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Some local government offices close to public

Tupper Lake declares state of emergency; DMV in Saranac Lake closes

North Country municipalities and counties are not shutting down their offices, but some are locking their doors to the public to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Some government services, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles satellite office in Saranac Lake and all Essex County buses, are closed until further notice.

Meanwhile, leaders of the village and town of Tupper Lake have declared a state of emergency and are authorizing local police to uphold state rules for restaurants, bars, movie theaters and other places where people gather.

The decisions came after Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday directed all municipal governments to let their non-essential workforce stay home, and to work toward a minimum 50% office occupancy reduction. In the hours after the governor’s directive, county and local governments around the region started formulating plans for how they would continue to offer residents essential services remotely or with reduced staffing.

Franklin County

Franklin County Legislator Lindy Ellis, D-Saranac Lake, said the county offices in Malone are still open to the public for now, but the county is encouraging more meetings to be done over phone or video chat. County Manager Donna Kissane said officials are working on a plan to have some people work from home, based on Cuomo’s recommendation.

The Franklin County DMV’s main office in Malone will assist customers by appointments only. The appointments will be in 15-minute increments, and only three people are allowed in the lobby at once. The DMV’s phone number is 518-481-1606.

“We’ll continue to do the vital work of the government but also think about how can we reduce the potential infection rate,” Ellis said Monday afternoon.

Franklin County Board of Legislators Chairman Donald Dabiew, D-Bombay, said Monday that the legislature would meet to discuss a plan to adhere to Cuomo’s directive. He said that plan could include the reduction of some bus routes, which could be deemed non-essential. But he noted that many people use those buses to get to work, so it’s something the legislature will have to discuss. The legislature planned to meet via video conferencing software.

Essex County

Essex County is suspending its bus service, including the Placid Xpress shuttle service in Lake Placid.

In a news release on Monday, Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Shaun Gillilland, R-Willsboro, requested residents try calling county offices before coming to them in Elizabethtown.

This decision was made “in an attempt to increase business/social distancing and to protect the well-being of both the public and county employees,” the release says. The county asks that only essential visits be made to county departments.

Access to the county Department of Motor Vehicles, County Clerk’s Office, Department of Social Services, Mental Health Department and Health Department will not be closed off.

Essex County is planning to reduce its in-person staffing at the county complex in Elizabethtown by 50%, according to North Elba town Supervisor Jay Rand, who serves on the Essex County Board of Supervisors.

Tupper Lake

The village and town of Tupper Lake declared a state of emergency Monday afternoon, and while both will still be operating, they have closed their offices and board meetings to the public, having residents pay taxes, buy trash stickers and observe governmental proceeding in different ways.

Village Mayor Paul Maroun said the first emergency directive he issued was to authorize the fire chief, his deputies and both town and village code enforcement officers to inspect hotels, restaurants and bars in Tupper Lake to see if they are following state mandates regarding coronavirus.

Maroun, who is also a Franklin County legislator, said the village police department will enforce the law. He was unsure of what consequences for lawbreakers will be but said police will have the authority to close infringing establishments down.

He said the establishment owners he talked with wanted to make sure this law is being enforced on a “level playing field.”

Maroun also said the heads of village departments will tell their employees that if they vacation out of state or in a New York coronavirus hot spot, the village will impose a two-week house quarantine on them. He said he is asking all employees to cancel their vacation plans. Maroun said he could issue an executive order to mandate that no village employee leave, but he said he does not want to do that yet.

Maroun said town Supervisor Patti Littlefield said the town hall doors will be locked starting Tuesday. He said the village office lockdown has worked well so far, with people leaving payments and buying garbage stickers and light bulbs through a drop box.

The village board will meet for its usual board meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m. but will not be open to the public. Maroun said one reporter from the Enterprise and one from the Tupper Lake Free Press will be allowed to attend, with a police officer present to enforce the rules.

He said the village board will not vote on any new projects or major expenditures at the meeting.

The Enterprise will supply an audio recording of the meeting online afterward.

Maroun, who is also the head of Sunmount’s Board of Visitors, said he has talked with the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the director of Sunmount. He said he suggested that one of the empty buildings on the OPWDD facility campus be used as temporary hospital if the virus gets worse. He said he was told that the building would need remodeling and that OPWDD is talking with the governor about it.

Saranac Lake, Harrietstown

Village Manager John Sweeney said Monday that the village offices have gone into lockdown, with a drop box for bills and other documents.

“The whole goal is to make sure the operation of the village and all the departments have some sort of security measure in place,” he said.

Both the Saranac Lake village offices and the Harrietstown town offices are located in the Harrietstown Town Hall.

