COVID - 19

COVID-19 Response

UPDATE: Tuesday, April 9, 2020, at 4:08 p.m.

From the Mayor:

The City is working with Unified Incident Command amid the COVID-19 crisis. There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Montana and in Yellowstone County. I, Mayor Nelson, am a member of the Yellowstone County Unified Incident Command and represents the City of Laurel. The County, with Laurel’s support, is working on priorities Countywide to help slow the spread of COVID-19. So far, these efforts have yielded positive results and these efforts will continue. With your cooperation, we can further reduce the spread of COVID-19 and continue to keep its spread minimal.

Stay healthy and prosper,

-Mayor Nelson

Actions the City is Taking:

Issued an emergency declaration.
Supplied staff and public counters with disinfectant wipes
Placed bottles of hand sanitizers at various locations within City buildings.
Canceled all Board/Committee/Commission meetings until further notice.
Holding regular cross-departmental meetings to identify and implement further preventative measures.
Regularly disinfecting all doors and handles throughout City Hall.
Adjusting gatherings to observe the CDC’s guidance for social distancing.
Posted information signage with preventative actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 in City Hall and various locations around the City as distributed by Unified Health.
Continue to participate in briefings with Unified Health.
Imposed work-related travel restrictions for employees.
City Hall is open to the public Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; vulnerable populations are asked to come from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Staff is available M-F 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. via phone and via appointment.
All playground equipment, park shelters, and park bathrooms are closed to the public.

City Hall:

City Hall is open to the public Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; vulnerable populations are asked to come from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Staff is available M-F 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. via phone and via appointment. If you are sick, please do NOT enter City Hall. Please attempt to conduct your business by calling City Hall at 628-7431.

With the recent stay-at-home order by the Governor, we would like to remind you of the various ways you can pay your water bill.

Mail your payment to P.O. Box 10 Laurel, MT 59044.
Drop your payment off in the Dropbox out front in a sealed envelope.
ACH-fill out the form to have your payment withdrawn from your account each month.
Call the Water Office (406-628-7431) and pay over the phone via credit card. There is a 3.95% convenience fee.
In-person payments should be avoided.

City Staff is working on speeding up the implementation of online bill pay.

City Council:

Mayor Nelson has requested that the public not attend Council meetings in person.

Council meetings will be streamed on Facebook Live via the City’s Facebook page. City Staff has set up a call call-in number for Council Members should they need to stay home. In the event, Council is unable to meet physically in Council Chambers they will meet using a virtual meeting space. At that time additional information will be provided to the public to be able to view and participate in these meetings.

If you have comments, please submit any comments using the online form found here, or send comments to City Hall in writing, or call a City Staff Member who will take your comment and submit it to the City Council Record. Council meetings will be kept as brief as possible.

All Boards, Committees, and Commission meetings have been canceled until further notice.

Library:

The Laurel Public Library is currently in Stage Two precautions. Any questions may be directed to the Library by calling 406-628-4961 or emailing Library Staff at laurelpl@mtlib.org. Library Board has canceled its April meeting.

Stage One:
Regular Library Services continue with additional health & safety steps implemented.

Board of Trustees, managers, and staff are made aware of the situation, are on alert, and participate in preparation & prevention measures as directed.
The public is informed about the risks and preventative measures being taken via the web and social media.
Management begins preparations for Stage Two and keeps all staff informed.

Stage Two:
Library Services shift to Circulation Only to limit public assembly.

Library facilities are open under limited use.
Programs, meetings, or prolonged use of any kind, including study, reading, and public computer use, are canceled.
Library locations become holds pick up, checkout & return, and quick browsing sites only.
Seating areas will not be available to the public.
The public is informed about limited access and measures being taken via web and social media
Management begins preparations for Stage Three and keeps all staff informed.

Stage Three:
All Library facilities are Closed to the public.

On the recommendation of the Department of Health or as directed by proclamation, and after informing the Library Board of Trustees, managers, and staff.
The Library Administration closes all Library facilities to public use and access.
Depending on the situation, virtual services and other services that do not require direct public contact may continue.
Library building may be accessed BY APPOINTMENT ONLY on an as needed basis along with necessary precautions.
Depending on the situation, virtual services and other services that do not require direct public contact may continue.
The public is informed about library facility closures, available virtual services, and measures being taken via web and social media.
Management begins preparations for returning to Lower Stages as the situation changes and keeps all staff informed.

Emergency Feeding Program

The Laurel Public Schools is offering curbside meal pick up at the Laurel Library or Laurel Middle School.

Mondays: you will receive meals for Monday Lunch, Tuesday Breakfast and Lunch, and Wednesday breakfast.
Wednesdays: you will receive meals for Wednesday Lunch, Thursday Breakfast and Lunch, and Friday Breakfast.
Fridays: you will receive meals for Friday Lunch, Saturday Breakfast and Lunch, Sunday Breakfast and Lunch, and Monday Breakfast.

Pick up time is ONLY 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian for the meals. There are no income restrictions for these meals. They are available to anyone under the age of 18. The goal is to ensure students eat whether school is in session or not.

Police/Fire/Ambulance

All emergency services will continue to operate as normal. Extra precautions have been put into place to keep these services going through this crisis. Please utilize our emergency services for emergent needs. Our first responders and healthcare workers are on the front line of this pandemic.

Both the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department and Laurel Ambulance Service have contacts within the Unified Command Center. They are relaying any needs that they may have. Those needs, if any, are being attended to by the Command Center. All branches of our emergency services are well prepared and ready for any situation that may arise.

Public Works Department

All Public Works services will continue to operate as usual. Extra precautions have been put in place to keep these services going through this crisis.

All playground equipment, park shelters, and park bathrooms are closed to the public. Parks are not closed, but it is imperative to limit groups to 10 persons or less and maintain 6 feet of separation between all individuals per CDC guidelines.

The City of Laurel will be updating this notice as more information becomes available. Please check back often.

World Health Organization Website:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Center for Disease Control Website:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html

Montana DPHHS Website:

https://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/cdepi/diseases/coronavirusmt

Montana Response: COVID-19 - Global, National, and State Information Resources:

https://montana.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=7c34f341...