West Siloam Springs reopens city hall

WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. — West Siloam Springs City Hall and Cedar Park reopened to the public on Monday, according to Elaine Carr, mayor.

The seat of government is now open for regular business. Carr said employees are protected by a barrier which will block out germs to comply with social distancing. She also said employees have access to masks and gloves. Traffic to city hall and to Cedar Park is usually light and does not exceed the 10 person or less requirement, Carr said.

One of the reasons city hall reopened is that business needs to continue, Carr said.

“Cities, counties and states are losing money,” Carr said.

People can come in and pay their fines and water bills in person. Despite reopening city hall, not everything in West Siloam Springs has reopened. The courts will remain closed for now and court dates set for April and May have been moved to June, Carr said.

Carr added, while business needs to resume it is also tornado season and people need to prepare in case a tornado does hit West Siloam Springs.

Carr is also encouraging people to get out of the house and even take a drive by themselves or visit a state park. Natural Falls State Park (formerly Dripping Springs) is open, according to Kim Barrett, an employee at the park. Carr said she visited Honor Heights Park in Muskogee last weekend and was grateful for the chance to get out.

Last Wednesday Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that personal care businesses will open on Friday. Personal care businesses are defined as hair salons, barber shops, nail salons and pet groomers, Stitt said.

These businesses are required to maintain distances by opening for appointments only, requiring people to wait in their vehicles until it’s time for their appointment and maintain strict sanitation guidelines, Stitt said. This does not apply to cities with stricter restrictions, Stitt said.