CITY UPDATES:
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The City of Omro will be continuously updating this webpage with information as it becomes available.
CITY BUILDINGS: The City Hall front desk is open, but the hall to our other offices is currently closed without appointments or special permission. We are looking to limit the potential exposure at municipal buildings to protect staff and the general public. Please continue to call the respective departments in lieu of coming in to learn what alternate options there are to conduct business over the phone, email or fax. We also provide a no contact table between the front doors for picking up forms for building permits, boat licenses and dog & cat licenses. There are envelopes and clean pens available if you wish to submit your payment while in the lobby. COVID-19: If you are ill or have been exposed to the virus please do not enter any public buildings and quarantine at home. We are trying to keep our employees as healthy as possible in order to keep serving the community. GENERAL INQUIRIES: If you have a general service inquiry or need assistance from City staff, please call or email rather than visit. We can be reached at 920-685-7000 or jkiesling@omro-wi.com. We likely can complete your request or transaction without in-person interactions. PAYMENTS: If you are looking to make a City payment, please contact us by phone to discuss options that would avoid face-to-face contact. Options may include on-line payments or use of the red and white dropbox located outside the entrance to City Hall 24/7. Envelopes for payments are located between the front doors of city hall. CITY GOVERNMENT MEETINGS: All non-essential City committee meetings will be held on the Zoom application. To attend virtual meetings, you can join the meeting through the link found at the top of the agenda. If you do not have a camera or microphone on your computer, or do not have a computer, call (312) 626-6799 and the code on the agenda to listen and talk by telephone (please mute your phone when not speaking if possible. Do not go on hold if your phone system plays music.). If you need assistance or wish to speak at an upcoming meeting, please call Linda or Barb at City Hall at 685-7000 and we will be glad to help you by walking you through the process or setting up a computer for you here at City Hall so you can join in the discussion! Requesting a Ballot by Mail: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND ENCOURAGED!!!! If you are concerned about appearing in person in the Clerk’s office for absentee voting or at the polls on Election Day due to the Coronavirus outbreak, you have the option of having your ballot mailed to your home. To request a ballot be mailed to you at home please visit the MyVote website (https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/) using google chrome as your web browser. You may be required to submit photo identification with your application. Please visit the Bring it to the Ballot (https://bringit.wi.gov/) website for information on photo identification. The deadline for requesting a ballot by mail is 5:00 p.m. on ______, 2020 (due to mail time, earlier is better!). Please call City Hall at 920-685-7000 if you are experiencing issues with the site or have questions. Registering to Vote: You can also register to vote online through the MyVote website. To register to vote online, your address on your driver’s license or identification card must be current. You can change your address online with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Please allow 24 hours after you change your address with the Department of Transportation before registering to vote online. You can also print your application from this site and mail it to the clerk’s office or pick up a form at city hall. Proof of residence is required with your application. CANCELLATIONS AND INFORMATION: The Omro Family Aquatic Center has closed for 2020. Swimming lessons and the Omro Baseball/Softball summer program have been cancelled. The library is actively monitoring the outbreak of COVID-19. As a precautionary health measure, we are canceling all public programs and meetings until further notice. Please check our website at omrolibrary.org or continue to monitor our Facebook page for further updates. As of 3/18/2020, the library will be closed. Beginning FRIDAY, APRIL 24, we will be offering contactless curbside pickup for in-house items (by appointment only): Monday through Friday, 10am - 4pm (hours may change as needed). Appointments are now available to visit the library. Find the details at https://bit.ly/OmroCurbside As updates become available, we will post them on our website at omrolibrary.org, and on our Facebook page. Omro schools and playgrounds are currently open. The school trail remains open. Omro Area Community Center: The Community Center is currently closed. Any activities, programming, rentals, and events that are to take place are canceled/postponed effective today Monday, March 15, 2020. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. The Staff and Board of OACC would like to take precautionary measures to assist in reducing the spread of COVID-19. The self-imposed 30 day closing is a precautionary measure to ensure the health and wellbeing of our guests, visitors, and meal-site participants. Contact us via email on the website with any questions or concerns at https://www.omrocommunity.org/contact. Forms for dog and cat licenses are available between the front doors of city hall or via mail by calling 685-7000 or email jkiesling@omro-wi.com. 2021 licenses are due on March 31, 2021 and will be available in the 2nd week of December. Call 685-7000 if you have questions. You must supply a copy of your rabies vaccination certificate if it has been updated since your last license was issued. Building Permit forms are available in the area between the front doors of city hall. For questions or appointments, call the building inspector at 920-410-6756. Garbage and Recycling from Advanced Disposal continues weekly. There will be no curbside pickup of items outside the bins. The transfer station is closed to the public. City playgrounds, restrooms and shelters are open. At this time, the city does not recommend that people use these facilities because of the potential risk to contract and spread COVID-19. If citizens choose to use park facilities we advise you to: Use at Your Own Risk • Practice social distancing and avoid close contact