In Hastings, Pa., leaders locked their memorial building's door Monday night, after a week of coronavirus exposure fears already prompted cancellations for birthday parties, baton twirling practices and other events, Borough Office Manager Rhonda Churella said.
And in Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, Pa., officials closed their tax office to slow the flow of foot traffic into their Tire Hill Road building.
In communities across the state this week, the concept of routine business has been capsized by the coronavirus – forcing elected leaders in small towns and rural townships to rework how they interact with the public, perform day-to-day duties and assemble for public meetings – as gatherings of 10 or more people are being prohibited to prevent the contagious pandemic from spreading.
"I think we're all just taking it week by week and trying to figure this (situation) out while we go," Churella said.
On the heels of a two-week edict from state and White House officials pressing restaurants to shut down dining rooms, movie theaters to go dark and other busy gathering spaces to be idle, Conemaugh Township Chairman Steve Buncich said the game plan for how local governments should react has been a moving target over the past several days.
"Every time we think we know how this impacts our business, there's a new update," Buncich said, acknowledging state and federal counterparts are scrambling to better prepare for the contagious virus, too. "When you're a township supervisor, you're wearing a lot of hats, which means when someone here comes to us with a question, we're the human resources department, too."
Across the region, borough and township officials and staff who spoke with The Tribune-Democrat all indicated they were continuing to conduct typical business – at least on a limited basis – this week.
But in almost every case, officials – the City of Johnstown included – were directing residents to call in with questions or concerns instead of walking into their offices due to exposure risks.
Options mulled
When it comes to upcoming meetings over the next two weeks, communities across the region were considering different options Tuesday.
Buncich, Jackson Township Manager Dave Hirko and Ebensburg Borough Manager Dan Penatzer said their communities were planning to have their next meetings as scheduled but were spacing out their board room seating to spread out attendees so that attendees aren't close together.
Penatzer said Ebensburg's March 23 meeting will be shifted to a larger space inside the borough building.
Some communities, such as Windber Borough and the City of Johnstown, already had their monthly meetings and are taking a wait-and-see approach for what steps need to be taken.
Officials from several other communities, including Portage Borough and Hastings, canceled their meetings this week. Statewide, some communities were taking steps to air board meetings through their websites or social media to avoid gathering.
In Middletown, Bucks County, for example, local leaders announced they planned to stream their meeting live through Facebook and allow residents to post questions and public comment on the page during the session.
Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Law Counselor Melissa Melewsky said the state's Sunshine Act – developed in the 1950s – doesn't offer specific guidelines on how technology can or cannot be used to facilitate government meetings.
But it still sets guidelines for the meetings themselves. And through guidance from the Office of Open Records, it's clear boroughs, cities and townships are within their right to turn to technology to hold their meetings – provided they properly advertise those sessions at least 24 hours in advance and give the public the information needed to participate, if desired, during the event.
"There's several thousand government agencies across Pennsylvania and if this (outbreak) continues, I think we'll see .... creative solutions run the gamut," Melewsky said.
But whether a resident is calling into a Skype conference or attending a rescheduled meeting, "the public must have access," she said.
Adjustments abound
In Windber, borough officials drafted an emergency declaration that will give the emergency management coordinator oversight over the borough's coronavirus planning and response.
While at the same time following the direction of state, federal and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, longtime Emergency Management Director Anson Bloom is leading an effort to develop a standard operating procedure for infection control for all borough employees to follow, Borough Manager Jim Furmanchik said.
Geistown Borough President Jake Morisi said police in his department have already been supplied N-95 masks and other protection equipment to carry with them in their vehicles, acknowledging there's a risk that officers may be called to scenes where exposure is a risk.
Patrol cars must be sanitized throughout the day to ensure an officer who might catch coronavirus doesn't pass it to a colleague, he said.
Penatzer noted that small communities must take "every precaution."
"If you lose a police officer, that might not be a big thing to a large city," he said. "Here, it might be 20 percent of your department."
Borough offices are taking similar, cautious approaches to preventing the virus from spreading in-house.
Furmanchik said Windber's Graham Avenue office is staying open to the public but residents are being encouraged to call or email.
Churella said Hastings Borough locked the doors to its Memorial Building and borough office, noting that staff will be able to answer office questions by phone for the next two weeks.
Morisi said Geistown is urging residents to contact the borough office by phone and pay bills by mail or through the office drop-box.
Anyone wishing to speak with a police officer can call the Cambria County non-emergency number: 814-472-2100.
Conemaugh Township, which regularly allows local groups to use its meeting room for business gatherings, is halting the practice until the virus threat passes, Buncich said.
And the tax office is only accepting payments by mail for the next two weeks, he said.
"Right now, we have a pretty steady flow of elderly people who come by to pay their taxes," Buncich said. "We don't want to jeopardize them."
'One day at a time'
For now, adjustments are minor. But Buncich said he worries what moves townships like his could be forced to take if the virus lingers through the spring.
"We don't want to send anyone home – and hopefully it doesn't come to it," he said. "There are people here ... who if you tell them to go home, you'd have to drag them out by their collars."
Furmanchik called the pandemic "uncharted waters."
"But one way or another, we'll get through it," he said.
It's just going to take a lot of adjustment – by everyone, Hirko said.
He said it's becoming clear a growing number of people in the community are starting to adjust, too.
His drive to work on Route 271 – oftentimes a well-traveled commuter road to Johnstown – was "almost eerie" Tuesday morning, he said.
"There wasn't much traffic at all – and of course, you normally see the school buses passing by," Hirko said. "I guess we'll have to get used to that for awhile."
©2020 The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
