Reopening County Facilities Webinar

IAC hosted and moderated a webinar on Monday, May 18 focused on reopening county courthouses and facilities. Panelists included:

• Alberto Gonzalez, Division of Motor Vehicles Administrator, Idaho Transportation Department
• Carol Moehrle, Director, Idaho North Central Public Health District
• Jim McNall, Risk Management Specialist, ICRMP
• Tammy Middleton, Human Resources Manager, ICRMP
• Jerry Mason, Legal Counsel, ICRMP

Each panelist brought their expertise to the table and offered their perspective on safely opening county facilities and courthouses. As the director of one of Idaho’s Public Health Districts, Moehrle focused on highlighting safety concerns for the employees and public as they reenter county facilities. She reminded the listeners to pay special attention to the high contact areas such as countertops, phones, keyboards, and any other shared surfaces such as doorknobs.

Gonzalez touched on the number of transactions that are backlogged due to facilities being shut down temporarily. He emphasized that the counties should share with their constituents the services that are offered online. There will be some transactions that need to be in-person, but we can encourage online transactions as much as possible.

Mason took a few moments to cover some of the points you’ll need to consider when holding land use hearings. In addition to providing social distancing, there will be other aspects to consider such as how people sign in and how to sanitize the podium and microphone after every speaker.

McNall and Middleton covered some of the issues when it comes to the employees. In addition to the required posters already posted in your facilities, you’ll need to post the latest poster on Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) found here: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf. McNall also reminded the listeners that meetings might need to be moved to larger rooms in order to accommodate social distancing. 

The panel discussion was wrapped up with Q&A from the audience. If you missed out, the recording is available to view on IAC’s website: https://idcounties.org/webinars/.