A Message from Mayor Goodell Regarding the City's Declaration of a State of Emergency, Facility Closures Due to COVID-19

To our Mission Viejo family:

On behalf of my City Council colleagues and the City of Mission Viejo, I want to assure you that your community is as safe, secure and protected as possible during this challenging time of COVID-19. This infection is being more fully understood every day, and more specific preventative measures are being formulated daily. Until we understand the full picture of the disease and the best responses to it, we must follow the broad preventative measures as directed by the President, Congress, our Governor and Legislature, County Board of Supervisors and Chief medical officers at all levels.

We’ve had to make the extremely difficult decisions to cancel beloved and important community events. These hard choices are made out of an abundance of caution to protect you, our Mission Viejo family.

We also want you to know that the City has an extremely organized Emergency Operations Center, staffed with well-trained professionals. Led by the City Manager, his team monitors all levels of government and medical officers to maintain the City at the most current and highest of response levels. While our City was already covered by the County of Orange Board of Supervisors declaration of a local State of Emergency, I and my Council colleagues have jointly reviewed the totality of the circumstances and concluded that a City declaration of a State of Emergency is in order. This will aid in our ability to tap into outside resources and ease the process to receive any possible Federal reimbursement for costs incurred.

As we move forward, we will be closing certain public facilities under a prudent, thoughtful, and protective course of action. As of today, the Potocki Center for the Arts and Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center are closed at least to the end of March. Essential services offered by the community center, such as senior nutrition programs, will continue albeit in a different form as we follow health directives to limit gatherings and maintain social distancing. We will also be curtailing and limiting public participation at other sites and may announce additional closures as conditions dictate.

We ask that you all help us by following the guidelines, rules and recommendations that the City, County, State and Federal governments issue – these are the best directives to keep you safe and to limit the impacts of COVID-19.

Some of the actions my City Council colleagues and I and our City Manager-led Executive team have found necessary or advisable to undertake are outlined in this latest news update. While the COVID-19 virus health emergency is extremely fluid, we will continue to provide you with timely information.

We thank you for your trust in our efforts to protect our Mission Viejo community and know that you will continue to assist us in these efforts to keep our residents’ quality of life the best it can be.

Respectfully,
Mayor Brian Goodell