Laughlin Buzz: Bullhead City to close beaches on weekends through September

Bullhead City Press Release

Bullhead City to close beaches on weekends through September

BULLHEAD CITY, AZ., - July 7, 2020 – Bullhead City Mayor Tom Brady issued a proclamation today closing down all City beaches and boat launches on weekends. The proclamation declares that all City beaches, boat launches and associated parks will be closed for the remainder of the summer on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to slow the spread of COVID-19. The parks will be open to the public Monday-Thursday.

Closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday:

· Community Park will be closed entirely. The park will be fully fenced with no public access.

· The Colorado River Nature Center will be closed entirely. The main gate will remain locked and no foot traffic will be allowed.
· Sunshine Marina will be closed entirely. Gates will be installed to prevent all vehicles and all foot traffic.

· Rotary Park will be closed to most vehicular access. All beaches will be closed, but access will be granted to basketball courts, tennis courts, pickleball courts, skate park, walking trails, ballfields and dog park. Gates and fencing will be installed to prevent beach and boat launch access. All parking lots will be closed except for the parking lot closest to the pickleball courts.

· Various City street ends with access the Colorado River, such as Trane, Park Lane, Third Street and others will be closed entirely.

In issuing the proclamation, Mayor Brady offered the following comments:

     Today I am issuing an order to close the beaches and boat launches in Bullhead City parks from Friday through Sunday of each week through Labor Day weekend.  This decision, along with the decision regarding the wearing of face coverings, has been an extremely difficult one to make, and it is done with a full understanding of the repercussions to our citizens and our business community. 

     Throughout this entire pandemic, I, as well as the city manager and police chief, have been involved in countless daily meetings and briefings with the top medical professionals, health care administrators, first responders and the governor’s office. Our top priority in every decision has been the ability of our medical community and first responders to safely deliver all the resources necessary to those who need treatment from this disease.  This includes hospital beds, ventilators, personal protective equipment, testing, and adequate staffing to name just a few.  Until recently, the information we received locally was that we were prepared and our number of confirmed cases was low.

     Now we are being told that hospitals elsewhere in Arizona are being overrun and that they are transferring them to rural hospitals that still have capacity.  That hasn’t happened yet in Bullhead City, but our number of positive cases is spiking and our hospital admissions are climbing enough that it is time to take further actions.

     Initially we resisted the mandatory face covering order and strongly encouraged our citizens and businesses to voluntarily comply.  That didn’t work and with the numbers rising dramatically, I was forced into the hard decision of making them mandatory in all indoor public spaces. 

     I had hoped that since we control only a few areas of the Colorado River shoreline, we could keep them open by reducing the numbers of visitors allowed to an acceptable level for social distancing.  However, last weekend our out-of-towners figured out a way to thwart our plan, and they crowded our beaches to socially unacceptable levels.  In trying to control large crowds moving forward, I now realize our limitations and believe that no matter what the City does, non-compliance and overcrowding will continue to occur, which is not acceptable in trying to stem the spread of this virus.  As such, under a new proclamation with further details, I am closing city controlled beaches and boat launches and associated parking lots on Fridays through Sundays. 

     Together we will get through this pandemic, but it requires each of us to do our part in stopping the spread.  Let’s all pray that it ends quickly with no more suffering or fatalities.

City of Bullhead City Emergency Proclamation No. 2020-3