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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – MAY 18, 2020 8 <br /> <br />Councilmember Holmes asked about seasonal staff taking their breaks inside with the other staff <br />in hot weather. <br /> <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said in an effort to reduce the number of <br />employees at the Public Works facility they would try to keep seasonal staff in the field for breaks <br />provided the weather was cooperative, but they would make accommodations on very hot days so <br />they could come into a climate-controlled area for lunch. He can provide a schedule of lunch <br />times. <br /> <br />Discussion ensued regarding the area mower and truck operations. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holmes wondered if the Public Works staff should wear a mask when less than <br />six feet from each other. <br /> <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom said the plan could be amended to state that. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holden felt summer hours for office staff should be foregone. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant said they should discuss if staff should come back to the office. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holmes said the Governor’s plan still says staff should work from home if they <br />can. <br /> <br />City Administrator Perrault noted that one metric some cities are using to bring staff back is <br />when retail operations are allowed to continue. As of May 18, retail is allowed at 50% capacity, <br />and some cities are reopening their doors to the public and/or having staff come back per normal. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant felt they may have to forego summer hours but he did see staff back in the office <br />but how much and when he didn’t know. <br /> <br />Councilmember Scott agreed to dispense with summer hours but wondered about opening the <br />front desk, at least partially. He proposed having customers coming into City Hall wear a mask. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant the decision may need to be left to the City Administrator with the general <br />direction of encouraging more people to come into the office starting June 1. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holden said the City Administrator should figure out what he needs and decide <br />who he needs in the office but to maximize the number of staff working from home. <br /> <br />Administrator Perrault indicated that during the Stay at Home and Safe at Home time periods <br />there haven’t been any complaints about City Hall being closed but he thought once the order gets <br />lifted we may see complaints. Retail opening may not be a good metric but he thinks people will <br />see it as having more freedom to move around and feel they should be able to enter public <br />buildings. From his perspective more staff could be rotated in more frequently. If Council has a <br />hard date when they would like full staff back or the doors open he would like that direction. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holmes thought they could bring more staff back only if we open the doors.