County employees return to work; safety plan in place

Even though the Bourbon County courthouse remains closed to the public, all county employees are back to work, as of midnight Sunday.

County Commission Chairman Lynne Oharah said a meeting with department heads took place Sunday afternoon.

“They (employees) are either at their offices or at home,” Oharah said.

In the meantime, the public is encouraged to conduct business through mail or the internet. Deliveries are being handled through the emergency management office, which is the former public health office located in the southwest courthouse parking lot.

The purpose of closing the courthouse and sending non-essential employees home was to protect employees and the public, Oharah said. During this time, no county employee was diagnosed with COVID-19, he said.

“I had made the comment earlier that there was no way we could protect our employees and the public,” Oharah said.

All non-essential county employees were sent home on March 17. While not working, non-essential employees were paid their regular hourly wages. Essential employees who continued to work were paid time-and-a-half.

“This takes everybody off time-and-a-half back to straight time,” Oharah said.

A plan to safely bring employees back has been put in place, he said. Bourbon County Emergency Manager William Wallis has obtained masks and gloves for all employees. Janitorial staff, under the direction of David Neville, are using a disinfectant mist daily.

“It kills all viruses and is not harmful to people,” Oharah said.

The chemical, which is available in 55-gallon drums, is being shared with the jail and the city of Fort Scott, Oharah said.

In addition to these precautions, offices are being staffed with numbers that allow proper social distancing:

Office staffing

The following is a list of offices and number of staff:

Register of deeds: two

Appraiser: two salaried employees in split shifts and one employee all day.

County clerk: two employees in the clerk’s office and one employee in the commissioner’s meeting room.

Treasurer’s office: two in the office, but could handle a third.

County attorney: fully staff with each employee having their own office.

Road and bridge: fully staffed with each employee having own vehicle (dump truck, maintainer) and one employee operating the fuel tank.

Landfill: two employees, with one in the office.

Additional steps

Even thought commissioners gave Information Technology Coordinator and Assistant Emergency Manager Shane Walker authority to retrofit courthouse offices to include glass partitions, that work has not begun.

Another idea being considered, according to Oharah, is using the enclosed control center in the former jail portion of the building for the treasurer’s office.