All municipal buildings in Bethel are now closed to the public. City hall, the finance office, the fire department, the police station, and the public works building all locked their doors on March 19. Acting City Manager Bill Howell says that this action was taken in order to keep city services operating, at least telephonically.“The city has a fairly limited staff as it is,” Howell said. “Although our action would exceed what the CDC would recommend, we felt that it was important to protect our staff so we could keep critical services moving out to the public.” The phone numbers for all city departments are available at www.cityofbethel.org.
Howell says that for now, Bethel City Council meetings will continue to be held in person. That could change by Tuesday, March 23, and he says that the city is working on a way for the public to call in to the meeting.
Another part of the city’s preparations for a potential COVID-19 outbreak in Bethel has been meetings with the hauled utilities department. If people have to stay home, that could increase their frequency of their need for water deliveries. Howell says that he understands the importance of washing hands and staying clean during this time.
“We are exploring some ideas: reduced rate, or a period where we wouldn’t shut accounts off due to this pandemic,” Howell said.
Hauled water drivers were already short-staffed before an epidemic. If people start ordering more water deliveries, or if drivers get sick, Howell is willing to consider every idea, including bringing in emergency drivers with Commercial Driver's Licenses.
“In an extreme scenario, we would be calling the state of Alaska for additional help or additional CDL drivers,” Howell said. “We could really encourage the public to conserve water. And as an absolutely last resort, we could reduce the number of deliveries. But none of these things have been settled on or decided yet.”
By next week, Howell says, the city will have more concrete plans for meeting the city’s water needs during a potential crisis.