Harrietstown Supervisor Mike Kilroy said the town council hasn’t made any decisions yet on closing down the town office, but the hours of operation might cut back. He said the March 26 town council meeting has been canceled.

The village’s budget work session at 5 p.m. Tuesday will be held via video conferencing software called Zoom. Residents can join the meeting at that time by visiting https://zoom.us/556232037 or calling 929-205-6099 and entering the meeting ID: 556 232 037.

As for the court, Harrietstown Justice Ken McLaughlin said he received a letter from the state Office of Court Administration saying all non-essential court operations will be postponed starting at 5 p.m. today. It’s vague, so he said he’s waiting to hear more information from the state Unified Court System for further instruction.

“It’s awfully tough to say what specifically that means,” he said. “I’m hoping to get more information today.”

For now, he said, many of the operations are up to his discretion.

“If it’s a serious matter that needs to be arraigned and orders of protection need to be issued, we’ll still do that,” he said, “but traffic infractions will be put on hold.”

At the entrance of the town tall, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce has closed its Welcome Center until further notice. Chamber staff can still be reached at welcome@slareachamber.org or 518-891-1990, and information can be obtained at saranaclake.com.

Lake Placid, North Elba

The Lake Placid village and North Elba town courts are suspending their regular sessions until May 1, town and village Justice Dean Dietrich announced Monday evening.

“If you were directed to appear in Court during this time period you will not be penalized for your failure to attend,” Dietrich wrote in an email to the Enterprise. “You should contact your attorney regarding your next scheduled appearance date. If your case does not involve an attorney call the Town Court Clerk at 518-524-4263 or the Village Court Clerk at 518- 523-2004.”

The village and town governments share the North Elba Town Hall building on Main Street. As of Monday afternoon, neither had decided to alter its office hours or visitation policies, but both were formulating plans to meet the governor’s staffing directive.

“We’re looking into where we can cut,” Rand said. “We’re checking with each department, and we’ll take it from there.”

Village Mayor Craig Randall said the village is exploring having its highway department work on a split shift. He also said the village is looking at splitting the rest of its workforce in half and having one half work one schedule, and the other on a different schedule. Village Treasurer Mindy Goddeau also floated the idea of waving online bill pay fees to entice customers to pay online rather than come into the town hall.

St. Armand

St. Armand Supervisor Davina Winemiller said her town hall in Bloomingdale is also locking its doors.

“We got some correspondence from Essex County, recommending to not accept walk-in visitors at this time,” she said in a phone interview Monday. “We’re still working here, and folks can reach us via phone, email and fax.

“We want people to be safe and take precautions.”

She said the town also has a drop box set up, so people can deliver taxes, bills and other documents. She said bills placed in the drop box should not be paid in cash.

Keene

The Keene Town Hall will be closed to the public, town Supervisor Joe Pete Wilson Jr. said Monday.

“We’re forwarding calls to one of the clerk’s homes so we can continue to monitor our phone,” he said. “We’re working to keep our essential services (water plant, transfer station) open. We’re doing everything we can to meet the governor’s recommendations and to keep our workforce and our population safe.”

The town’s highway department will be working on split shifts.

The Keene Public Library is closed. The Keene Community Center is also closed.

The Little Peaks Preschool, which operates out of the community center, is also now closed. Director Katherine Brown said the preschool’s schedule is tied to Keene Central School’s schedule, and when the school announced Sunday that it would close its doors temporarily until April 20, the preschool also closed.

Brown acknowledged that child care for working parents is a “real challenge” and said the preschool is lucky to have a group where most parents are able to stay home with their kids. She said parents in the community have also been stepping up and offering to care for one another’s’ children while the preschool is closed.

Wilmington

Wilmington town Supervisor Roy Holzer said the town is still working on a plan for meeting the governor’s directive.

“We want to limit people coming and out, but we’re a government that needs to provide services,” he said.

As of Monday afternoon, there were no official changes to the Wilmington Community Center’s office hours. He said if the coronavirus outbreak continues to be a threat, the town will explore its options for live streaming town board meetings on Facebook while limiting in-person participation.

Holzer on Monday also sent a request to Essex County Manager Dan Palmer that the county ask the state to consider extending residents’ property tax payment deadline without penalty.

“By doing that, I don’t have to have the town clerk or tax collector here,” he said.

Holzer said sales taxes and payroll taxes are also now coming due for local businesses, and he has asked that the state extend those deadlines so local businesses can use that money “for much-needed cash flow.

“This is so vital, getting cash flow to these businesses in our communities,” Holzer said. “If we want businesses to be able to ride this our, we need to get them real, meaningful relief.”

He also said support for employees is going to be critical.

“Some employees are barely making it now,” he said. “There is no waiting period for unemployment now, and that was a good move by the state. But it’s still going to be very hard.”

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