Edwardsville Announces Changes due to COVID-19

EDWARDSVILLE - The City of Edwardsville remains committed to the safety and welfare of its residents. As more information becomes available at all levels of government, the City continues to adjust its procedures to reflect best practices and conformity with national and state declarations. Please note the changes in City procedures:

City Council and Committee Meetings

All-City Council and Committee Meetings have been moved to the Wildey Theatre, 252 N. Main St. until further notice to allow for more social distancing and better handwashing facilities.

• To date, meetings will stay on the same schedule and are open to the public.
• The office of the Governor and Attorney General are both studying the possibility of temporary exceptions to the Illinois Open Meetings Act. This could provide for live streaming of meetings that would be closed to the public.
• If the City determines this is an option, it will close the meetings and provide further instructions to its residents as to how all can stay informed about City business.

City Hall/City Clerks

In support of the efforts to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the City of Edwardsville is suspending all disconnections for water services for all of our customers effective immediately. The order remains in effect until May 1, 2020.

• To protect our employees and the general public, we are no longer accepting in person payments at City Hall.
• Customers may continue to pay their utility bill online, over the phone, use the drop box outside City Hall, located at 118 Hillsboro, or mail payments through the U.S. Mail.
• Learn more at www.cityofedwardsville.com.
• The City will waive late payment penalties, processing fees for payments made over the phone or online.

Public Works

At close of business today, public access to the Public Works Building, 200 East Park, will be limited to the front vestibule. Visitors may drop off materials, building permits, plans, etc., within the vestibule. Payments will not be accepted. Payments must be made online or placed within the exterior drop box at City Hall. Permit applications are available online at the City’s website www.cityofedwardsville.com. City Staff will not be available to assist with in-person customers at this time.

• On-site Rental Inspections are suspended at this time. Owners/Tenants will be notified when inspections are scheduled to resume.
• Interior Residential Inspections of occupiedstructures are suspended at this time unless it is a life safety issue.
• All other Residential and Commercial inspections remain active until further notice.

Public Library

On March 13, 2020, Governor Pritzker mandated that all schools in the state be closed from Tuesday, March 17 until Monday, March 30 in an effort to curb the spread and impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

While normally the Public Library would invite school-aged children to come to the library in the event of an emergency closing, this is not the best course of action when trying to curb a contagious disease. Because containment works best when all organizations participate, many libraries and other cultural organizations will be closed for the same duration. The Illinois Library Association is recommending the closure of all public libraries.

Therefore, the Edwardsville Public Library (EPL) will be closing and offering limited, modified services through roadside pickup concurrently March 17-March 29.

Specifically:

• EPL will be closed to the public. This includes any events hosted by third-party organizations.
• EPL will be staffed Monday through Friday 9am – 6pm to answer the phone in order to assist you in any way we can.
• Overdue fines will not accrue while the library is closed. We are asking patrons to hold on to their library material until the library is open again. Book drops will all be locked.

EPL will provide limited services through curbside pickup 9am-6pm Monday-Friday. Should the library receive any information from local/state health departments and/or our library system to discontinue this, these limited services will stop immediately until further notice.

Curbside Pickup

• Patrons will call the library or place requests online (Patrons who call will need to have their library card barcode number handy).

• Patrons will wait for notification that items are ready for pickup.
• Patrons will call either when they arrive at the library or immediately before they leave to come to the library.
• Patrons should remain in their vehicle and call the library when they arrive. Staff will bring books out to the curb for pickup.

E-resources

• E-books, movies, and music, are always available online through our website and through free apps. Visit https://www.edwardsvillelibrary.org/ebooks-and-more and call the library if you have any questions or need help setting up your account.

EPL is continuing to monitor and adjust to this changing situation. Services available over the coming weeks are subject to change depending on what is needed to protect the health of our communities. Please check our website (https://www.edwardsvillelibrary.org/), Facebook, or call the library (618-692-7556) for updates.

Parks and Recreation

In light of the current situation with the COVID-19 Coronavirus and the impact it has had on our society and communities, the Edwardsville Parks and Recreation Department will be limiting opportunities for large gatherings and limit the use of high contact surfaces in our parks. While outdoor recreation is important and should be continued as a family, the safety of our families is of our utmost concern and highest priority. It is for this reason that we will be making the following postponements and or closures effective Tuesday, March 17^th:

• All City of Edwardsville parks will be closed until further notice. Our parks have many high contact surfaces that are impractical to be sanitized on a regular basis.
• We will also suspend all current Parks and Rec programs through Monday, March 30^th. This affects our Adult Basketball League that is in progress at this time.
• The grand opening of Plummer Family Sports Park will be postponed until further notice as well.

The Edwardsville Parks and Rec staff will continue to monitor and evaluate the conditions and notify the public of any further postponements or suspension of programs, rentals, and activities. If any further postponements of future programming is needed, the Edwardsville Parks and Recreation staff will provide necessary announcements. You can find these official announcements on our website (https://www.cityofedwardsville.com/188/Parks-Recreation) or our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/EdwardsvilleParksAndRec/)

Edwardsville Municipal Court

All cases originally scheduled for Edwardsville Municipal Court for March 26 have been continued until April 9. At that time, the Court will re-evaluate if further continuance is needed.

The City continues to update its webpage at www.cityofedwardsville.com/coronavirus with new information as it becomes available. Thank you for your individual efforts in this time of crisis.

Elections

Elections will follow the normal schedule at Edwardsville Fire Sta. 2 and the Public Library, which will open only for polling purposes on Tuesday.

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