City taking precautions during pandemic

Elyria City Council gave updates on plans to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic for the next few weeks.

Council members encouraged the general public to live stream its meetings in the future via YouTube or their local cable station.

Mayor Frank Whitfield said if residents have questions about city procedures and assistance such as free internet provided by Spectrum and gas service from Columbia Gas, to visit their website.

“Columbia Gas is committed to not shutting off gas and spectrum is providing free internet,” Whitfield said.

Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio discouraged its volunteers over the ages of 60 from participating in its mobile food pantries and other volunteer programs.

Whitfield hopes to encourage the younger generation to become more active in their community.

“I’m challenging all of our residents to think about how they can step up and serve, particularly millennials,” Whitfield said.

He encouraged Elyria citizens to stay indoors and build skills such as familial communication and reading.

“Residents take time with family to reconnect with what’s most important,” Whitfield said. “Read; learn a new habit or skill.

“At the end of the day, I think we’ll be a lot stronger of a city.”

Whitfield and Council plan to assess their role in the COVID-19 pandemic and take necessary action.

“What role do we play as a city during this crisis?” Whitfield asked. “I plan to get myself and staff involved and not sit and watch what’s going on.”

Safety Service Director Derek Feuerstein discussed different precautions the city is taking to ensure the safety of the residents.

“We’re going to continue local operations best we can with some changes,” Feuerstein said. “Police, fire and sanitation will operate as normal.”

Feuerstein said as new information comes out, the city is doing its best to work with the changes.

“Each day is new, new info is coming out, but the key is we are not shutting down,” he said. “We are not panicking; we’re making sure our coworkers and residents are safe.”

Public walk-ins are suspended in Elyria, city services will continue through the phone, email and web services.

Council and committee meetings are scheduled to continue, however, the public is encouraged to not attend.

Whitfield said as time continues and more updates come in, the city will act accordingly.

“This thing is going to be a marathon,” he said. “The more preventative we can be, I think the better off we’ll be in the long term.”