City announces their reopening plan

With Oklahoma moving forward with Phase 3 of the Open Up and Recover Safely on June 1, the City of Guthrie has announced their plans to begin opening back up municipal facilities, operations and services.

Regular scheduled meetings involving city authorities, boards, commission, committees and trust meetings will resume June 1.

Customer “service areas” of municipal facilities such as City Hall, police and fire departments, municipal services and airport will reopen on June 8.

Municipal Court, held on the second floor of City Hall, will reopen on Wednesday, June 17 when the regular 2:30 p.m. arraignment docket.

City leaders added the plans are subject to modification based upon future Oklahoma Governor Stitt Guidelines, CDC recommendations and Public Health Data.

Additional Notes

— Highland Hall, 1102 E Warner Avenue, except for the food preparation area leased to the Logan County Aging Services shall remain closed until further notice.

— Municipal Court

• There will be specially set dockets to make up postponed arraignments and reviews on more time to pay as follows: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 2:30pm; Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 2:30pm; and Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 2:30pm.  Each of these dockets will include no more than 29 defendants (added to the four courtroom staff, this will comply with the CDC guidelines of no more than 33 attendants in the Municipal Courtroom at one time).
• There will be a specially set docket to make up postponed trials for Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 3:30pm.
• For all future court dockets, defendants appearing are required to arrive promptly at the start of the docket, but not before; once a defendant has concluded his or her participation in Court and made any necessary payments, the defendant shall promptly exit City Hall.  Future dockets will not have more than 29 defendants scheduled, and that shall remain in effect until CDC issues revised guidelines regarding social distancing requirements.  For arraignment and cost review hearings, the Courtroom shall be limited to only defendants, their legal representation if any, and Court staff; family members and friends of defendants shall not be allowed into the Courtroom.  For trials, only defendants, their legal representation if any, witnesses and Court staff shall be allowed into the Courtroom.  For cases involving juveniles, the parent or legal guardian of the juvenile shall be allowed to attend Court with the juvenile.
• All individuals appearing for Court shall have their temperature take upon entry to City Hall.  Any individual with a fever of over 100.4 degrees F will be denied access.  Individuals shall also be screened for symptoms upon entry (including but not limited to cough, fever, shortness of breath, and/or close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19).  Any defendant denied access to City Hall due to fever or illness shall be provided a makeup Court date by the Clerk’s office.
• All individuals attending Court shall wear a facemask, except when testifying.

— Public Library

• The Public Library will be limited to drive-up/pick-up services only.  Pick up items includes all reserved library materials and brown bag specials, meaning STEM based activities for kids. 
• Effective Monday, June 22, 2020
• The Library will allow patrons to enter and exit through a designated entry point.
• Library Staff will generally follow the guidelines for the General Public & City Staff/ Employees as set forth herein.

• The use of public computers will be restricted to comply with CDC social distancing guidelines.
• Library patrons will also be encouraged to use the library for one hour or less in order for all patrons to have an opportunity to utilize the library.
• A designated space will be provided for library patrons to place all items they have handled (touched) during their visit, that have not been checked out. These items will be sanitized by Library Staff before being re-shelved.

— General Public

*** Encouraged to use remote payment options****

Use the “NIGHT DROP” for utility and payments. The “Night Drop” is located just inside the north entrance door of City Hall at 101 N. Second Street.

Payments can also be made by mail and credit card payments may be made at www.cityofguthrie.com

Questions on payments may be directed to the City Utilities Office: 405-282-0492

Entrance into Municipal Facilities

Signs will be posted near the main entrance to each facility

Instructing that individuals experiencing any symptoms of coronavirus or any other transmittable illnesses should not enter the facility but may call 405-282-0492 to conduct business.

That an “Entry Check” will be conducted of all entrants: 

Upon entrance everyone’s temperature shall be taken (If they have a fever over 100.4 F, they will be denied access)

Individuals shall also be screened for symptoms upon entry (i.e., cough, fever, shortness of breath, and close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19).

Wearing a mask/ cloth face covering shall be mandatory of everyone.

Required on-site meetings with city employees will only be held following CDC social distancing guidelines and proper sanitation protocols.

— City Staff and Employees

• Customer service employees that are not behind glass shall wear a protective face covering while at their respective counters. Employees behind glass may opt to wear a protective face covering at their preference.
• Other employees when interacting with the general public or other city staff shall wear a protective face covering if CDC (Center for Disease Control) recommended social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
• The City will cease utilizing staggered shifts and telework for all employees beginning Monday, June 8^th. All employees will begin reporting to physical work locations on that day. With this transition, the following procedures will occur:

*** Any Exceptions must be approved by the City manager***

• Employees that exhibit any symptoms of illness should not report to work and should seek medical attention, while also reporting any absences to the appropriate supervisor.
• At the beginning of each shift all employees temperatures shall be taken (If they have a fever over 100.4 F, they will be denied access)
• Employees shall also be screened for symptoms upon entry (cough, fever, shortness of breath, and close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19).
• Any employee that needs to provide childcare under the revised FLMA rules should speak with Human Resources about that paperwork.
• Employees shall not use the workstations, tools, equipment, phones, computers, desk chairs, etc., of other employees unless those areas have been properly sanitized.
• The City will provide sanitation supplies to employees to clean their work areas.
• Employees will be allowed to leave the workspaces and facilities to take breaks and eat meals.
• Employees will not be allowed to congregate in breakrooms, copy rooms, or meeting spaces.
• Employees will not be allowed to have personal guests in facilities.
• Employees should not participate in any unnecessary physical contact.
• Employees should practice good hand hygiene including proper handwashing frequently, avoiding touching the face, and properly covering any cough or sneeze.
• All internal meetings will be held in spaces large enough to accommodate the meeting and also allow for social distancing.
• Hand sanitizer will be made available throughout the facilities for staff and customers to utilize.
• Any employee or customer concerns can be submitted in writing to the Human Resource Director at kelsenbeck@cityofguthrie.com or by phone at 405-282-0098.