Mayor
Jeremy Stutsman signed Executive Order 2020-02 Tuesday, March 17, which lists
restrictions for City buildings and facilities in an attempt to reduce the risk
of exposure of COVID-19 to the public and employees.
According
to the executive order, access to City of Goshen buildings and facilities is to
be restricted through the end of April under the following terms:
Public
access to City Hall, 202 S. 5th St., the City Annex Building, 204 E.
Jefferson St., and the Parks & Recreation Department, 534 E Jackson St. is
now restricted to the hours of 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday. During
the hours that these buildings are open to the public, City staff will
partition a small area for the public to enter. City staff will make contact
with the public within the designated area to provide service. Outside of those
times, members of the public may contact Departments within these buildings by
phone or email.
The
Goshen Utility Business Office will close their walk-up counter beginning
Thursday, March 19. Their phone lines will be answered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to
assist customers. Payments can be mailed, paid online at paygov.us or deposited
at the drop box in the alley behind the Police Department—Cash payments will be
accepted within the drop box at the customers’ discretion.
Other
buildings and facilities other than the mentioned above will have restricted
public access as posted on the doors of the buildings.
City
staff will post on the entrances to public buildings a list of departments and
phone numbers, as well as information about current access restrictions in
place. The public may continue to access each City office by telephone and
email during regular business hours.
City
employees will make efforts to limit person-to-person contact with members of
the public. Any contact between employees and members of the public will be
authorized by Department Heads.
The
City will make necessary arrangements and accommodations to allow public
meetings to continue in the council chambers that are currently scheduled and
that are necessary to conduct essential City business, and for the public to
attend and participate in accordance to Indiana’s Open Door Law.
The
City of Goshen will continue to offer services to members of the public, though
some services may be restricted or delayed.
The
administration will analyze the operation of the respective departments and
implement policies, procedures, or protections intended to slow the spread of
COVID-l9, yet that would allow the City to provide services to members of the
public.
Members
of the public who may not be sure who to direct questions to may call the
switchboard at 533.8621.
The Goshen Parks & Recreation Department has made the following operational changes to their offices and facilities in an effort to protect the public and staff from the spread of COVID-19:
The Parks & Recreation office at 524 E. Jackson St. will be open to the public from 8 a.m. to noon. The office will close to the public at noon but offices may still be reached via phone at 534.2901 or email at goshenparks@goshencity.com.
The Rieth Interpretive Center will be closed to the public through the end of April.
The Wayne Wogoman Welcome Center is closed to the public through the end of April.
Sports fields and facilities are closed to the public through the end of April.
The department will not be taking reservations for facilities rentals or classes or programs through the end of April.
Parks spaces and trails remain open to the public, and restrooms will be accessible to the public beginning April 15.
Playgrounds are not closed to the public; however, the equipment is not being sanitized regularly. We ask that residents use the same social distancing practices when considering going out to use these public facilities.
If you have any questions, please contact the Parks & Recreation Department at 534.2901.
The following is a message from the Goshen Police Department:
In support of Governor Holcomb’s restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Goshen City Police Department will be making minor changes to our response for non-emergency service calls.
Our goal is to reduce the risk of spreading this virus by limiting any non-essential contact with residents of our community, in turn providing a safer environment for the community and our department personnel. The COVID-19 virus is a threat to our community and it is essential for us to take every precaution necessary to keep our first responders safe as they continue to provide essential policing duties to our residents.
As a result, we will be implementing telephone-reporting procedures. Goshen police officers will continue to respond to emergencies, major incidents, crimes in progress, crimes against children, sex crimes, crashes, missing persons, domestic disturbances, as a few examples.
Calls for service that will be handled by telephone will include but are not limited to: property crimes with no suspect, harassment where the suspect is not present, or situations where a complainant prefers to make a report over the phone when an officer is not required to be present. E
ssentially, there will be no changes in the manner in which a resident contacts the police. The only difference is specific to non-emergency reporting, an officer may choose to contact a complainant by phone to eliminate needless exposures to both parties. As always, call 911 for all emergencies.
In taking reasonable steps to ensure public services are not interrupted, as well as protecting the health of City employees, effective March 19, 2020, the Goshen Utility Business Office, 203 S. 5th St., will be closing their walk-up counter to the public until further notice.
During this time, their phone lines will be answered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist customers. All water & sewer payments will still be accepted and can be mailed, paid online at www.paygov.us, or deposited into the drop box located in the alley behind the Police Department—Cash payments will be accepted within the drop box at the customers’ discretion.
The public may continue to contact the utility business office by phone at 533.9399 or email watersewer@goshencity.com during normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The office will continue to offer services to members of the public, though some services may be restricted or delayed.
