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Face Masks Will Now Be Required at St. Clairsville Council Meetings

File Photo The audience is shown during a recent St. Clairsville City Council meeting. City officials announced this week that masks will be required during future meetings.

St. Clairsville leaders are taking precautions in response to surging COVID-19 cases in the area.

In-person council meetings will continue, but council President Jim Velas announced Tuesday that members and guests at future meetings and committee meetings will be required to wear masks.

“COVID cases are up dramatically,” Mayor Kathryn Thalman said. “We will be evaluating very soon the protocols for the city building.”

Two city employees are in quarantine after being in contact with people positive for COVID-19. Testing will be offered for all employees.

In answer to a question from the audience, officials said people will be permitted to remove their masks when speaking.

Velas said there has been no discussion about returning to a telephone-based meeting format that council used for close to a year. State legislation allowing for virtual and distance meetings expired in July and new legislation would need to be passed by the state. Thalman said this could be a possibility.

“Just watching the numbers trend, it wouldn’t surprise me if at some point they throw that out there again,” Thalman said.

Meanwhile, Thalman reported the temporary water main bypass was successful. Two weeks ago the city began using a temporary waterline to supply water from the treatment plant. This was after the old line was found to be leaking and Safety and Service Director Jeremy Greenwood feared a major break was on the horizon.

“There were a few places where the water became somewhat turbid in the city, but it was quickly cleared up by flushing the hydrants,” Thalman said.

Greenwood said there was a small leak on the temporary line, repaired Monday.

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