Gov. Tate Reeves’ Safer At Home executive order mandating closures of businesses and government buildings expired Monday, but the Newton County Board of Supervisors is holding off on throwing open the courthouse doors until proper safety equipment can be installed.
In a Board of Supervisors meeting Monday, heads of county departments weighed in on the reopening and shared their plans for keeping county employees and residents safe.
“He’s basically opened it back up,” County EMA Director Robbie Richardson said. “He’s leaving it up to the individual businesses.”
Under the governor’s new social distancing guidelines, up to 50 people are allowed to meet inside, as long as a 6-foot social distance is maintained, and up to 100 people can gather at outdoor locations.
Chancery Clerk George Hayes reported he had been in contact with Harold Holloway, who agreed to install plexi-glass dividers along the office’s counter.
Hayes said the cost would be $2,400.
Hayes said his office never closed its doors. He said employees practiced safe social distancing and preventative measures while continuing to help residents.
“By and large, most people were very courteous,” he said.
Although his office didn’t fully shut down, Hayes said he felt it was time to fully reopen the courthouse to the public.
“If it’s been lifted, I think we need to open our offices back up,” he said.
County Administrator Steve Seale said the Mississippi State University Extension office in Decatur also planned to have Plexiglas dividers installed.
The cost there, he said, would be about $800.
Seale also added the temperature check station just inside the courthouse doors would be unmanned after the governor’s order went into effect Monday. The position was paid for by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency as part of the coronavirus relief efforts. Under the new order, he said, the county would need to find their own person to man the station or give it up.
The Newton County Tax Assessor’s office has been conducting business through an office window since the coronavirus forced the county to take preventive measures. Tax Assessor May Bender said she had not yet talked with Holloway about installing plexiglass in her office but having the dividers would go a long way toward helping her and her staff feel safe.
After weighing input from county department heads, the Board of Supervisors voted to wait to reopen the courthouse until Plexiglas dividers could be installed in the Chancery Clerk’s office, Extension office and Tax Assessor’s office.
The board also included in its motion to continue with the temperature check station, with Newton County EMA personnel manning the station.
