Providence plans to reopen City Hall in late June

PROVIDENCE - Providence officials are developing plans to reopen City Hall and the municipal building at 444 Westminster St. on June 22.

The city shut down in-person operations in March due to concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Some city workers, such as employees of the Providence Water customer service center, have already returned to work under new protocols.

Officials are working on policies around mask-wearing and how to screen people’s temperatures before they enter city buildings, Sabrina Solares-Hand, the city’s chief operating officer, said during a Monday night meeting of the Providence City Council Committee on Finance held over Zoom.

In-person staffing would be kept at around 50%, Solares-Hand said.

Staff members would be divided into two groups and assigned different shifts, she said. Group A would go into work Mondays and Tuesdays and Group B would go in on Thursdays and Fridays.

Wednesdays, as well as Saturdays and Sundays, would be reserved for deep cleaning, Solares-Hand said.

Personnel within each group would enter the building at staggered times - 8 a.m., 8:30 a.m., or 9 a.m. - to avoid large numbers of people entering and leaving at once, she said.

Some employees would continue to work from home on the days that they are not at City Hall, she said. But starting this week, about 500 staff members will be furloughed 1-2 days per week and paid through unemployment insurance to compensate for lost wages.

City officials are also planning to outfit some public-facing offices with plexiglass shields made by workers in the Department of Public Works, Solares-Hand said. Chairs in waiting areas will be spaced farther apart and markings on the floor of City Hall will indicate six feet of distance.

mlist@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7121

On Twitter:@madeleine_list