County plans reopenings, economic recovery

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ROBERTSDALE – Limited county services will resume Monday as Baldwin officials begin to work on reopening offices as well as planning an economic recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Baldwin County Commission voted Tuesday, April 28, to begin a phased reopening of offices closed since March. Commission Chairwoman Billie Jo Underwood said the reopening will be in phases.

“What we really wanted to do is get some county services back and available that are not available by phone, email or online.,” Underwood said.

On Monday, Baldwin County Probate and Revenue Department offices will reopen on an appointment basis to allow residents to register vehicles and conduct other business. Anyone wanting to make an appointment can call 251-943-5061 to arrange a meeting.

Lobbies will still be closed, and residents will be required to practice social distancing while using the offices.

The commission met Tuesday morning before Gov. Kay Ivey issued her “Safer at Home,” order that would allow Alabama beaches to reopen and some small businesses to resume operations.

Casey Williams, president of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, said the order came as some local businesses are running short of time.

“Right now, businesses aren’t coming forward saying we’re going to close tomorrow, but they have all said we’re hanging in there, but we can’t do it much longer. That’s the overall message we’re getting,” Williams said. “They were, for the most part, telling us that if we can just begin to resume and get some normalcy, we will be OK, but then, of course, there’s the big, ‘what if.’ What if we get shut down again?”

The commission also voted to establish the Baldwin County Recovery Working Group to help officials, business leaders and nonprofits deal with the economic effects of the outbreak and closings.

“This is a different type of situation,” Underwood said. “I don’t think anybody has been in this arena before. We don’t know what our citizens are going to need. We know that this was a health crisis that created an economic crisis. It has put fear in a lot of minds.”

The group will include county and city officials as well as representatives from chambers of commerce and other business groups and community organizations. Underwood said the group will work to develop plans for recovery.

“We don’t exactly know the blueprint for this recovery, but we know that there has been a mental health crisis during this. We know there has been an economic crisis during this. There has also been a health care crisis during this for those who were actually affected by the virus personally. So, what we are trying to do is organize a recovery plan so that we will have something available for our citizens so that they can reach out with questions,” Underwood said. “I don’t know that we’ll have all the answers, but what we will do is try to steer them in the right direction to where they can receive help.”

Willliams, who will be a chamber representative on the group, said the small businesses hardest hit by the downturn are the backbone of Baldwin County’s economy.

“To have a thriving retail and small business community, we must have healthy individuals who can work there and manage and the owners of the small businesses, so critical to our economy,” Williams said. “We will be making sure our small business community, which is the heartbeat of our economy and also the nonprofits which is are the soul of our community.”

Baldwin County has 173 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday morning. Zach Hood, Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency Director, said the cooperation of business owners and residents who have complied with restrictions and social distancing guidelines have helped keep local cases down.

“Our case numbers look very good considering the circumstances and I certainly want to say that the reasons our case numbers look like they do is because you have followed the directions given from the medical officials and as we continue to do that, I have no doubt that we will have a positive outcome for us in the future,” Hood said.

He said local first responders and government agencies have also worked together to provide the equipment needed to deal with the outbreak.

“Those needs were in the form of face shields, masks, gowns and gloves. We have continued through the last 46 days to provide these items and I will say that most areas within the county have a resupply of PPE, so the PPE crisis has certainly gotten better for all of us,” Hood said. “The fact that our medical providers have what they need to take care of the sick is certainly critical and we will continue to do everything we can to make sure those needs are met working with public health.”