with others outside your household. The CDC recommends maintaining a physical distance of six feet from others. • Keep our parks safe; please stay home if you are sick. • Visitors are encouraged to bring hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes with them. • Practice good personal hygiene. Wash or sanitize your hands and your children's hands after touching surfaces. Avoid touching your face. Sneeze or cough into a tissue or the inside of your elbow. • We will continue to maintain our normal levels of service, but please note that equipment and other surfaces in the parks are not being wiped down. Visitors are encouraged to bring hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes with them. Canoes and Kayaks are not available in 2020. There is no way for the city hall staff to clean and sanitize oars and vests between use. EVENTS AND SHELTER RENTALS The City of Omro understands that the state and county orders are no longer in place, but we continually are asked what our opinion is regarding holding events and gatherings. The state continues to monitor the statistics and the phases that would have been followed had the Badger Bounce Back order stayed in place. You are welcome to use these as guidelines for determining whether your event should be held and if so, how you can do so in the safest way possible. CAN I HOLD OR SHOULD I GO TO A LARGE GATHERING? Wisconsin DHS Guidelines: Interim guidance on large gatherings: At this time, DHS does not advise large gatherings, and there is no projected timeframe available as to when this advisory would change. Event planners should work closely with local/tribal health departments and local/tribal law enforcement on any future plans and decisions. Public health experts agree that large gatherings of people in sustained, close contact greatly increases the risk for spread of the virus among those who attend the events and to the communities these individuals return to after the event. The communal nature of such events makes it especially challenging to accommodate the physical distancing and sanitation recommendations required to slow the spread of disease. This includes but is not limited to fairs, festivals, parades, and conferences. Given the state of COVID-19 transmission in Wisconsin, DHS recommends you not engage in public or private gatherings of people that are not part of a single household or living unit. This recommendation will change as the state progresses through the different phases of Wisconsin’s roadmap outlining public health principles to decrease COVID-19 cases and death. DHS provides criteria that the state will use to guide communities as people begin to interact. For example, to move out of the initial gating criteria and into Phase 1, the plan identifies that a sustained downward trajectory of individuals with symptoms, a sustained downward trajectory of positive cases as a percent of total tests, and a robust health system capacity should all be present. As the state progresses through each phase, the recommended maximum size of gatherings also increases. An example is an event with 250 or more people in attendance should only be held once the state has entered Phase 3 of reopening. In terms of planning events for this summer or fall, the best guidance is to proceed with caution. Work with your local/tribal health departments and consider all possible options given the potential for large group gathering cancellations due to COVID-19. Wherever possible, DHS urges event organizers to host virtual or other non-contact events that can build the same sense of community and celebration. Event cancellations per CDC: When does CDC recommend that I cancel or postpone an event? If there is minimal or moderate spread of COVID-19 in the community, CDC recommends canceling an: * event that includes 250 people or more. * event likely to have 10 or more people who are at higher risk of serious COVID-19 illness. This includes older adults and people with underlying health problems such as lung or heart disease and diabetes. If there is substantial spread of COVID-19 in the community, CDC recommends cancelling events of any size. What about a smaller event? Each individual needs to consider social distancing whenever possible and take into consideration who is attending and potential risk. Any close contact outside of your household is, of course, a contact that could result in the spread of the virus. We do not want to see an increase in cases that may close down our businesses again and we certainly don't want to see the most vulnerable members of our community become sick. Think of all the years we have worked to keep just one child in our community safe! Please see WEDC Guidelines for further information for staying safe and keeping others protected as we reopen Wisconsin. https://wedc.org/reopen-guidelines/ CITY CARES INITIATIVES: The 2020 dog and cat license deadline is now extended to July 31. 2021 licenses are due on March 31, 2021 and available in the 2nd week of December 2020. You are welcome to mail in your information or put it in the drop box in front of city hall and we will be happy to mail back your rabies vaccination information and tag after processing. Utility disconnections for water and sewer have been suspended by the PSC and the city council has determined late fees will not be charged until after April 15, 2021. Please contact us at 685-7000 if you have concerns about the ability to pay your bill and we will work with you to make payment arrangements. Boat launching in the City of Omro is free for the year 2020. The pay to park at the launch program will resume in 2021. Liquor licensing and coin-op machine fees due in June 2020 will be pro-rated (but kept at or above the minimum required by the state statutes). Notices for licensing will be sent in the mail soon. If you have reserved a park shelter for this summer and are unable to use it due to the pandemic restrictions, please contact us and we will issue a refund. Tax Payment Late Fees have been postponed until October 1, 2020. If you cannot pay your current taxes on July 31, you now have an additional 2 months to pay without incurring penalties or interest. This does not negate interest on taxes due for your first installment in January. The City of Omro has announced a CITY CARES 0% Business Loan Program. Details are at https://www.omro-wi.com/city-cares.html! Contact Stephanie Hawkins at 685-0380 x 22 or Linda Kutchenriter at 685-7000 for more information. |
