Madison Area Round Up – 3/18/20

March 18, 2020 8:37 pm

Here’s the items not included in the basic needs guide or the Konkel Round Up news aggregation. Updating things as quickly as humanly possible.

May be updated up until midnight.

CITY UPDATES TO CITY STAFF

From: COVID-19Updates@cityofmadison.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 6:54 PM
To: All Email Users
Subject: Reminder from IT, other evening updates

Good evening,

A few updates for you tonight:

First, an important reminder from Information Technology:

We expect to have more employees working from home than ever before. Please recognize that there may be a delay in responding to requests as we accommodate this increase in telework.

Information Technology will provide technical support for City-owned devices and services on the City network. We will not be able to troubleshoot employees’ home technology services. For more details on Support Expectations, visit the COVID-19 IT EmployeeNet page.

A few updates were posted to the City COVID-19 external website later this afternoon:
Child Care Guidance from the Department of Children and Families

Engineering Press Release: COVID-19 Impacts: Public Information Meetings to be Rescheduled

Latest from Public Health:

A number of area employees are still being asked to come into their workplace when they can do their job from home. Public Health Madison & Dane County urges employers to prioritize employee and community health and send these employees home so they can more effectively practice social distancing. Less people in workplaces can also be good for business, as it reduces the chances of multiple employees becoming sick at the same time.

New Information from Public Health Madison & Dane County:

Webpage: What to Do if You are Sick or Possibly Exposed

Webpage Updated: FAQs for General Information

CHILD CARE, WATER UTILITY SERVICE CHARGE UPDATES TO CITY STAFF

From: COVID-19Updates@cityofmadison.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 1:54 PM
To: All Email Users
Subject: Gov. Child Care Order, Water Utility Service Change

Good afternoon,

There are a few updates from City agencies and the State this morning/early afternoon regarding COVID-19:

-Press Release: Madison Water Utility exempting late payment fees until further notice
-Gov. Tony Evers today submitted a request to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance for small Wisconsin businesses and private, non-profit organizations to help alleviate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. Read the letter.

-Gov. Tony Evers today directed Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm to restrict the size of all child care settings. Centers may not operate with more than 10 staff present at a time and may not operate with more than 50 children present at a time. Read the order.

-Press Release/Blog: Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway’s Statement on Local Business with Regards to COVID-19

METRO UPDATES TO ALDERS

From: Orrantia, Leslie
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 4:56 PM
To: All Alders
Cc: Bottari, Mary; Lynch, Thomas; Erdman, Natalie; Rhodes-Conway, Satya V.; Obeng, Kwasi
Subject: Update on Metro Transit Protocol

Good afternoon, Alders –

I hope this email finds you all well during this difficult time.

Yesterday, we navigated some challenges with Metro Transit drivers and riders as we seek to stand-up modified service and ensure their safety. A few changes in protocol have been made and I wished to share an update.

Metro Transit, like many transit operations across the country, has recognized continued service as a critical function for our city and has therefore been working to address concerns expressed by drivers and riders to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing.

With social distancing and safety in mind, we’ve implemented the following:

Limitation of 15 riders or fewer per bus
Request for riders to depart the bus at the rear
Discouraging riders who are immunocompromised, elderly, or feel ill to not take transit, and instead stay home or drive their personal vehicle
Requirement of six feet of distance between riders and the driver seat
Hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes for drivers (Due to extremely heavy usage, Metro has found the supply of hand sanitizer running low and the City’s EOC is delivering additional sanitizer to bridge the gap between now and an anticipated Friday hand sanitizer order delivery.)
Increased bus cleaning requirements and frequency including the fogging of buses with disinfectant which begins today

Metro has also provided two weeks of paid sick leave to drivers available immediately for personal use and/or to care for ill family members.

Per Public Health Madison & Dane County, use of surgical masks are ineffective unless an individual exhibits symptoms of the novel coronavirus and with limitations on these within the state, they are being prioritized for first responders in the healthcare sector.

Metro Transit continues to assess ways to protect drivers and riders from the spread of COVID-19 and is reviewing requests from drivers, advice from Public Health and actions of other transit agencies.

Thanks for your continued attention to this issue and to concerns for the wellbeing of our Metro drivers and riders.

Leslie Orrantia (Or-on-tee-uh)

Deputy Mayor

MADISON URBAN MINISTRY UPDATES

Madison-area Urban Ministry continues to monitor the rapidly evolving situation regarding COVID-19, commonly know as corona-virus.

To minimize the spread of the virus, MUM’s reentry programs (Journey Home, Peer Support and Circles of Support) are working with minimal staff at our offices on Park St. All active participants are working with staff via phone, text and email.

Before coming to our offices, we ask that participants call ahead to make sure the person they want to see is in. (608) 256-0906

Circles of Support are meeting via phone or conference calls, depending on the group.

