Closings and cancellations continue in Gaston over coronavirus

Local governments across Gaston County have begun closing public buildings to limit the potential for transmission of the coronavirus.

Bessemer City announced that all of its city facilities will be closed to the public until further notice. The City Hall Annex drive-through will remain open to handle various types of city business.

Belmont has also closed all of its municipal buildings to the public, including City Hall on Main Street. City spokeswoman Jamie Campbell said they are encouraging residents to use other methods to pay things such as utility bills.

No water accounts will be cut off for the time being should residents elect not to pay, but penalties will still be charged for late payments, she said.

Gastonia City Hall and the Garland Municipal Business Center next door will remain open to the public at this time, said city spokeswoman Mary Elliott.

“We have an employee health clinic in City Hall and want it to remain open for employees to take advantage of those services,” she said.

Gastonia has also suspended nonpayment disconnects of residential customers who have electric, water and sewer accounts.

The city did announce Monday that it will close a number of other public buildings, including the Schiele Museum of Natural History, the Veterans Museum, all five of its recreation and community centers, and the Lineberger Park train and Rankin Lake Park boathouse. Trails and shelters can still be used by parties of 49 or less.

Cherryville City Manager Jeff Cash said their community center is no longer being rented to outside groups for the time being. They have begun rotating staff to have less people working together. And residents are being asked to make utility payments at the drive-through window at City Hall, rather than coming inside.

Gaston County changes

Gaston County previously announced the closure of all public libraries, along with its Senior Center and County Museum in Dallas, and the Travel and Tourism Center in Belmont.

There will also be short-term changes in how people apply for wedding licenses and building permits.

Beginning Wednesday, March 18, the Register of Deeds office inside the Gaston County Courthouse will be closed to the public. Those who wish to request records can do so online at deeds.co.gaston.nc.us or in writing via mail.

Vital records requests will be handled in the same way. Visit the Register of Deeds page on gastongov.com for more information.

All marriage licenses and notary oaths will be conducted by appointment only. For marriage licenses call 704-862-7687, and for notary oaths, call 704-862-7681.

Passport applications have been canceled for the next two weeks. To make an appointment for a passport application after that, call 704-862-7685.

Efforts are also being made to minimize person-to-person contact in the filing of death certificates.

The Building Services department is implementing new procedures to help keep county inspectors safe when entering homes. They’ll bring a questionnaire to those who need an inspection to see if a delay of three weeks can be implemented.

If not, they’ve asked the public to avoid handshaking, keeping a 6-foot distance from the inspector to maintain social distancing and having paperwork prepared beforehand to minimize the amount of time an inspector would need to be on site.

The grants division of Building Services will halt all in-person applications for the time being and ask will handle those contacts by phone or email.

Attractions closing

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens announced it will close through at least March 31, although private events will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

The Piedmont Area Wildlife Stewards (PAWS) banquet scheduled to be held Saturday, March 28, has been postponed due to the continuing threat from COVID-19.

No camping at state parks

Gov. Roy Cooper has ordered the closing of all campgrounds and offices at North Carolina State Parks until further notice.

Trails and restrooms will remain open during regular day-use park hours. Boat ramps and fishing and climbing accesses are also open during regular hours.

All programs and events at state parks are canceled at this time.

Aspira, the camping reservation system, will be contacting all those who are impacted by the campground closures to issue full refunds.

Campers may call 1-877-722-6762 to request refunds, but officials note that there may be a wait as their staff works to cancel all reservations.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or mbarrett@gastongazette.com. Bill Poteat contributed to this report.