Municipalities across the country had a rather loud wake up call back in March this year. They were facing an unprecedented challenge when COVID 19 came knocking. Shutting down municipal buildings and banning people from entering town owned facilities seemed an unthinkable proposition just a few weeks earlier. Without any clear idea of when the restrictions would be lifted, the township of Schreiber quickly implemented plans to secure the safety of its employees and residents. Months passed and finally a very light green light was given from the provincial government  to slowly start opening certain areas in multistage phases.

Kim Krause from Schreiber Media Centre spoke with CAO Nathan Dias early on when the first announcements were made. It seemed appropriate to conduct a follow up interview when it was announced that the municipality would now be reopening select services and buildings.
Nathan defected on the early stages and the subsequent challenges faced with reopening up to the public. As a small town with limited resources, decisions had to be weighed very carefully as to which services would receive priority. Keeping the safety aspects in mind, and being mindful of the citizens needs needs, a plan was put into action that would slowly allow a somewhat odd return to “normal”. 

The first item on the agenda was to allow people into the municipal building, obviously making it easier for them to access services and pay bills. Public areas such as ball fields and parks would be more difficult. Mr Dias noted the impossible task of sanitizing an entire ball park and even talked about how tricky it could be just to provide a safe space at the recreation centre. Sanitizing was the order of the day where close conduct with gym equipment was allowed. This of course leads to the question of costs for materials and allocating staff to cleaning duties and training. 

Council meetings would have to continue and initially video conferencing seemed the way forward. Schreiber had already been streaming regular council meetings but some councillors struggled to be heard and understood and complained that meetings were not being productive. Eventually changes were made that would allow for the mayor and councillors to conduct meetings in the municipal chambers and stream to the public. Nathan continues to strive for a balance between personal freedoms and safety and it would seem that so far the township of Schreiber has done an excellent job in the face of this pandemic.