In yet another sign that life is slowly returning to its new normal after pandemic shutdowns, the City of Clarkesville will begin reopening its public facilities starting next week.
City Manager Keith Dickerson says Clarkesville will reopen the playground at Pitts Park on Monday, May 18. Those who use the playground should continue to follow social distancing guidelines.
“We already have people walking in Pitts Park,” Dickerson explains. “The kids need a place to get out and go and we realize that. I’m just asking the parents to wipe the kids’ hands or let them wear gloves and follow the social distance.”
More people are walking in downtown Clarkesville, as well. With the increased foot traffic, the city has decided to open up its public restroom facilities. The restrooms at Pitts Park and those in the parking lot behind the east side of the square will reopen on June 1.
City Hall will reopen the same day with limited access to city offices.
As normal as possible
Dickerson says the city will increase its sanitation efforts once its facilities are back in public use. “We’re not going to sanitize every hour on the hour but the city will adopt a more intense cleaning schedule.”
“We’re trying to get back to as normal as we possibly can,” Dickerson says, adding that he hopes people will continue to follow the governor’s executive orders on what they can and can’t do. “We’ll keep an eye on it. There is no guarantee we won’t shut something back down.”
As for how the city has weathered this pandemic, Dickerson says the staff has been “fantastic!” He says he’s proud of the way they’ve handled the situation, taking on extra cleaning duties to ensure their coworkers’ safety. “It’s really been amazing to work with the staff here at City Hall, fire, police, and public works.”
“To shut the doors of City Hall and not allow people to come in goes against everything we’re supposed to be doing in government,” he says, “but at the same time, we felt we could support the services people needed – water, sewer, trash services, we’ve been doing road repair. I don’t want to say it’s been business as usual, but we’ve been doing the work we’re supposed to have been doing. We haven’t skipped a beat.”
Missing Mountain Laurel in May
The one thing that will skip a beat this year is Clarkesville’s annual Mountain Laurel Festival. The popular event is the city’s largest outdoor festival and the oldest of its kind in Georgia. It usually takes place in May when the Mountain Laurel flowers (for which the festival is named) are in full bloom. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the city to postpone the event.
The 58th annual Mountain Laurel Festival has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 12th.
