Seminole’s mask mandate that has been in place since mid-December has expired.

The city council voted Tuesday to let the mandate expire by rejecting a proposal from Ward I Councilman Larry Church to extend it for another 120 days.

Tuesday’s meeting agenda called for “consideration and possible action” on the mandate, which was set to expire at midnight on April 14. Mayor Jeff Griffin was initially met with silence when he read the agenda item to the council, and it appeared that the mandate would expire without further discussion or action.

Church broke the silence by making a motion to extend the mandate but did not initially say for how long. When asked by Griffin if he had a length of time in mind, Church replied, “no, I don’t.”

“Do you want to just leave it in place forever?” Griffin asked. “Forever is a long time,” Church replied. “But I’d say leave it in place for another 90-120 days.”

Church said he had been in contact with both pro-mandate constituents and people who are in opposition to a mask ordinance. He said those against mandated mask-wearing cite political reasons for their stance. “They say no government should be able to require a citizen to wear a mask,” Church said.

Dana Miller, who was sworn in as Ward I Councilor at the beginning of the meeting, questioned what was being done to enforce the existing mask ordinance.

“As far as the ordinance that’s in place right now, have there been any problems? Have people been going to jail? What’s happening with that?” she asked. “There doesn’t seem to be any enforcement,” Miller added.

“I believe your observations are the same as what I’ve seen. The stores don’t seem to be enforcing it, even if they have their own mask policy,” Griffin said before deferring to Police Chief Jon Withers for clarification.

“There have been no arrests or citations issued for that. In the beginning, there were some calls, but they were handled between the business and the person, who wound up leaving the establishment,” Withers said.

City Attorney Brad Carter affirmed that no citations have been issued for mask ordinance violations.

The motion to extend the mandate failed by a 5-3 vote. Church, along with Miller and Eddie Foreman, voted in favor of the extension. Votes in opposition were cast by Tim Poplin, Cory Crabtree, Trace Connor, Chris Anson and John Cramer.

City officials said that even though the mask mandate has expired, citizens should still keep their guard up against COVID-19.

“Although the mask mandate is ending, it is recommended to continue wearing a mask. Social distancing guidelines remain in effect until further notice,” the city posted to its social media page. “We ask citizens to continue to respect each other and businesses. Please be courteous and wear a mask if a business requires a mask.”