(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) With a 6-3 vote Wednesday, St. Joseph city council elected to allow phase one of the city's reopening plan to expire Monday, June 15.

During a work session, there was a debate over allowing businesses to get back to normal versus listening to the health experts and continuing with caution.

St. Joseph mayor Bill McMurray said the ultimate decision was not just based on positive cases of Covid-19, but also the health of the economy.

“You follow the medical opinion and the metrics and the economics,” McMurray said. “It’s kind of like a three-legged stool, the medical opinion, the metrics and the economics and try and strike the right balance so that everyone will be safe and we can continue to balance lives and livelihoods.”

McMurray said the council will continue to meet weekly to review progress.

The mayor added that city hall will issue an “executive suggestion” for food service workers and others to continue wearing masks but there will be no order to do so.