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COVID-19-Weekly-Employee-Update_5_1_20 Join the Virtual Employee Forum On Thursday, May 7 at 3 p.m., a Virtual Employee Forum will be held through Microsoft Teams. Please join City Manager Todd Hileman, Human Resources Director Tiffany Thomson, and other members of the City of Denton leadership team as they discuss the City’s COVID-19 response, its impact on the City’s budget, and planning for the future during uncertain times. You’ll be able to submit questions to the presenters during the forum. If you are unable to participate in the live forum, you can watch the recorded version, which will be posted on the Hub. Click here to join the meeting. You will need your City of Denton email address and network password to attend the meeting. April 23 Virtual Employee Forum Q&A On Thursday, April 23, City Manager Todd Hileman, Human Resources Director Tiffany Thomson, and other members of the City of Denton leadership team held the City’s first virtual Employee Forum. If you were unable to attend, you can watch the Employee Forum here. As leadership discussed the City’s COVID-19 response, its impact on the City’s budget, and planning for the future during uncertain times, many of you provided feedback and submitted questions during the forum. Questions that were of broad impact or unable to be answered during the forum are available here. For the upcoming virtual employee forum on Thursday, May 7, employee Q&A responses will be recorded and provided in a future employee update. Department Summaries Community Services, Parks and Recreation, and Keep Denton Beautiful are working together to coordinate staff to volunteer at local nonprofits as needed. Customer Service is Assisting United Way with the CARES Act assistance program. Fire coordinated a cross-departmental Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) working group that was tasked with developing recommendations based on the latest CDC guidelines for daily use of PPE by non-medical staff. The Library has reactivated curbside and drive- up pickup for items that are placed on hold at all three branches. Our departments’ efforts to respond and serve during this challenging time continues to evolve and reveal our dedication to the community we serve. To see more of the remarkable ways we are adapting in response to COVID-19, read the latest Department summaries here. Development Services is Moving Locations When City facilities reopen, the current Development Services Center (215 W. Hickory Street) and Annex will not be reopening to the public. The Development Services “One-Stop-Shop” customer service counter will be temporarily relocated in the lower level of City Hall in the former Reprographics space. Website information and development applications are being updated to notify the development community and general public of Development Services’ temporary address change. During the transitional period, other staff including the Zoning Compliance Officers, Fire Inspections team, and certain Capital Projects divisions have been temporarily moved to other City facilities. Due to the success of Development Services’ current remote work environment, the majority of Development Services staff will continue working remotely until the new Development Service Center opens in November 2020. Latest State and Local COVID-19 Responses State Response On April 27, Governor Abbott issued Executive Order GA-18, which began the process of allowing certain non-essential businesses to reopen under certain parameters on May 1. Details on how GA-18 will be implemented are contained in the Governor's Report to Open Texas. Types of businesses that are allowed to reopen include retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls, and museums and libraries (the Governor granted municipalities discretion on when to open their libraries). These businesses are allowed to open at 25% of their listed capacity and are asked to operate within the minimum standard health protocols for COVID-19. Other activities that are now allowed include golf course operations, visiting parks, hunting/fishing, and engaging in physical activity- jogging, bicycling, and other outdoor sports with participants of 4 or fewer where social distancing can still be met. Local Response On Thursday, April 30, Denton City Council voted to extend the Declaration of Disaster through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, or until otherwise acted upon by the Council. The new order aligns with GA-18 and supersedes previous orders. Under the Order of Council: • All individuals currently living within the City of Denton are recommended to stay at home or their current place of residence unless leaving their residences to participate in Essential or Reopened activities or businesses; • Essential Businesses are those defined by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and TDEM shall maintain an online list of essential services at www.tdem.texas.gov/essentialservices; • All reopened businesses operating within the City of Denton shall abide by the regulations set out in Gov. Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA-18, including limiting in-person access to 25% occupancy; • To the greatest extent possible, all essential businesses and reopened services shall comply with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Distancing Guidelines, which include maintaining six-foot distancing for both employees and the general public; • Bars, gyms, public swimming pools, interactive amusement venues, cosmetology salons, and other operations prohibited by Gov. Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA-18 may not operate at this time; • All elective medical, surgical, and dental procedures shall comply with the requirements set out in Gov. Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA-19; • All non-essential in-person City of Denton Municipal Court proceedings are postponed until after May 15, 2020; • All City of Denton utility non-payment shut-offs are suspended, without penalty or interest accrual, through May 15, 2020; • Up to $850,000 of funding is authorized to be spent for COVID-19 response activities; • Up to $50,000 of funding is authorized to be spent to increase utility assistance; and • A total of $100,000 of funding is authorized to be provided to the United Way of Denton County to assist individuals and families living in the City of Denton, who have experienced income or job loss directly resulting from COVID-19, in eviction avoidance. At this time, all City of Denton facilities will remain closed until further notice as City staff works to build a reopening plan based on the safety of the public and City employees as well as operational needs. The Council is expected to discuss plans to reopen facilities at their May 5 meeting. Additional information is expected to be made public in the coming weeks. City Facilities: Re-Open Strategy Group Formed CMO has formed a cross-departmental group to develop plans and protocols to re-open Denton facilities and operations. It will review which facilities and operations will reopen and when, how they will be staffed, employee safety, facility cleaning and sanitation, and how we will communicate this information to the public and our employees. More information on this group’s efforts will be provided in next week’s employee update. New Self-Quarantine Executive Order for Travelers Tuesday, April 28, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-20, eliminating the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine period for individuals traveling to Texas from Louisiana. The mandated 14-day self-quarantine for travelers from the following areas remains in place: California; Connecticut; New York; New Jersey; Washington state; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and Miami, Florida. What does this Executive Order mean for City employees? • City employees are required to self-quarantine for 14 days if they travel to any of the cities and states listed above. • City employees can use vacation time, with supervisor approval, and can take more than one vacation day at a time. • City employees who travel to the cities or states requiring self-quarantine upon their return, must communicate their plans and obtain supervisory approval for the full time the employees are expected to be away from the workplace, including the mandatory self-quarantine period. • Supervisors should work with their Human Resources Business Partner to ensure compliance with the mandatory self-quarantine period. View the Governor's Executive Order (GA-20) City staff is encouraged to visit the HR COVID-19 page on the HUB regularly for the latest Frequently Asked Questions, such as guidance on the use of vacation leave, the temporary sick leave policy, and more. For additional information or guidance from the City’s Human Resources Department, please email COVID19HR@cityofdenton.com. Denton County Hosting COVID-19 Testing Center The testing center will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 2 at 535 S. Loop 288. Denton County will offer 200 COVID-19 tests for community members who pre-register and have had COVID-19 symptoms within the previous 7 days. The testing center will be set up as a drive-thru. Click here for more information. The City will continue to closely monitor developments in state and local response to COVID-19 to keep you updated. Please stay healthy and safe!