ANTIGONISH: Staff in the Town of Antigonish are preparing to return to their offices in Town Hall and reopen the building to the public.
Jeff Lawrence, the town’s CAO, indicated during their virtual council meeting on May 25, that staff will report back to work on May 27, to fully prepare the building for its reopen to the public on June 1, with strict health and safety measures in place.
“There has been a lot of work done to identify our barriers,” he said. “When we do reopen, we will have the one main entrance into the lobby area, we will be accepting cash but we would prefer debit or credit.”
Lawrence said they have quasi-divided the town hall into three different zones for common areas, the idea is if there is a spike, they don’t have people funneling through the same areas.
“It will be a bit of a learning curve,” he said. “But I think I can say all staff are very excited to get back to working with the public.”
Mayor Laurie Boucher said the preparations in returning back to Town Hall have been two-fold; physical and logistical.
Along with partitions being installed to separate the public from the staff, Boucher said they’re implementing one-way traffic just like in grocery stores.
“As far as the logistics, when it does open, if you are required to go beyond the front desk, you’ll have to book an appointment,” she said. “If you had to meet with Public Works, [Eastern District Planning Commission], or even me, you’ll have to make an appointment so we know you’re coming in, you won’t be able to just drop in.”
Those going beyond the main lobby, Boucher advised, will be required to wear a mask, and for those who don’t have a mask, they’ll provide one. Additionally, keeping with social distancing requirements, no more than three people will be allowed in the lobby at one time.
“We want to make sure the requirements by the province are being met,” she said. “It’s very important the staff have the confidence of a safe environment when we ask them to come back.”