Holyoke City Hall & City Hall Annex, located at 536 Dwight Street, will officially re-open to the public on June 1st. The schedule of operation will be Monday thru Friday, from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm and from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm.
- The Council on Aging & Senior Center will have all services available by June 7th & Lunch Services on June 14th. Grab & go lunches will still be available.
- The Holyoke Public Library will re-open to the public on June 15th
- The Holyoke DPW Starting today, Wednesday, May 26th, the yard waste facility on Berkshire Street will now be open 7 days a week. Monday – Friday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, please have your disposal card and masks are required.
- The DPW main office at 63 Canal Street will be open to the public beginning June 1st. We will allow 2 customers at a time, and masks are required.
- The recycling center will remain open Tuesday and Thursday only 7:30 am – 2:30 pm, closed for lunch 12:00-12:30.
In the best interest of staff and visitors, the Board of Health has set some guidelines. They are as follows:
Masks:
- Masks will be required for City employees and the public until further notice.
- Masks will be required for the public to enter the buildings. We’ll have extra masks available at the guard stations.
- Current CDC guidance suggests masks are not necessary for vaccinated individuals. Still, as we cannot verify vaccination status, we’re going to require masks for everyone for the time being.
Guards:
- At least two guards will be present during the standard work-day, 8:30 am-4:30 pm. (One in the City Hall and one in the Annex)
- The public will sign in and out at the Guard stations for contact tracing.
- Guards will manage the flow of the public into each Department based on the capacity it can hold.
Meetings:
- We strongly encourage Municipal Boards to continue fully remote or hybrid (City staff in building, members of the public remote) meetings.
- Department Heads will be responsible for keeping track of the attendance of the public at Board Meetings (should the Department choose to invite the public in, specifically Name, Address, Phone Number)
- Remote and Hybrid Board/Council meetings can continue until the State’s Open Meeting law Exemption is rescinded. We are awaiting information from the State regarding when the Open Meeting Law exemption will be rescinded and if any lasting changes will be made.
- City Council meetings will not resume in-person attendance by the public at this time.
Building Safety:
- Professional cleanings will begin after re-opening. This cleaning will be on top of current DPW operations.
- The risk of transmission of COVID-19 on surfaces is low. Surface spread is no longer considered a prominent factor in the transmission/spread of COVID-19.
- Public access to bathrooms will be limited to a specific bathroom. All other bathrooms will be “Employees Only.”
“As we prepare to re-open city services to the public, please know that we are doing all that we can to provide those services with public health and safety in mind. In line with that thought, we will still mandate masks be worn in city buildings for all visitors, and that staff also wear them whenever near other employees.” Said Mayor Terry Murphy, “We are thrilled to re-open City Hall and welcome back residents and community members. I want to thank them for their cooperation and understanding. We are slowly starting to get back to normal!”