HomeMy WebLinkAbout#10 - COVID 19 Preparedness PlanSTAFF REPORT
DATE: June 16, 2020
CONSENT
AGENDA ITEM: COVID-19 Preparedness Plan
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
SUBMITTED BY: Jake Dickson, Assistant City Administrator
BACKGROUND: In order to safely reopen, as per the latest Executive Order from Governor Tim
Walz, the City is required to adopt a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan by June 29th.
ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL:
Should Council approve the COVID-19 Preparedness Plan
PROPOSAL: Staff prepared a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in accordance with Department of
Labor and Industry and Department of Health Guidelines in order to keep our workers safe in the
course of City duty. The plan outlines sanitation, hand washing, social distancing, and facility
guidelines for safely conducting City business.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
OPTIONS:
1) Approve COVID-19 Preparedness Plan
2) Deny COVID -19 Preparedness Plan
RECOMMENDATION:
If removed from Consent Agenda:
“Motion to approve COVID-19 Preparedness Plan.”
COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for the City of Lake Elmo
The City of Lake Elmo is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all our workers. To ensure that,
we have developed the following Preparedness Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Managers and
workers are all responsible for implementing this plan. Our goal is to mitigate the potential for transmission of
COVID-19 in our workplaces, and that requires full cooperation among workers and management. Only through
this cooperative effort can we establish and maintain the safety and health of our workers and workplaces.
Management and workers are responsible for implementing and complying with all aspects of this Preparedness
Plan. City of Lake Elmo managers and supervisors have our full support in enforcing the provisions of this policy.
Our workers are our most important assets. We are serious about safety and health and keeping our workers
working at the City of Lake Elmo. Worker involvement is essential in developing and implementing a successful
COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. We have involved our workers in this process by accommodating remote work
when feasible, ordering more sanitization supplies and increasing our facility cleaning. We facilitated our Council
and Commission meetings digitally through June 1st and are limiting multiple staff members of the same
department at Council meetings, and are encouraging Social Distancing at meetings by limiting attendance. We
split our Public Works crew into two crews with separate workshops, closed our Fire Stations to visitors, , and
closed our offices to the public through June 1st and encouraged staff to stay home if they felt sick. Our
Preparedness Plan follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota Department of
Health (MDH) guidelines and federal OSHA standards related to COVID-19 and addresses:
• hygiene and respiratory etiquette;
• engineering and administrative controls for social distancing;
• housekeeping – cleaning, disinfecting and decontamination;
• prompt identification and isolation of sick persons;
• communications and training that will be provided to managers and workers; and
• management and supervision necessary to ensure effective implementation of the plan.
Screening and policies for employees exhibiting signs and symptoms of
COVID-19
Workers have been informed of and encouraged to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. The
following policies and procedures are being implemented to assess workers’ health status prior to entering the
workplace and for workers to report when they are sick or experiencing symptoms. Workers are encouraged to
be mindful of COVID-19 symptoms identified by the CDC and to stay home if they feel sick. Workers are advised
to maintain the existing system for absences and report them to their immediate supervisor.
The City of Lake Elmo has implemented leave policies that promote workers staying at home when they are sick,
when household members are sick, or when required by a health care provider to isolate or quarantine
themselves or a member of their household. The City of Lake Elmo adopted and facilitated special COVID-19
leave and Emergency Family Medical Leave Act policies.
In addition, a policy has been implemented to protect the privacy of workers’ health status and health
information. Workers are not required to share medical information, but are free to do so.
Handwashing
Basic infection prevention measures are being implemented at our workplaces at all times. Workers are
instructed to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water frequently throughout the day, but
especially at the beginning and end of their shift, prior to any mealtimes and after using the toilet. City facilities
have been supplied with hand sanitizer (containing greater than 60% alcohol) that can be used for hand hygiene
in place of soap and water, as long as hands are not visibly soiled.
Handwashing and sanitizing stations will be available at all City workplaces, and workers will be allowed to utilize
them as frequently as needed.
Respiratory etiquette: Cover your cough or sneeze
Workers and visitors are being instructed to cover their mouth and nose with their sleeve or a tissue when
coughing or sneezing and to avoid touching their face, in particular their mouth, nose and eyes, with their hands.
They should dispose of tissues in the trash and wash or sanitize their hands immediately afterward. Respiratory
etiquette will be demonstrated on posters and supported by making tissues and trash receptacles available to all
workers and visitors. No persons are allowed to enter Fire Stations without a face covering. Tissues are on a
frequent order schedule and are available to all departments. Every work station will be supplied with a trash
receptacle that is emptied as scheduled.
Social distancing
Social distancing is being implemented in the workplace through the following engineering and administrative
controls: Splitting Public Works into two crews and workshops, limiting the sharing of vehicles, , visitors are
prohibited from entering Fire Stations, preventing multiple members of the same department attending Council
meetings, discouraging shared work stations, and physical changes to the Council Chambers to promote social
distancing. Workers and visitors are prohibited from gathering in groups and confined areas and from using
other workers’ personal protective equipment, phones, computer equipment, desks, cubicles, workstations,
offices or other personal work tools and equipment.
Housekeeping
Regular housekeeping practices are being implemented, including routine cleaning and disinfecting of work
surfaces, equipment, tools and machinery, and areas in the work environment, including restrooms, break
rooms, and meeting rooms. Frequent cleaning and disinfecting will be conducted in high-touch areas, such as
phones, keyboards, touch screens, controls, door handles, copy machines, etc. City Offices are cleaned weekly
by an outside agency who have been instructed to prioritize disinfection in their routine. In the event that a City
staff member is diagnosed with COVID-19, further disinfection with Legacy surface cleaner and isolation of the
affected work station. Disinfectant is available and workers are encouraged to disinfect their equipment.
Communications and training
This Preparedness Plan will be communicated to all workers upon adoption by the City Council and necessary
training will provided. Additional communication and training will be ongoing via City-wide email and workplace
postings, and provided to all workers who did not receive the initial training. Management and workers are to
work through this new program together and update the training as necessary. This Preparedness Plan has been
certified by City of Lake Elmo management and was posted throughout the workplace June 17th, 2020. It will be
updated as necessary.
Certified by:
Jake Dickson
Assistant City Administrator