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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO EMERGENCY CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> Wednesday, March 18,2020 <br /> 3:30 o'clock p.m. <br /> Rief noted the Background has been discussed. The City's goal is to continue operations and provide high <br /> quality public services to residents while taking necessary precautions to limit resident and staff exposure <br /> during the COViD-19 outbreak. He discussed the Response, which includes a total of 6 levels of <br /> operations, and said the City was at Level 2 on Monday morning. After the Governor's message Tuesday <br /> night,the City moved to Level 3: no in-person meetings; City Hall and Police doors locked; drop tables <br /> and signage in place; all Staff at work; limited contact by Police, Building Inspections, and Public Works. <br /> The City is working through the process for the potential of getting to Level 4: no in-person meetings; <br /> City Hall closed; mission-essential Staff at work, some Staff work from home; remote Council Meetings; <br /> limited contact by Police, Building Inspections, and Public Works. if the City needs to go to Level 5,the <br /> protocol is: City Hall and all offices closed; mission-essential personnel only; Police and Public Works <br /> emergency contacts only; Public Works employees work on-call,two at a time, unless a larger emergency <br /> arises like a water main break or snowfall. He said the City will operate at Level 3 or as long as possible <br /> and is working on the resources to move to a more remote-type work setting. As resources for remote <br /> work become available for more Staff, they will be moved, but one person from each department will be <br /> in-house. He stated he used information from OSHA regarding Control and Prevention regarding interim <br /> guidance for employees, how they interact and their potential exposures, and how to address those <br /> exposures. He discussed the plans for Employee Staffing and Finances. He said the Emergency <br /> Declaration gives help to businesses related to unemployment. <br /> Walsh asked if businesses would apply for that help through the City. <br /> Rief said the resources are being fed to the City, and as they become available, there is an alert on the <br /> City webpage with resource information. The information will also be sent to anyone who signed up for <br /> any kind of an alert from the City. He encouraged people to sign up for alerts so they get them via email <br /> as the webpage is updated,which is changing continually. <br /> Walsh mentioned changes are occurring almost on an hourly basis. He also encouraged everyone to sign <br /> up at the City's website. <br /> Johnson asked if the City needs to provide resources to respond to unemployment for small businesses. <br /> Rief clarified that the City does not provide the resources;the City is providing access to the resources. <br /> Walsh asked City Attorney Mattick to comment, given his knowledge. <br /> Mattick said there is a debate about when cities should declare a Declaration of Emergency. He felt the <br /> City of Orono made a wise decision because it may free up some reimbursements later on. With the <br /> Emergency Declaration, if there is a needed expense in an emergency situation,the City Administrator <br /> and Staff can make that decision in real-time rather than a 1-2-week turnaround period. He noted the plan <br /> put together by Rief is consistent with what he has seen in other communities. Ile said most communities <br /> have preparedness as it relates to natural disasters such as storms, but what has been challenging is <br /> providing a service while distancing yourself from the people you are providing the service to. The plan <br /> does a nice job of ensuring continuity of services while protecting employees. He reminded everyone the <br /> plan was put together in 1-2 days and is a starting point. The plan may change as information changes, or <br /> the City may be working off-script sometimes. <br /> Page 3 of 8 <br />