Special to the Opelika Observer

City of Opelika officials announced that all city buildings will reopen on May 18.

“We are pleased to be opening our city buildings to the public and we plan to
take necessary precautions to protect our employees and citizens. We have
developed protocol for each building and ask that you please follow these
guidelines when you visit,” said Mayor Gary Fuller.

The City of Opelika has put the guidelines below in place and will continue these
until further notice.

General guidelines for all buildings:

• Citizens are encouraged to continue conducting business online, by
phone or email if possible.
• City employees will practice six-foot social distancing at all times with
fellow employees and visitors.
• Visitors are asked to wear a mask when entering city buildings.
• Employees will wear a mask when interacting with the public. If working
with money or paperwork, employees will wear gloves.
• Hand sanitizer will be available in all city buildings. Visitors are asked to
use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving city buildings.
• City buildings will be sanitized daily.
• Employees and visitors are asked to stay home if they feel sick.
• All lobby floors open to the public will be marked to allow for six-foot
social distancing.

Accounting and Human Resources: As of May 18, both of these
departments will be located at 608 Ave. A. The lobby will be open. An
employee will escort visitors back for meeting if necessary.

Purchasing/Revenue (City Hall): Visitors should enter City Hall through the
7th Street entrance and exit at Avenue A.

Opelika Power Services: The lobby will not reopen at this time. OPS will
continue operating by drive-through window, phone and online until further
notice.

Municipal Court and Probation: Court will resume on May 20 with a
limited capacity. Only defendants and witnesses will be allowed in the courtroom
in order to maintain social distancing. No additional family members will be
allowed.
Public Works/Planning/Build Inspection/Engineering: The lobby will
be open from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Restrooms will not be open to the public. Once
visitors enter they will need to call the office they would like to visit. A city
employee will escort visitors to that office. There will be a sign with phone numbers in the lobby area.

Opelika Police Department: The lobby will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Opelika Fire Department: Lobby hours for all firehouses will be 8 a.m. to 4
p.m.

Opelika Environmental Services: The OES lobby will not reopen at this time.
If you would like to sign up for garbage or curbside recycling, please call
Opelika Power Services at 334-705-5170. If you have questions or concerns
about garbage or recycling, call 334-705-5480.

Recycling centers and curbside recycling: Recycling centers will remain
closed until further notice. Once our upstream processors are back in full
operation, recycling centers will reopen. They will continue to pick up curbside
recycling since our vendor Pratt Industries is in full operation.

Lewis Cooper Jr. Memorial Library : The library will continue to operate
with the following restrictions and limitations in place.
Library Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 9 am to 6 pm
Closed on Sunday
Limited services include:• One entrance: The Avenue A door by the fountain is the
only entrance open.
• Total number of patrons in the building is limited to 30
people.
• Computer lab is limited to five people with 20 minutes
of use, non-renewable.
• Children’s room is limited to five people at a time.
• Genealogy room is closed.
• Reference room and quiet study space is closed.
• Newspapers unavailable
• No meeting space or study space available
• No programs or special events
• Printing, faxing and notary services are available, but six feet of social
distancing must be maintained during all transactions. Call 334-705-5380 ahead to verify notary services are currently available.
• Curbside pickup service is available. Place your holds for books, movies and more
online at www.cooperlibrary.com Call 334-705-
5380 when you arrive and we will bring items out to you.
Parks and Recreation: The Opelika Sportsplex is now reopen with normal hours.
Activities are restricted to weight room, cardio equipment and the indoor
track. The Denson Recreation Center will remain closed until further notice. The Covington Recreation Center is closed for construction. All basketball, soccer and baseball fields remain closed because of these being close contact sports.

May 19 City Council meeting: City council meetings will be open to the public
beginning May 19. We will monitor capacity in order to maintain social
distancing and occupancy rates. There will be no citizen communications. We
encourage you to watch from your home via the city’s YouTube Channel,
OpelikaCityGov. A direct link to the city YouTube Channel can be found at
www.opelika-al.gov. Should you have comments or concerns you’d like to share
with the council, please email them to City Clerk Russell Jones at
rjones@opelika-al.gov.