ALPENA — The Alpena Municipal Council on Monday strongly considered ignoring a portion Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s coronavirus-related executive orders.

All five council members were in favor of voting to allow landscapers and yard service businesses to return to work in spite of the governor’s determination that such workers are not essential and should therefore stay home to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The council decided to stand pat after a plea from Alpena Police Chief Joel Jett and legal advice from the city attorney.

Mayor Matt Waligora said many seniors are unable to maintain their own yards and properly groomed property helps keep the city’s storm drain system free of debris, which can prevent flooding.

Council Members Cindy Johnson, Mike Nowak, Danny Mitchell, and Amber Hess supported allowing the yard businesses to operate in the city. In most instances, those business owners work alone, and, if they do have employees, the six-foot social distancing recommendation would be easy to comply with, they argued.

Waligora said there would be little contact with the public, as well.

The support was short-lived, however, as Jett said the city shouldn’t go against the governor’s order.

Jett said he understands the concerns of council members and the business owners, but the state could take action against the city if the council approved a resolution allowing paid yard work to continue.

“Whether you like the order or not, whether you agree with it or not, it is a legal order,” he said. “If you do this, I can pretty much assure you the attorney general will be getting involved and the city could be in some legal jeopardy.”

Jett said his officers would have to choose between enforcing state rules or the city’s policy.

“When we get into the territory of deciding what laws we are going to follow or not follow, we get into dangerous territory,” Jett said.

Other types of businesses would surely try to get the council to do the same for them, Jett added.

After Jett’s comments, each council member did a 180-degree turn on their original thought, which put the issue to bed.

Whitmer’s current order expires on April 30. She has said the order will be extended, though some rules could be relaxed.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.