The Carroll County Board of Supervisors met this (Wednesday) afternoon to further discuss the county’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that some restrictions would be allowed to expire at the end of this week and additional businesses would be allowed to open. Emergency Management Coordinator, Sara Anderson, offered recommendations to the board and residents as Iowa begins to open.
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The supervisors also discussed at length how employee vacations during the pandemic will be handled. Dean Schettler noted employees are entitled to their vacations and the county cannot deny them reasonable requests. Supervisor, Neil Bock, suggested they use a similar model as the City of Carroll that requires employees who have traveled to a county with over 250 cases be required to wear a mask for 14-days when they return to work. The board supported this idea and will also consider allowing employees to rollover up to 10 vacation days into next year during their Monday, May 18 meeting. Last week, Treasurer, Jean Seidl, told the supervisors the renewal of expired driver’s licenses should not pose too much of a problem for her office, but recent guidance from the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) may create issues.
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Some renewals can be completed online at iowadot.gov, but only if the most recent renewal was not online and the applicant is under 70 years of age. Seidl is expecting more information from the DOT on how to proceed sometime next week. The supervisors are still shooting for a June 1 reopening date, but many questions remain on what that may look like. Anderson detailed what other counties are doing.
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The current proposals include allowing in-person service by appointment only with customers being required to wear masks while inside the courthouse or a less restrictive opening that will limit the number of people within the building at any one time. The board does have another meeting scheduled for Friday, May 15 at 1 p.m. to continue these discussions. Carroll Broadcasting will bring you more information on that meeting after the agenda has been published.