LAURINBURG —Despite the coronavirus pandemic and the recent proclamation for a state of emergency in the county, the Scotland County Board of Commissioners are expected to continue to hold its monthly meetings.
“North Carolina Statute 153A-40 says that county commissioners must hold at least one regular meeting per month and all meetings of the commissioners are open to the public,” said Jason Robinson, public information officer for Scotland County.
The meeting would still be considered a gathering of potentially 50 or more, so in light of that, the board is still considering options for holding the meeting.
“With that being said, we are looking at different ways to accomplish having a meeting with as few people as possible, and we also have talked about doing it on Facebook live,” continued Robinson.
The Covid-19 virus has caused numerous changes and closings around the county, state and nation, with new information and changes are being presented daily.
“This is an unprecedented time in our history and we have had to think outside the box,” said Robinson. “Some events that have been canceled are events like the State of the Community Breakfast, the Father-Daughter Dance in Wagram and anything where there might be a large group of people.”
The next meeting of the county commissioners is scheduled for Monday, April 6, at 7 p.m. in the Emergency Operations Center on West Boulevard in Laurinburg. That date, time and location are subject to review, as well.
Also according to Robinson, all of the county construction projects are still moving forward as planned, including the radio tower, the Covington Street office renovation for the Register of Deeds, and the Snead’s Grove Convenience Site.
“The Snead’s Grove Convenience Site has been delayed until April 6, but that is due to weather,” said Robinson.
Day-to-day operations have been adjusted somewhat for county departments.
“Department heads have been asked to have any employees who can work from home to do that,” said Robinson. “All of our buildings are just to be entered by appointment only.”
“EMS and E-911 Communications are doing temperature screenings on employees when they come into work,” continued Robinson. “Also, our dispatchers have been screening non- emergency calls.“
JJ Melton can be reached at jmelton@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.