Clerical and administrative staff are telecommuting.

Just Bakery instructors are working at the bakery, but are working with students remotely. Just Bakery bakery items are only available online and for delivery only. Storefront for success is closed.

Healing House is operating and we have implemented safety protocols. We are working closely with City and County staff and other homeless service providers to keep our residents safe.

Programming in the prisons, Family and Reading Connections, Barracks Behind Bars and in-reach is on hold due to suspension of visits.

Mentoring Connections volunteers are mentoring via phone, text, Skype, zoom, face-time, etc.

Volunteer training and orientation is currently all online with the in-person sessions postponed.

Cancelled:

April Reentry Simulations scheduled for the 1st and 16th: to be rescheduled
April Service Fair at Madison College- South
Partners for Change Luncheon: we will host a virtual event at a later point
Staff visits to community events and community partner agencies

Please stay safe, practice social distancing, stay home if at all possible and care for one another. We’re in this together.

MG&E UPDATE

To our valued customers:

On behalf of all of us at MGE, we understand the evolving situation surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus has many in our community concerned and uncertain. As schools and businesses close, new and unique challenges emerge for all of us.

It’s important all of our customers know your health and safety, as well as that of our employees, is our top priority. The COVID-19 pandemic is new to all of us, but whether we’re facing a pandemic, a major storm that interrupts service or other unpredictable circumstances, MGE has plans designed to ensure our community has safe and reliable electric and natural gas service.

Our commitment to our customers is unwavering.

As part of our efforts to serve, we’re taking steps to keep MGE employees healthy, reduce the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus and ensure we can continue to provide our customers with safe and reliable energy. MGE is following the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding COVID-19.

We continue to evaluate our processes for meeting your needs as this situation unfolds. As a further update to you, please see the following information related to serving you:

In the interest of protection and the safety of customers and of employees, we are closing our lobby effective March 18. However, we will continue to work with you, our customers, to meet your needs.
Please call us at 608-252-7222 or visit our website at mge.com for assistance with service-related needs, bill payment options and more. We will make every effort to get you what you need.

For customers who may need a service call during our community’s response to COVID-19:

MGE crews are prepared and will continue to respond to gas and electric emergencies to ensure public safety.
We are going to manage very carefully our non-emergency work. As a result, we may be contacting customers to reschedule non-emergency service calls for a later date.
Customers who are concerned about the potential transmission of COVID-19 may contact us to postpone or to reschedule any non-emergency work that would require an MGE employee to enter their household.
MGE employees who are working inside a customer’s residence will follow the CDC’s most current guidance and practice best hygiene practices and social distancing—with a goal of maintaining at least six feet of distance from residents.

We understand that this reality could impact the livelihoods of those we serve, and we will continue to work with customers economically impacted by this public health emergency. MGE will not be disconnecting services to customers.

We appreciate our customers’ understanding as we collectively navigate our community’s and our nation’s response to COVID-19. This is a rapidly changing situation, so please continue to check our website and social media channels for further information. If you have questions, our customer service representatives are available to help at 608-252-7222.

For more than 100 years, MGE crews and employees have worked to provide service day-in and day-out, including during challenging times. This is your community energy company’s commitment to you. It is a privilege to serve you. Thank you.

Jeff Keebler

Chairman, President and CEO

Madison Gas and Electric Company

WHAT IS CITY STAFF DOING ON HOMELESS SERVICES?

Council president sent this to all the alders as an update.

From: Okeefe, James
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 6:00 PM
To: Evers, Tag <district13@cityofmadison.com>
Subject: Homeless Services – COVID

Hi Tag:

Ald. Bidar asked me to reach out to you to offer some sense regarding the direction we are headed in trying to protect unhoused persons from the threat of COVID-19. City staff have been working very closely with our County counterparts, homeless service providers, and others in developing a multi-part strategy. Very briefly, this includes:

- - Removing higher risk individuals (over 60, pregnant, underlying health conditions) from the shelter setting to both lessen their risk of exposure and reduce the pressure on the shelter facilities. We’re also committing more funds to diversion programs to avoid adding to the ranks of the homeless. We’re talking primarily about hotel/motel rooms. This is likely a shorter term strategy while we . . .
    - Search for complementary shelter space to reduce high concentrations of users in confined quarters
    - Reinforcing protocols within existing shelter facilities known to reduce the risk of transmission – things like creating greater separation between guests, staggering meal times, sanitizing oft-used surfaces, etc.
    - Developing protocols to facilitate connecting symptomatic shelter guests with health facilities, and then to non-shelter settings for self-isolation (hotels/motels)
    - Providing information and, if possible, self-care kits to people living on the street

My apologies that we’ve been largely unable to share this work with you and your colleagues. I assure you people are working very, very hard to respond to this situation as expeditiously as possible. Feel free to e-mail or call if you have further questions and I will respond as quickly as possible.