Good Afternoon,
The City of Lebanon has experienced unprecedented challenges in the past few weeks and like so many of our neighboring cities, we have made accommodations to our procedures and are pushing through. It started with the devastating tornadoes and now the COVID-19 pandemic. The first two weeks of March our staff spent out in the community and our time was dedicated to recovery. As a team we all wore different hats to maximize our time and to help our community recover quickly and efficiently. We have since regrouped to discuss ways to keep development moving forward, get residents back into their homes, and help our commercial residents begin to rebuild while also keeping everyone safe.
The safety of our employees, citizens and community is of utmost importance; therefore, we have implemented a modified structure to accommodate the needs of our department. There are some members of our staff who will be working from home, while others will be in the office, but will have very limited contact with others. Our field workers will be working mainly from their city vehicles to limit their contact as well. With this plan, we do not anticipate any interruption in service. With that being said, we are behind and actively playing catchup. We appreciate everyone’s continued patience during this unprecedented time as we adjust and continue to reach our project and operation goals.
Until further notice, we will not be hosting or attending any in person meetings. All meetings will need to be virtual in nature. We’ve already participated in several this week and they have been smooth without technical issues. City Hall is not open to the public at this time. The drive thru window is open and available to drop off checks, paperwork, plans, etc. Please make sure to have it properly labeled to whom it needs to go in order to ensure the proper person receives it. If you are dropping off plans that are too large for the window, drop them by the door and just let us know they are here, via phone or email. We will be happy to run down and pick them up. Inspections will happen as normal, but the inspectors will ask that contractors maintain a 6-foot distance as recommended by the CDC.
We ask that you please share this information with your clients. We have had some express concern that we may be shutting down. At this point, we have no intention of going that route. We believe we can continue to do our jobs remotely and under a modified operation plan, while also keeping everyone safe. If additional changes are made, we will let you know. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any other members of our team. Thank you again for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
CITY OF LEBANON
Regina Santana, P.E.
Engineering Services Director