LYNN — The physical City Hall is now staffed, following months of being largely empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
City Hall employees went back to work this week, according to the office of Lynn Mayor Thomas McGee. Previously, only department heads had returned to work in the building. According to McGee, the building is still closed to the public, and will be throughout June.
The development is part of the second phase of the city’s reopening plan. The employees have come back on “staggered” schedules to limit the number of people in the building and follow the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. No more than 50 percent of the workforce will be in the building at a time.
There’s another rule for reopening: employees are required to check their temperatures before going into work, and giving their results upon arrival at the building. Those with a temperature above 100.3 degrees, as well as those showing symptoms of COVID-19, will not be allowed to work. According to McGee, this rule works on the honor system, but it is expected employees will be “truthful and honest.”
According to McGee, City Hall is a building that can accommodate “a much larger staff” than the city has, and that there is “more than enough space to comply with the social distancing needed in the building.”
Inside City Hall, the Department of Public Works has separated offices with plexiglass barriers to maintain social distance.
The public will be unable to enter the building until the city enters the third phase of its reopening plan, which is up to five weeks away. According to McGee, residents will have to wear facemasks at City Hall when the building does open publicly.
While workers returning to City Hall is another step toward reopening in full — a major convenience for residents — McGee said the city has been able to “efficiently” provide remote services, and residents have adapted to changes such as paying bills online.
Besides workers returning to City Hall, other changes began this week to mark the start of “Phase Two.” According to McGee, the Lynn License Commission has started accepting applications for extensions to licensed restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops for outdoor consumption, and the License Commission is meeting this week to review the applications.
Food and beverage establishment owners may visit www.lynnma.gov/covid19/reopening.shtml for more information.
