The City of Bartlesville began implementing its Covid-19 Mitigation Measures this week following approval of a resolution by the Bartlesville City Council during an emergency meeting on March 18. City officials say the process is expected to take several weeks or even months to complete.
“These measures are designed to reduce the spread of this virus not only to the public but our City employees as well,” City Manager Mike Bailey said. “They primarily include limiting public access at City owned and managed facilities and changing our procedures where we can to reduce exposure to the best of our ability.”
City Hall
Effective Thursday, March 19, portions of City Hall, 401 S. Johnstone Ave., are closed to the public. This includes the utility billing, cashiers’ and court clerk’s windows located on the first floor. Phones will be answered between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. New accounts may be established and discontinuation of services will be accepted by phone.
Utility bills and court fines can be paid:
- Online, at www.cityofbartlesville.org.
- By mail: City Hall, 401 S. Johnstone Ave., Bartlesville OK 74003.
- Drop boxes, which are located in the parking lot directly south of City Hall, the first floor of City Hall and the west end of the Bartlesville Community Center parking lot.
- Payments will also temporarily be accepted by phone via debit or credit card.
- Cash payments can be made at both Homeland stores, United Supermarket and Food Pyramid.
The Utility Billing office may be reached by email: utilitybilling@cityofbartlesville.org or by calling 918.338.4224. Municipal Court may be reached by email: court@cityofbartlesville.org or by calling 918.338.4225. Note: The 10-day grace period for citations will be waived. Municipal Court is suspended and no further failure to appear warrants will be issued or served until further notice.
The Administration and Community Development departments on the second floor and Engineering Department on the third floor are also closed. Phones will be answered between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. for all departments and staff may be seen by appointment.
The City Manager’s office may be reached by email: rebanes@cityofbartlesville.org or by calling 918.338.4282. The Community Development Department may be reached by email: kdwalker@cityofbartlesville.org or by calling 918.338.4238. The Engineering Department may be reached by email: kdtoulou@cityofbartlesville.org or by calling 918.338.4251.
For information about permits, codes enforcement and building inspections, call 918.338.4238.
Police, Fire, Operations
The following facilities are closed to the public:
- Police Department, 615 S. Johnstone Ave. (918.338.4001)
- Police Department East-side Substation, 6101 Nowata Road (918.338.4001)
- Central Fire Station, 601 S. Johnstone Ave. (918.338.4091)
- Fire Station No. 2, 100 S. Virginia Ave. (918.338.4081)
- Fire Station No. 3, 100 S.E. Madison Blvd. (918.338.4086)
- Fire Station No. 4, 3501 Price Road (918.338.4112)
- Public Works, 1700 W. Adams Blvd., (918.338.4130)
- Water Utilities, 1700 W. Adams Blvd. (918.338.4116)
Parks, Adams Golf Course
Public restrooms at City parks are closed due to the inability to routinely disinfect the facilities and keep toilet paper in stock.
Adams Golf Course will continue operations as regularly scheduled, with several measures in place to ensure disinfection of the facilities and social distancing in the dining and other confined areas.
Other measures
Steps are also underway to equip many City employees with the technology required to work remotely, Bailey said.
“We already have some employees working from home and will continue these efforts until the majority are equipped to work from a remote location,” Bailey said. “Obviously, this is simply not possible for every employee of the City of Bartlesville. Police officers and firefighters, along with many in the Sanitation, Water and Wastewater departments simply have to be on-scene to ensure continuity of service to our citizens. But we need to ensure that we have the capability for the ones who can work remotely to do so.”
Other measures underway include regular disinfection of City facilities, splitting work crews into “teams” to reduce levels of exposure and reviewing emergency response protocols for possible changes in the future.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we implement these changes,” Bailey said. “This is a challenging time for our community and the world, but we will all work together to ensure the best outcome possible.”