DAPHNE – Daphne City Hall closed at the end of the business day Friday, March 20 as city officials take action to slow the spread of COVID 19.
The council voted March 16 to declare an emergency and recommend that Mayor Dane Haygood close City Hall as well as other facilities.
“I think we need to look at closing city hall to the public to protect our employees and possibly the citizens that are coming in from this,” Council President Robin LeJeune said. “We don’t know what’s going on right now and we want to be ahead of anything like that.”
Haygood said Wednesday that City Hall would be closed at the end of the day Friday. He said city officials will place drop boxes at the municipal building where residents can leave payments and paperwork. City services will continue to operate and residents can still do business online, through the mail or by calling Daphne offices on the phone.
“I think it’s important to note that we’re going to have a prolonged duration of dealing with this sort of state of emergency or this COVID 19 issue and so one thing we’re trying to do and we’re trying to weigh these as they come up of continuing to provide services for the citizens with making sure we’re protecting the health and safety of our citizenry and employees,” Haygood said. “We’ve looked at every opportunity with a lens to say we need to, as best we can, without really adversely affecting public safety or our employees continuing to provide some level of services.”
Councilwoman Angie Phillips said March 16 that while no COVID 19 cases have been reported closer than Bay Minette, officials need to take action as soon as possible.
“Unfortunately, from everything I’ve read, once the data says you should do something, it’s too late. The cow is out of the barn and you’re closing the barn door with the cow gone,” she said. “This is an emotional time for many. The livelihood for many of our citizens, council members, but it is our job to protect our employees.”
The library has also been closed, but will continue to offer services online. The library is also extending the range of its public wi-fi so that patrons can use that service at the tables outside the building or from cars in the parking lot. Haygood said that with schools closed, some Daphne students need public internet access to continue their education.
“The kids are taking home their Chromebooks, even at the elementary-school age and they need internet access to complete their work assignments and interface with the education system,” Haygood said.
Cutting back on services for senior citizens, such as the Fitness Center and SAIL nutrition program was a difficult decision, Haygood said. Residents depend on the services for health and nutrition, but also for social interaction.
“That’s probably the greatest concern, just because that is an at-risk population,” Haygood said. “The hard part about the senior facility is it’s so intertwined with the daily life of the seniors that utilize that facility.”
The SAIL program provides meals for 35 to 40 residents a day. City officials will offer a drive-up option as well as expanding food delivery programs to provide meals to those residents.
Emergency services are continuing to operate as usual. Interim Fire Chief Kenny Hanak said the Baldwin County 911 center is screening calls for help.
“When the calls come in, they’re asking a series of questions, travel outside the country, the symptoms and they’re relaying that information to us before we ever get on the scene,” Hanak said.
He said the Fire Department has enough supplies, such as gloves and masks to last the next three four weeks. The Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency is working to obtain more supplies for local departments.
While organized recreational activities have been cancelled, city parks are still open. At the Monday meeting, LeJeune asked that Daphne workers place signs at the sites asking residents to observe social distancing and other precautions.
“We want to let our public know that we are being lenient by leaving our parks open, but we want them to utilize their best judgement and to have social distancing and that if the public doesn’t seem to be able to do that, then we have the ability to shut the parks down altogether,” LeJeune said. “I agree with leaving some of the parks open for outside air but I do think we need to put some notices out there at all the parks stating some of the recommendations.”
