Archives for April 2020

The City of Clarendon enacted Phase 3 of its COVID-19 response plan Tuesday afternoon following notification that a positive case of the disease was confirmed in Donley County that morning.

City Administrator David Dockery said City Hall was closed to the public and would be operated for the time being with a skeleton staff, probably just him. Payments may be made at the dropbox at the front of the building, which will be checked daily. The Burton Memorial Library will also remain closed.

The city recycling center was also closed, but residents may still use recycling dumpsters and designated grass and leaf dumpsters around the city. All sanitation services will continue although pick up times may take longer, Dockery said.

City utility workers will be dispatched from City Hall but will be home with their city vehicles unless they are called out.

Work on the city’s two main projects – the aquatics center and the USDA-funded water infrastructure project – will be suspended. Dockery said this decision was due to the fact that many of the workers on those projects are coming in from areas with high COVID-19 infection rates such as Dallas and Amarillo.

City officials were already concerned about how COVID-19 was going to affect the pool and USDA projects prior to the confirmed case this week. During last week’s city meeting, Dockery told the council the aquatics center could face issues with getting lifeguards trained during social distancing and said the USDA project was suffering from further delays because the some of the contractors workers were not showing up due to fears about the coronavirus.

“Everything is happening very fast,” Dockery said. “We are learning every day, and this is something we have never dealt with before.”

City council meetings in the near future will be conducted in a teleconference method such as Skype. Officials are still working out the details of that out but said they would follow the guidance set by the state to comply with the Open Meetings Act.

Dockery and Mayor Sandy Skelton both said they are not considering a shelter in place order like the one issued in Amarillo at this time, but the city is staying in close contact with the county judge’s office as things move forward.

“From a percentage standpoint, one case in Donley County is a higher percentage than 11 cases in Amarillo,” Dockery said.

The Clarendon City Council approved extending the city’s disaster declaration for 60 days among other agenda items at its regular meeting last Thursday, March 26.

The declaration opens access to state and federal resources for the city and local businesses in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic that is negatively impacting the nation and the entire world.

The city originally declared an emergency disaster declaration on March 19, but that order only lasted for seven days.

City Administrator David Dockery’s report to the council also reflected how COVID-19 is affecting other areas of city business. City utility income is suffering because students are not at the college and the public schools.

City officials also visited with Sheriff Butch Blackburn about the law enforcement contract between the city and the county, and authorized the mayor to negotiate with the county judge.

A request by Cornell’s Country Store was approved to abandon 150 feet of Orpe Street from US 287 to the alleyway. That street will be divided between Cornell’s on the east and West Texas Gas on the west with the city maintaining a utility easement.

The council voted in favor of increasing the fee to impound animals after hours to $100.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday afternoon that he was ordering public schools to remain closed until May 4 as the state continues to battle COVID-19.

Clarendon and Hedley schools continue to work to deliver educational materials and meals to their students. Clarendon Superintendent Jarod Bellar reported that CCISD served a five-day total of 493 breakfasts and 700 lunches last week.