To support the Federal and State goal of slowing the spread of current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and allow the Health Care Professionals time to properly cope and address, the Town of Mount Airy is instituting several preventative and precautionary actions.
Public Meetings: Town Hall will be closed for all public meetings during the months of March and April unless otherwise noted. This includes volunteer committee meetings. Town Council and Planning Commission meetings are under consideration. Update: March Planning Commission meeting is canceled. UPDATE: April Town Council meeting will be help virtually and live-streamed on the Town’s Facebook page. Please monitor this website for updates.
Town Events: In an effort to take precautions and protect the health and safety of people from the coronavirus, events may either be postponed, canceled or rescheduled. Please check our website and Facebook page for the latest information.
Town Hall Services: Update: All Town Hall services will remain and operational; however, Town Hall is closed to the public. Please use the “Drop Box” at Town Hall for bills or correspondence.
Water Bills: The water bill cycle will be delayed for two weeks and will go out on or about April 15th. This is an effort to help citizens get a much-needed break. In addition, the credit card fees associated with online bill paying will now be paid by the Town until further notice. If paying your bill is a challenge, please contact Mary VanMetre at [email protected] or 301-829-1424. UPDATED: 3/25/2020.
Water Shut-Offs: There will be no water shutoffs due to non-payment until further notice. If you may have difficulty paying your water bill, please contact Mary VanMetre at [email protected] or 301-829-1424 for assistance and more information.
Town Hall Staff: The Town of Mount Airy is instituting telework options for non-essential employees. A more liberal sick leave policy is in place. Auto-forwarding of phone calls has been set up to forward calls to cell phones. Some delays for non-essential services may be noted.
Police Department: The Police Department will be operating as normal until further notice.
Public Works Department: Services from our Public Works Department will not be interrupted, however, staff will be on an alternating schedule beginning 3/23/2020. Trash and recycling pickups will remain on schedule.
“Mackenzie” and the Mount Airy Historical Society Museum: Both the caboose and the museum will be closed until further notice.
Senior Center: The Mount Airy Senior Center, managed by the Carroll County Commissioners, has been closed until further notice.
Drive-Up Testing: Carroll Hospital is offering drive-up testing for the COVID -19 virus to individuals who qualify via a pre-screening. The specimen collection tent is on the third floor of its parking garage. Individuals have to be screened first though their primary care providers. The tent outside the emergency room at Carroll Hospital is to treat individuals that are already showing symptoms and who are actually sick.
Volunteers: The Town is organizing a Volunteer Action Group. Please go to www.mountairymd.gov/covid19 to complete an online form to let us know how you can help, a separate online form to complete if you or someone you know needs help.
Civic Action: Bill Butts is organizing leaders from all our local civic groups to teleconference with the mayor to see what additional services and resources can be offered.
Blood Donors Needed! Healthy individuals can schedule an appointment to give blood with the American Red Cross by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or, calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Restaurant Availability: As of 5:00 PM, March 16th, restaurants may only be open for carryout or delivery options by order of the Governor. See https://www.ma-covid19.page/restaurant-options for the Mount Airy restaurants that are open and what they are doing in light of the new ruling.
Park Facilities: The Town of Mount Airy is placing a hold on all park facility reservations until further notice. Reservations can be rescheduled or canceled and refunded. A notice will be going out to those with reservations in the near future. Parks will not be closing, but citizens should not gather in groups greater than 10 people as recommended.UPDATE: 3/21/2020 - For the safety or our children, the Town is following the governor’s advice and closing playground equipment. UPDATE: 3/29/2020: To assist and further encourage social distancing. The Mount Airy Emergency Response Team has recommended and we will be closing all play courts in Town operated Parks effective immediately. This includes Basketball, Tennis and Pickle Ball. This is in addition to the closing of our public buildings, pavilions, and other park facilities. Our Parks remain open for non-group use. This WILL be enforced.
Business Assistance: Small Business Survival Toolkit. The State is offering resources through the Dept. of Commerce and Dept. of Labor to immediately assist the small business community here. For a summarized list of the programs available click here. All businesses can email [email protected] if you’d like to share a change in your business hours and operations in response to the State of Emergency.
Census 2020: Consider completing your Census which is completed per household and can be completed online with or without your census ID that was mailed to your address. Go to https://my2020census.gov/ to complete this quick and simple online form. Doing so ensures that you and your community gets the maximum amount of government funding available.
The Town will be monitoring this issue and our response will be constantly evolving. Again, our citizens and our employees’ health and safety are our #1 priority.
For additional health resources regarding COVID-19, please visit the following websites: the Center for Disease Control - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html or Maryland Department of Health (MDH) - https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/
