Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THIS SIGN shown Thursday now serves as a warning to anyone entering the Wakefield municipal building. Although city services remain unchanged, the sign advises residents not to enter the building if they are showing any signs of illness. The precautions are a result of recent global concerns about coronavirus.
By CHARITY SMITH and
TOM LAVENTURE
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, city officials in Bessemer announced Thursday they are limiting the amount of public interaction at city hall.
"There's no need to panic. It's really not about us catching it. Most of us in here will be fine. It is really just about getting on top of things to help protect our most at risk citizens - such as the elderly, those with heart disease and diabetes," said Charly Loper, Bessemer's city manager.
All the doors to city hall will be locked, with the exception of the library door. City officials are requesting that all bills be paid either by check, which can be dropped in the library drop box, or via credit card at cityofbessemer.org. To pay in cash, a person will have to enter through the library door and use the phone there to contact the appropriate office.
The Bessemer library will also be offering a curbside pick-up service.
A city of Ironwood press release on Thursday said officials there are also monitoring the situation and will adjust services as necessary to ensure the safety of staff and public.
Essential meetings will be held at locations where social distancing is possible. Non-essential public meetings will be cancelled or re-scheduled to later dates.
Video conferencing and remote workstation options for staff are being considered where remote service alternatives are possible. If necessary, city operations will be adjusted to provide service from the water utility office as a social distancing option.
Residents are encouraged to pay bills online or to use the drop box at curbside if feeling ill.
The city's cleaning routine has increased in frequency to include regular disinfection of counters, door handles, hand rails and other surfaces at all public offices. Additional hand-sanitizing stations were also installed in city offices.
Police, fire and public works departments will ensure that adjustments will maintain essential services and inter-jurisdictional agreements exist with Gogebic County and with Iron County, Wisconsin.
Wakefield city officials are also being mindful of the pandemic. They intend to keep their city offices open for the moment, but is encouraging the public to follow basic hygiene practices.
"We are just asking that people following basic guidelines such as wash their hands, cover mouth when sneezing, and if you are sick stay home," said city manager Robert A. Brown.
A post on the city of Wakefield Facebook page directed to city hall visitors said, "Those visitors that exhibit any of these symptoms will not be allowed into this facility."
Bessemer officials cancelled this week's Downtown Development Authority meeting and next week's library board meeting. Monday's city council meeting is still on as scheduled, however, officials are asking the public not to attend in person, but rather to use the livestream to watch and submit questions.
Both Bessemer and Wakefield are working closely with the Gogebic County Emergency Management Committee to determine how each city should best handle the threat of coronavirus.
"We are keeping on top of things," said Heidi DeRosso, coordinator of Gogebic County Emergency Management. "We have a committee that usually meets quarterly, but we are now meeting weekly because of the coronavirus."
The Gogebic County Courthouse is currently planning to remain open as well.
"We are just taking all the precautions that we can. We are doing lots of cleaning," said Juliane Giakino, county administrator. "This could change, but for right now we are remaining open. There are so many emails coming in that we are monitoring this on an hourly basis."
Although the courthouse is remaining open to the public, officials with Gogebic County's 98th District Court are following advice from the Michigan Supreme Court and postponing a pair of jury trials scheduled for this month.
One of the trials has been moved to the end of April, according to magistrate and court administrator Mary Ahnen, and a new date hasn't been set for the other trial. Notices to jurors were sent out for one of the trials, Ahnen said, and the court's recorded jury phone line has been updated with the latest information.
Ahnen said that, as of Thursday, much of the court's other business is scheduled to continue as planned but accommodations will be made to anyone who is ill.
"Court hearings in general are going on. If people call and say, 'I'm really sick and can't come in,' we're not subjecting them to (providing a doctor's note)," Ahnen said.
Iron County officials in Hurley said they are mindful of the pandemic, but have taken no steps to restrict visitors from the county courthouse. A meeting with the county's department heads is planned for Monday to discuss the virus.
An official at the Hurley City Hall said while they haven't been restricting access to the building, they have been wiping down the counters more often.
Many of the officials above said they were referring people to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's website, cdc.gov, for further details on how to handle the virus.
Editor's Note: The Daily Globe's Richard Jenkins contributed to this story.
