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Centralia closing facilities to public under COVID-19 mitigation plan

By News Nov 18, 2020 | 10:28 PM

Centralia City Manager Lowell Crow has announced the city will be closing the lobby of city hall, animal shelter and public works department beginning Friday under the Governor’s Tier 3 Mitigation Plan.

City staff will continue to report to work and will be available to assist the public.  All services will remain fully operational.

Crow says in order to protect first responders and limit the chance that they inadvertently help spread the virus, the Fire Department and lobby of the Emergency Operations Center is closed and access is being restricted to complaints that require entry.  All other walk-ins will be met outside by an officer.

The public is encouraged to call the fire or police department if they need to speak to either department or file a report.  Officers will be handling non-emergency calls by phone that do not require an officer’s presence on the scene as an additional measure to limit their exposure.  The Police and Fire Department does want to reassure the public that if they require an emergency response, they will still respond as always.

The City Clerk will continue to accept candidate packets for the 2021 election as scheduled on Friday and Monday.  Candidates are asked to call 618-533-7636 before arriving.

If you need to pay a bill, you may do so online at cityofcentralia.org, via regular mail, or by placing it in the dropbox on the west side of City Hall at 101 South Locust or in the collection box located across from the Emergency Operation Center at 222 South Poplar.  The Clerk’s Office will continue to assist customers with billing questions at 618-533-7625.

All services will continue to also be offered through other methods such as email and phone.  The City encourages residents to continue to utilize the many electronic methods to conduct business.  Appointments should be made in advance for the City Manager’s Office, any of the other administrative offices, or the Animal Shelter.