that business will get a letter from the city letting it know about the complaint as well as potential penalties for continued violation, he said. Inspectors deliver those letters by hand, Ogilvie said, and then look around a business for any blatant violations.
If the city is not responsible for licensing the business, it passes the complaint to the Central District Health Department, whose jurisdiction includes Ada County. Boise has made more than 190 referrals to CDH, Ogilvie said, including some repeat offenders.
Brandon Atkins, former spokesperson for Central District Health, said the city sends the department an email each day with a list of complaints each day made about businesses that either aren’t in Boise or that the city doesn’t regulate.
“Our call center managers call these businesses to educate them about the state, local, and city public health orders and the public health advisory,” Atkins said in an email. A violation of CDH’s health order for masks in Ada County, if enforced, would be a misdemeanor punishable by a $300 fine, up to six months in jail or both.
Ogilvie said that for the most part, enforcement has led to people being much more willing to wear masks in public spaces. The city has had some problems, though: In some cases, letters have been sent to businesses that aren’t actually in the city. He said 10 businesses outside Boise received such letters.
“Those are a clerical error at some point along the line,” Ogilvie said.
Those businesses later received apology letters that “(recognized) that the jurisdiction of the city of Boise Public Health Order does not extend into the city your business is in.”
One of those businesses, Independence Indoor Shooting in Meridian, shared the letter it received with Idaho Dispatch, a conservative media outlet. The letter, which is signed by Lowry and lists the shooting range’s Meridian address, says subsequent complaints could lead to fines, jail time or both as part of the misdemeanor penalty laid out in the order.
Independence Indoor Shooting did not respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
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