2020 WAS A NEW YEAR THAT BEGAN THE SAME WAY AS NEW YEARS HAVE BEGUN. Celebratory fireworks exploding to mark the passing of another year, gatherings of families and friends to enjoy traditional New Year’s Day collard greens and black eyed peas for luck and prosperity. Then we learned of a novel virus that was infecting the world, and in March 2020 it came to our town. COVID-19 became very real to our community and it became a factor in every decision that was made in the way the Town of Farmville conducted business. When it was evident that COVID-19 was an alarming problem, Town Manager David Hodgkins met with the department heads to determine any areas of special concerns
John Moore
and to decide how to best operate within the guidelines and recommendations set forth by the CDC as well as by county, state and federal officials. Closing our Town Hall to the public was the first decision made to protect the employees who worked to keep services available to our citizens. This also led to the closing of the DMV office housed within Town Hall. The drive up window was utilized so our citizens were still able to complete business with the town. We knew keeping some sense of normalcy would be important for our citizens, especially since we had no way of knowing how long we would be dealing with COVID-19. Our employees continued their
Through pandemic, We have remained One Farmville
daily routines with a constant awareness of their personal safety, as well as that of others. COVID-19 took some control out of our hands. Gov. Roy Cooper's order allowing utility customers to postpone payments and requiring towns to waive penalties created financial hardships for municipalities large and small. Farmville was not exempt from this hardship. A payment plan was
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