Disagreements about the safety and implications of public gatherings arose among Riverside City Council members at their last two regular meetings, ending a two-month streak of unanimous decisions.

Councilperson Jeanine Redlinger voiced opposition at both meetings to city-approved public gatherings, including a request for the Riverside Area Community Club (RACC) to host a demolition derby in Hall Park, proposed by event organizer Kevin Rodgers.

“I feel like it’s irresponsible and dangerous activity right now, the numbers have gone up, I don’t think recommending (masks or social distancing) is going to make anything happen,” Redlinger said at the Aug 3 meeting. “I think the people that will come to it are people that believe they are immune, and they’re not going to wear any kind of mask. I don’t think they will follow any kind of social distancing, there’s no way he can make them.”

Councilperson Edgar McGuire said he thought decisions about pandemic-related risks were better left up to individuals.

“I think it’s more of a personal choice,” McGuire said. “If you go to this, you know what risks you’re taking, and if you don’t want to take risks, then you stay home.”

Redlinger disagreed.

“You bring those risks to town and then they get taken home,” she said in response to McGuire. “It’s not just the people that are there that are at risk, it’s the people that they will be around later, that’s how a pandemic works.

“I think we’re responsible for safety of all the citizens and I just don’t see this as a good idea for the whole town. I don’t want to spoil anybody’s fun, but I think life is more important than fun.”

The debate was rekindled later in the meeting, when the council discussed approval for a “Movie and Meal Night,” also organized by RACC.

Kevin Meller, another RACC event organizer, said the event would be conducive to social distancing and framed it as a low risk “dry run,” which could inform future decisions about public gatherings during the pandemic.

“We also need a chance to learn how to do events in the COVID age because there’s a very good possibility that if we don’t have a vaccine this winter, we’re going to have to figure this out and be doing things next year,” Meller said at the meeting. “At the end of the day, if the city council doesn’t feel comfortable with doing this sort of event, I respect that decision.”

Although Meller said the event would include social distancing and require masks for volunteers, Redlinger voiced similar concerns to the demolition derby.

“I do appreciate your efforts, but a lot of people I’ve talked to don’t think it’s the right time to have gatherings,” she said after declaring her vote against the event.

The Council tabled a request from Ellis Helmuth to host part of a slow pitch softball tournament in town after the event lacked a written mitigation plan during its Aug. 17 meeting.

Council Person Tom Sexton said he was open to hosting the tournament in Riverside but suggested alternatives to holding a crowd-drawing final game there.

“High schools, they’re having sports activities, I don’t see why this is any different,” Sexton said. “(It could) come to saying ‘no, we’re not going to hold this event’ to ‘yes we possibly will, we’re just not going to have a final game’ because of the amount of people.”

Mayor Allen Schneider said council approval did not necessarily set the events in stone.

“We can approve it now, but everybody understands that the situation is fluid,” he said Aug. 3. “There’s no guarantee that a change in situation wouldn’t cause us to rescind that.”