Cities across southern Jefferson County will limit public access to their buildings, as part of a coordinated response to growing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus.
“Representatives of all the cities met yesterday (Monday) so we could all be on the same page on how we respond to this,” Herculaneum City Administrator Jim Kasten said.
In general, city governments will continue to operate on their regular schedules. However, lobby areas in city buildings will be closed to the public.
“This is being done to find a middle ground, where we can continue to operate and serve our communities but at the same time, make sure our employees and the general public remains safe,” said Crystal City Administrator Jason Eisenbeis.
In the case of emergency workers, particularly, preventing the spread of the virus is vital, said De Soto City Manager Todd Melkus.
“One of the things we talked about (on Monday) was what would happen if one of our police officers or firefighters had symptoms of the virus,” he said. “No one really wanted to consider that, but it’s a possibility – that an entire police or fire department would have to be quarantined.”
Most cities also announced they will not disconnect water service to delinquent accounts, although late fees, other charges and interest will continue to accrue.
FESTUS: The city closed all facilities to the public at the end of the business day Tuesday, including the Festus Public Library and the lobbies at City Hall, the Police Department and the Public Works Building.
A statement from the city directs residents to make payments through drop boxes in the front of City Hall and the Public Works Building.
CRYSTAL CITY: Eisenbeis said the lobbies at City Hall, the Police Department and Public Works Department have been closed to the public.
Utility and Municipal Court payments may be made through a night deposit box at City Hall, by telephone, U.S. mail or through the city’s website.
The Crystal City Public Library will be open only for curbside service from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays until further notice.
Eisenbeis said the Crystal City Council will hold its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.
“We are required to approve a city budget and there are other ordinances that must be passed,” Eisenbeis said, “but we will not have any presentations, our department heads will not be asked to be present and there will be no public comments. While this meeting is open to the public, we’re hoping everyone stays home and we’re able to conduct the business that we have to conduct quickly.”
HERCULANEUM: “We’re following what everyone else is doing, including closing our lobbies and suspending water disconnections (as of Monday),” Kasten said. “Our Board of Aldermen decided that we needed to take one further step, though.”
Until further notice, Herculaneum City Park will be closed, including the Kade’s Playground accessible area, the All Bark Village dog park and the baseball fields.
In addition, Mayor Bill Haggard said, all city-sponsored events have been canceled through mid-May, including the city’s annual Easter egg hunt, Arbor Day celebration, the Kade’s Playground birthday party and meetings of the Herculaneum Historical Society.
DE SOTO: Melkus said the city’s Public Library closed Monday and will remain closed until further notice.
The city’s website notes the lobby of City Hall will remain closed until at least April 6, or until further notice.
“We’re like Herculaneum, in that we’ve got a small lobby, so that if you get two or three people in there, you’re all on top of each other. If someone needs to come in to the building, let us know. It’s not like we’re going to have chains on the doors or anything. And we will be checking the drop box (in the rear parking lot) more often.”
Melkus said the city’s parks will remain open.
“We’ll put signs up that indicate the county Health Department and the (federal Centers for Disease Control) are recommending against large gatherings. Right now, the weather isn’t exactly perfect, but soon it will get better, and people will be wanting to have their birthday parties, picnics and weddings. We’re just advising people to exercise caution and bring hand sanitizer.”
The De Soto City Council next meets April 20, and Melkus said Tuesday no plans had been made to cancel or postpone it.
PEVELY: At the close of Monday’s Board of Aldermen meeting, Mayor Stephanie Haas said City Hall would be closing to the public “until further notice.”
She said staff will continue to report to work at City Hall, but the doors will be closed to anyone else.
“City Hall will be closed, but not day-to-day operations,” she said. “We will re-evaluate the situation April 6.”
Kevin Carbery contributed information for this story.
