City Of Shakopee Launches Operational Changes To Contain Spread Of COVID-19

From the City of Shakopee:

SHAKOPEE, MINN. – Following recent recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the City of Shakopee will be making operational changes to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Local Emergency

Today, March 16, Mayor Bill Mars will sign a local emergency declaration related to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The declaration of an emergency invokes the city’s emergency disaster plan and allows cities to provide emergency assistance without complying with time-consuming procedures and formalities that are generally required before.

The City Council is anticipated to ratify the declaration at its March 17 meeting. The meeting will go on as scheduled. Any resident interested in following the meeting is encouraged to do so at www.ShakopeeMN.gov/livestream.

Closures

The Shakopee Community Center and Shakopee Ice Arena will be closed beginning 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17 until further notice. At this time, all other city facilities are open for business during regular hours; however, the public is encouraged to conduct as much business as possible via phone, website or email.

Cancellations

All non-essential city activities, programs and events will be canceled until further notice. This includes:

• All Parks and Recreation activities and programs, including the indoor aquatic center, fitness center, fitness classes, swimming lessons, Learn to Skate classes, active older adult programs and more
• All reservations and rentals at city facilities
• Non-emergency building inspections in occupied buildings (e.g., water heaters, furnace and air conditioners, basement finishes, etc.) All new construction project inspections will continue.
• Egg Hunt & Candy Grab (April 4)
• Planning Commission/BOAA meeting (April 9)
• Parkinson’s NHL Exhibition Game (April 11 – to be rescheduled)
• Park and Recreation Advisory Board meeting (April 13)
• Crime-Free Multi Housing training (April 21)
• Citizens Academy (April 22-May 27)

A full list is available on the city website, www.ShakopeeMN.gov/covid19.

In addition, all Parks and Recreation programs scheduled to start before May 1 will not be available for spring registration.

The city will continue to evaluate and determine if further closures, cancellations and postponements are needed. We will be continually reassessing the situation regarding reopening facilities and hosting future activities.

Refunds

Residents who have registered for an event or reserved a room for rental will be notified about processing their refund or rescheduling their event.

Community Center memberships will be put on hold to ensure members receive the full length of their term agreement. This means your membership expiration will be extended the length of closure. For month-to-month Community Center memberships, you will not be billed until we reopen. If you have questions, please call 952-233-9500.

More information

We understand these changes are a significant inconvenience for many of our residents. We are taking these precautions out of an abundance of caution to minimize the risk of spreading the illness among our residents, guests and employees. This is a rapidly changing situation, and the city is committed to following the recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Health and CDC.

You can find additional information on the city website at www.ShakopeeMN.gov/covid19.

This press release was produced by the City of Shakopee. The views expressed here are the author’s own.