Laconia begins planning for gradual reopening of city buildings

LACONIA — City Manager Scott Myers will sit down with city department heads later on Wednesday to map out plans for the incremental reopening of City Hall and other municipal facilities.

At present, all city municipal buildings, including City Hall, the Public Library, and the Recreation Center are closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Myers said on Tuesday one of the purposes of the meeting with the department heads is to ensure that all city facilities are using the same types of precautions once the reopening process begins.

“We want to discuss what reopening will be like,” Myers said.

Among the issues to be considered will be which offices will need to have protective shields installed. One has already been installed at the counter in the City Clerk’s Office.

Another matter that will be dealt with will be how to control the flow of people going into a particular building at any one time in order to prevent crowding in hallways and offices.

“We are talking about limited access to city buildings,” Myers said. “We are still encouraging people to use online services wherever possible.”

He said there would be discussion about the best practices for allowing the public back into the library, especially for those people who rely on the library for computer access. Some people use computers at the library to file job applications or apply for unemployment benefits, Myers noted.

Myers said he expected to present the City Council with the gradual reopening plans at next Monday’s City Council meeting.