City Hall Back Open to the Public

At the end of business on March 17, the City of Blaine closed all city buildings to the public. However, even with the buildings closed the work never stopped. Building permits continued to be issued, inspections were conducted virtually, the city council continued to meet in a new virtual environment and staff developed new ways for the public to stay engaged and provide public comments during meetings. Public works projects moved forward and engineering got summer road projects kicked off. Recreation programming moved online and now is slowly coming back to some in-person settings. The Blaine Emergency Operations Center has continued to operate as Blaine navigated the changing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The police department continued to respond to calls for service.

Now Blaine is taking the first step to welcome the public back into city buildings. Starting with Blaine City Hall, residents and others will be able to book in-person appointments. All the virtual methods of conducting city business will remain in place and in many instances will remain the preferred method for business. Blaine City Hall is also the location that houses many of the city’s first responders. Police staff are in the building 24/7 and firefighters respond out of city hall during the daytime hours during the week. To help protect these first responders as well as the rest of the staff there will be limited appointments available to start. Anyone entering city hall will be required to wear a facemask, and the city will be supplying disposal facemasks for those who do not have their own.

With protections in place for both staff and visitors the city is happy to start welcoming the community back into city hall.

For more information on the city’s reopening process, visit BlaineMN.gov/COVID19