MOHAVE COUNTY – The Mohave County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion Thursday afternoon, May 7, recommending the county open up according to CDC guidelines on Monday, May 11. This excludes three separate authorities within the county – the libraries, the courts, and the offices of elected officials, but, it was recommended that all county entities follow through on the same date.
The new measure was initiated to end restrictions that have occurred in the county because of COVID-19. It follows the governor’s order to reopen most of the state and its businesses on Monday, May 11. As of now, the county libraries will have curb side service beginning on Monday, but will not be fully open to the public until May 20.
Here are the CDC guidelines alluded to in the passed measure: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/reopen-guidance.html
Meanwhile, Chief Deputy County Attorney James Schoppmann says county attorney operations will phase back beginning May 18. The lobby to all offices will be opened with markings for proper 6 feet spacing on the floor and there will be a sign to limit the number of persons allowed in a lobby at any one time. All chairs will be removed from the lobby until further notice.
Outside traffic beyond the lobby and into the office will be limited to the greatest extent possible. If outside persons need to enter the office, then common areas such as the library and/or conference room(s) nearest the entrance will be utilized first and over individual office space. The room will be disinfected at the conclusion of the meeting.
The Assessor’s office has asked for Plexiglas “sneeze shields” to be installed at the public counters. Facility maintenance is scheduled to install them in the Kingman office on Monday.
The two satellite offices will modify their procedures as soon as sneeze shields are in place. The doors will be closed and locked to the public until the shields are installed. Once they are installed, the assessor will open the door to the public as in the past. For the Kingman office, the assessor will have installed a tape line (6 feet from the counters) and remove some of the chairs in the lobby to encourage “Social Distancing”. Next, the assessor is directing any staff member that serves a customer at the counter to immediately wipe the counter area with disinfectant once the customer leaves. This means the counter will be “clean” when the next customer and/or staff member is called to the counter.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office lobby will be open to the public during its regularly scheduled business hours (Monday-Friday 8am-5pm). It will be implementing additional sanitizing procedures in the lobby and will encourage appropriate social distancing. The training room will be available for use by appointment only with a limited occupancy of 10 or less with appropriate social distancing. The fingerprinting services will be available by appointment only at the regularly scheduled times (Tuesday and Thursday from 8-11am and 2-4pm). Fingerprint applicants MUST bring a mask to wear during fingerprint process (masks will not be provided). There will be no operational changes to the Adult Detention Facility. Video Visitation will remain suspended until further notice.
The county animal shelter will be continuing to operate in an appointment only status as it has been doing lately.
The offices of other county officials, including the Board of Supervisors, will be open using the CDC guidelines on Monday. Board of Supervisors Chairman Jean Bishop said, “We are anxious for all departments of our county to be active and ready to welcome our constituents on Monday. Because of certain guidelines, it will be a somewhat modified normalcy. However, it’s something we’re confident in doing effectively as certain businesses in our county re-open to the public. It’s time to do this.”
Finally, as a tribute to the many workers during the COVID-19 crisis, the county has bathed the courthouse in Kingman in blue.
