Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – City officials have shared updated regulations for Montevallo residents as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

In an April 30 letter to residents, Mayor Hollie Cost outlined adjustments the city is making to its current policies and procedures, including lifting the citywide curfew that has been in place since April 3.

“Thank you for your compliance with state and local orders regarding COVID-19 protocols,” Cost wrote. “This has been a very challenging time in our history, to say the least. We have had two city employees and at least four community members who have tested positive for the virus. In spite of this, we have not had widespread transmission of the disease throughout Montevallo.”

The city’s curfew will be lifted as of Friday, May 1, at 8 a.m.

In addition, adjustments will include the following:

• The Montevallo Recycling center will open Monday, May 4, with strict guidelines, including face mask requirements.
• The Montevallo Golf Course will open with strict guidelines as soon as they are able to secure the proper health and safety equipment.
• The city tennis courts are open with strict recommendations to maintain proper distancing and hand-washing.
• Many City Hall staff members will be returning to City Hall with daily temperature checks and masks required in common areas.
• City Hall will remain closed to the public with limited access. All payments will continue to be accepted by mail and online.
• Parnell Memorial Library will begin curbside service within the next few weeks after proper protocols are put in place.
• Park restrooms will open Monday, May 4, with twice-daily cleanings and capacity restrictions.

Montevallo’s updates came two days after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s decision to downgrade the state’s shelter-at-home order to a safer-at-home order, allowing certain retail businesses to reopen April 30.

The new order is part of a “thoughtful and methodical process” to continue to be cautious while focusing on the state’s economic health, according to Ivey.

“While it would be easy and very desirable to return to our traditional routines, medical professionals advise against that until we have a vaccination,” Cost wrote. “Even so, there are many activities and areas of commerce that we now understand we can enjoy with proper precautions. Governor Ivey has issued a great deal of information about those precautions through the Alabama Department of Public Health. The Center for Disease Control is a key source for precautionary information and guidelines.”

Cost said she is grateful Montevallo has not experienced outbreaks like other communities have suffered.

“You, as a community, deserve the credit for that,” Cost wrote. “If, due to viral spread or community non-compliance, we see a need to be more restrictive with our facilities or return to a curfew, we will reluctantly do so. Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to serve as your mayor. I truly love this city.”