Columbus officials have decided to keep city buildings closed through Jan. 31 due to the recent spike of COVID-19 cases in Bartholomew County and the state.
During this time, city business will continue with employees still working, answering phone calls and emails and meeting with members of the public by appointment only.
“We’re open to the public, we just don’t want people wandering around throughout the building,” said Mary Ferdon, executive director of administration and community development.
Public city meetings will be conducted virtually through January. This includes meetings for City Council, the Board of Works and Public Safety, City Utilities Board, Human Rights Commission, Redevelopment Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals. Meetings will be livestreamed and available via WebEx.
Last month, the city announced that it would close buildings starting on Nov. 16. Ferdon said that the closures were extended due to local COVID-19 data.
“We’re following the numbers that come from the COVID-19 task force, the local metrics,” she said. “And, like the rest of Indiana and nationally, we are seeing the numbers tick up.”
She added that the city talks to Columbus Regional Health officials daily, and that the decision to keep buildings closed was made for the safety of both the public and city employees, who are still working in city buildings.
Ferdon said that so far, the number of city staff who have fallen ill or had to quarantine has been “fairly low.”
“We feel that we’ve been able to continue to provide service at every department,” she said. “So this is our attempt to continue to do that, reduce absenteeism but still provide service.”
The city’s announcement regarding closures stated that Mayor Jim Lienhoop is urging the public to “take the recent surge of the virus seriously” and follow guidelines from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State of Indiana.
“Masks, social distancing, good hygiene and avoiding crowds and groups is key to protecting the community’s health and economy,” the statement added.
On Wednesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered that Indiana hospitals postpone elective surgeries starting next week to free up hospital capacity amid the steep increase in serious COVID-19 cases.
State officials said that the state’s latest COVID-19 metric tracking map shows 36 of the state’s 92 counties in the most dangerous red category, up from 16 a week agao.
Bartholomew County has remained in orange status, the next highest rating, but local officials have said depending on the metrics, Bartholomew County could join Johnson and Jackson counties in red status at any time.
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The full announcement can be found at www.columbus.in.gov/columbus-indiana-news.
To livestream public meetings as they occur, or to watch archived video of past meetings, visit www.columbus.in.gov/video/live-streaming/.
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The following is a list of city facilities and how the closure will affect them:
- City Hall and Police Office Building – closed, appointment only
- Animal Care Building – closed, appointment only
- Donner Center Building – closed, appointment only
- Utilities Building – closed, appointment only, drive-through is open
- Fire Stations – closed to public
- Hamilton Center – Open to those registered for scheduled activities. Visitors by appointment only. For more information about service, call Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena at (812) 376-2686.
- Columbus Gymnastics Center — Open to those registered for scheduled activities. Visitors by appointment only. For more information about service, call Columbus Gymnastics Center at (812) 376-2545.
- DPW Building – closed to the public
- Transit – buses will continue to run as normal
- Parks – open
- Aviation offices – closed, appointment only
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