Kimberling City Declares State Of Emergency
April 2, 2020
This heat map from DHSS represents county concentrations of COVID-19 per county as of 3 p.m. Monday, March 30.
Isaac Estes-Jones
Last week, the city of Kimberling City held special meetings to enact a new ordinance and declare a state of emergency in the town. Special meetings of the board of aldermen were held on Monday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 24. The city provided conference call information to make it easy for people to listen in while still following the states guidance limiting gatherings to 10 people. The board of aldermen met to address the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re still making adjustments to the conference call. We had issues where some people couldn’t hear us very well,” said Jerry Harman, city administrator. “We are working together with other municipalities, local government and the health department to address this thing.”
The board held a first reading of an ordinance on Monday night, March 23. The second and final reading was held Tuesday, March 24. This new ordinance specifies the powers held by the city and its officers in times of emergency.
The six page ordinance, enacted as section 225 of the city code of Kimberling City, grants the mayor the power to declare a state of emergency under certain circumstances, including a public health emergency. The full city code for Kimberling City is available online at www.ckcmo.com, including the new section.
Emergency declared
After the ordinance was passed and signed into effect on Tuesday, the board and mayor Bob Fritz issued a proclamation of a state of emergency.
The declaration is the city’s attempt to “take measures to reduce the possibility of exposure to disease, control the risk, and promote the health and safety of Kimberling City residents.”
Specifically, restaurants, bars and places of entertainment are ordered to serve by pick up, curbside or delivery only. Additionally, “any gathering of more than ten persons in any public place is hereby prohibited until further notice. This shall not apply to gatherings in private homes or places of business not open to the general public.” Citizens are also recommended to stay at home and not travel except for essential needs.
Note, however, police will not be enforcing these requirements at this time. “The wording has ‘prohibited’ and ‘recommended’ right now,” Harman said. “If it were declared unlawful, then the police would be enforcing it, but right now that’s not the case.”
Additionally, grocery stores and other essential operations are not affected by the order banning 10 people or more. “Grocery stores are essential businesses,” Harman said.
“What we are recommending is when you’re out there, use every precaution that you can. Do the things that the government is telling you what to do. We aren’t telling anyone to close, just saying follow the guidelines,” Harman said. “Some businesses have called and asked if we were going to shut them down. Right now, the city is not, but that might come from the county commission or health department."
City Hall in Kimberling City is closed to the public, but the city is not shut down. Staff are available to help citizens with their needs by phone. The city also has public works and other departments working staggered shifts, so employees are always available to take care of issues, but they are helping to prevent the spread of the disease.
“If someone needs to come in and talk about, say, zoning requirements or something like that, we can do that by appointment,” Harman said.
Last week, the city of Kimberling City held special meetings to enact a new ordinance and declare a state of emergency in the town. Special meetings of the board of aldermen were held on Monday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 24. The city provided conference call information to make it easy for people to listen in while still following the states guidance limiting gatherings to 10 people. The board of aldermen met to address the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re still making adjustments to the conference call. We had issues where some people couldn’t hear us very well,” said Jerry Harman, city administrator. “We are working together with other municipalities, local government and the health department to address this thing.”
The board held a first reading of an ordinance on Monday night, March 23. The second and final reading was held Tuesday, March 24. This new ordinance specifies the powers held by the city and its officers in times of emergency.
The six page ordinance, enacted as section 225 of the city code of Kimberling City, grants the mayor the power to declare a state of emergency under certain circumstances, including a public health emergency. The full city code for Kimberling City is available online at www.ckcmo.com, including the new section.
Emergency declared
After the ordinance was passed and signed into effect on Tuesday, the board and mayor Bob Fritz issued a proclamation of a state of emergency.
The declaration is the city’s attempt to “take measures to reduce the possibility of exposure to disease, control the risk, and promote the health and safety of Kimberling City residents.”
Specifically, restaurants, bars and places of entertainment are ordered to serve by pick up, curbside or delivery only. Additionally, “any gathering of more than ten persons in any public place is hereby prohibited until further notice. This shall not apply to gatherings in private homes or places of business not open to the general public.” Citizens are also recommended to stay at home and not travel except for essential needs.
Note, however, police will not be enforcing these requirements at this time. “The wording has ‘prohibited’ and ‘recommended’ right now,” Harman said. “If it were declared unlawful, then the police would be enforcing it, but right now that’s not the case.”
Additionally, grocery stores and other essential operations are not affected by the order banning 10 people or more. “Grocery stores are essential businesses,” Harman said.
“What we are recommending is when you’re out there, use every precaution that you can. Do the things that the government is telling you what to do. We aren’t telling anyone to close, just saying follow the guidelines,” Harman said. “Some businesses have called and asked if we were going to shut them down. Right now, the city is not, but that might come from the county commission or health department."
City Hall in Kimberling City is closed to the public, but the city is not shut down. Staff are available to help citizens with their needs by phone. The city also has public works and other departments working staggered shifts, so employees are always available to take care of issues, but they are helping to prevent the spread of the disease.
“If someone needs to come in and talk about, say, zoning requirements or something like that, we can do that by appointment,” Harman said.