What does it look like to reopen a city? Honestly? Great question. Lots of people are using the word “unprecedented” these days and with good reason. None of us have ever had to deal with a crisis of this magnitude. 

And yet, life has to continue to move forward. People are graduating, going back to work, and getting married. From a position of city leadership the question before us becomes how do we do so safely? 

Here are a few thoughts.

Finding a Balance

Protecting the health and safety of our residents is job #1 for every elected official. If residents don’t feel safe and protected none of the other services a city offers really seem to matter. 

Generally, when thinking about public safety we tend to think in terms of fire and crime not public health. The challenges that come with COVID19 are different than what we are used to considering. 

So, we need to find a balance. It’s good and right for us to begin reopening certain sectors to allow people to get back to work as appropriate. The CDC has provided guidance on how to do so and we are incorporating that information into our Administrative Orders and FAQs that are being updated weekly. 

We also have to continue to protect our first responders, healthcare workers, and members of our most vulnerable populations. The choice isn’t “either/or” it’s “both/and”. 

Here’s how we are trying to do it.

Going Slow

There are a lot of areas in which I would like to see Bartow set the pace. This is not one of them. Going slow in our reopening process allows for two important things to occur. 

Going slow means we can manage our capacity. Take for example our recent (difficult) decision to cancel our Fourth of July Fireworks display. We waited to make this decision as long as we could do so responsibly. Other cities in the County decided to cancel their displays a few weeks ago. One of the factors that went into the decision was the realization that if our display continued as planned, residents from surrounding communities would likely travel to town to enjoy it. This would make make social distancing very difficult to maintain and enforce.

The same is true for moving slowly as we reopen the play equipment and pavilions in our parks. Bartow has more parks per square mile than just about any other municipality. To use the equipment safely, according to CDC guidelines structures would need to be wiped down multiple times per day. We don’t have enough city staff or resources to accomplish this at the moment. We could potentially open only a few parks and equipment but again we run the risk of being able to maintain social distance guidelines. 

I’m not suggesting that these events or facilities are gone forever. In fact, I expect in the coming weeks to see more and more come back online. And, we are considering rescheduling our fireworks display to a later date (New Years maybe ????)

The other advantage of moving slowly is that we can learn from other communities. We are actively monitoring what the County and other larger municipalities are doing and attempt to coordinate our efforts in ways that make sense. This allows for a regional reopen strategy the most experts agree is wise since different areas of the state are impacted differently. 

Being Data-Driven

Perhaps the greatest challenge in our reopen strategy is having good data. Even though it seems at this point life never existed before coronavirus it is still relatively new in terms of its virology. We are literally learning more about it every day. 

Since the first case was identified in Florida, the City of Bartow has been actively monitoring and making plans to protect her citizens by using the best information available to us at the time. 

We continue to rely on guidance from the CDC and the Department of Health to inform our decisions. The city’s Executive Policy Group (City Manager, Police & Fire Chiefs, Attorneys, and various department heads) meet twice a week to review the data and discuss plans to reopen. City Commissioners are regularly providing updates and relaying information as well. 

Of course no data is perfect. But, operating on gut instincts or feelings is not a safe strategy. 

In just a few short months this pandemic has forever changed the lives of people in our community. Families have lost loved ones. People have lost jobs. Family businesses have gone under.

None of these realities are lost on the people tasked with making tough decisions. 

No Easy Answers

There are no easy answers. Based on what I see in social media, most people either think we are moving way too fast to reopen. The rest think we are moving too slow. I’m sure that when we are far enough away from this event to have some perspective we will look back and see things we would like to do differently. There are no crystal balls to assist us. If I am going to make a mistake, I would prefer to err on the side of caution. 

These are just my thoughts on what it means to reopen the city. My goal isn’t to convince you of its wisdom so much as to explain the thought process behind some of these decisions. 

I am convinced though that whether you are #TeamTooFast or #TeamTooSlow you hold your position because you care about your community and want to do what’s best. And, more than anything, it is because of that conviction I know we will come through this stronger. 

Cover Photo by Pratik Gupta from Pexels
Playground Photo by Mike Anderson from Pexels