The city of Sedona will soon be reopening to an extent.

Sedona City Hall closed its doors nearly two months ago as a result of officials’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, most staff members worked from home in order to maintain as much normalcy as possible, having virtual meet­ings, emailing and making phone calls.

As part of Gov. Doug Ducey’s Phase 1 of reopening the state, staff will return to their offices on Monday, May 18. However, city hall will remain closed to the general public during this phase, though appointments can be scheduled as needed. The only exception will be the police department’s front desk, which will be open Mondays and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon.

“For as quickly as the closures needed to take place and the limited time to prepare, city staff worked diligently to deploy new technologies for remote work and virtual services,” Assistant City Manager and Community Development Director Karen Osburn said. “Conducting busi­ness by appointment and through virtual services has worked well to keep key areas, like permit­ting and inspections, going without interruption despite the closures.”

The governor’s stay-at-home order runs through Friday, May 15, so Monday, May 18 seemed like a logical time to begin Phase I reopening, Osburn said.

According to the city’s 17-page reopening plan, each department arranged for limited face-to-face meetings with the public on an as-needed basis to satisfy customer service needs, advance projects, answer questions and address issues.

Staff members will also be expected to limit in-person inter­action with each other during this initial phase. Staff can begin to return to the office to work but office presence will continue to be limited, including staggered staff schedules as much as possible to maintain distancing. Staff work that can be accomplished remotely should be done at home, the reopening plan states.

Staff will be required to wear masks when inter­acting with the public or one another. The public will be asked to also wear masks when meeting staff by appointment. If they do not have a mask, the city will provide one. In addi­tion, Plexiglass shields will be installed in depart­ments that don’t currently have any barriers while those that do will see the air holes filled to add another layer of protec­tion between staff and the public.

“We’re not taking anything for granted during the pandemic,” City Manager Justin Clifton said. “We were quick to move to remote

operations to protect our team and our community members. Now that we anticipate the stay home order being lifted and the economy opening, we are ready to open city offices and resume some of the work that has been deferred.”

In terms of the reopening plan, Osburn said a team of city department heads and other key staff was put together to collectively develop it.

“We looked at protocols that would be applicable organization-wide as well as unique needs for each service area,” Osburn said. “The team also consid­ered how CDC and other health and safety recom­mendations and guide­lines would be applied to everything we do.

“We will ensure that customer service needs are addressed. Like many businesses, we are adapting to new ways of doing things to keep service provision going, but we will do that in a way that prioritizes the protection of our employees and residents and other customers from the virus.”

In Phase II — the starting date of which which will be determined by Ducey — city hall offices will reopen but offer reduced hours to promote limited public contact and accommodate staggered shifts as well as remote work. This could mean limited open hours per day and days per week. Other strategies that promote continued physical distancing in accordance with the CDC guidance will also be considered. All other Phase I protocols are expected to remain in place with exceptions.

Phase III would see the city return to pre-COVID business hours and opera­tions assuming all restric­tions are lifted. However, the city will evaluate possible work-from-home scenarios for staff and functions that lend them­selves to this structure as a new normal, the plan states. This may include allowing staff members to work from home one day a week. In addition, they will evaluate continua­tion of certain virtual or appointment-only services that may have worked well during the COVID situation.

“We’ve developed thoughtful practices across the organization that allow us to resume delivering valuable service to the public while remaining cautious and diligent to avoid potential spread of COVID-19,” Clifton said. “The health and safety of our team and our commu­nity will remain the top priority.”