WINONA – The Winona-Montgomery Public Library is requesting the same amount of funding from the City of Winona as it did last year.
According to Librarian Wendy Rushing, the Mid-Mississippi Regional Library System is requesting the same funding from the city as last year, however, there will be an increase in personnel expense due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“[Mid-Mississippi Regional Library System] is taking $6,000 from its reserve funds for more hours for part-time staff,” Rushing said.
Rushing said the increase in hours is required for the library’s curbside services and document services available right now due to COVID-19. Library staff are also having to hold books and other library material in quarantine for one week after they are returned by patrons. These added precaution has increased the workload on library staff.
Mid-Mississippi Regional Library System closed its libraries mid-March after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The libraries were closed until May 18, when they opened for curbside service only. On June 8, the library once again opened for patrons with the limit of five people inside the library at one time, with temperature checks at the door.
During its closure, the library increased its presence online with an expanded number of books and library resources available through the Hoopla app and the Access 360 online check-out program. National Library Week was celebrated virtually, and the popular summer reading program was facilitated through an app called Beanstalk.
In other city business:
• The board voted to have city attorney Adam Kirk pen an ordinance outlawing the sale of Kratom, a substance that is currently not illegal to sell but has similar effects as heroin, can be purchased over the counter at retailers. Tracey Costilow provided information about the substance to the board, including the addictive quality, similar to opioids, and potential of overdose and death.
The board voted to make the substance illegal to sell in the City of Winona and asked Kirk to draft a new ordinance to review in August.
• All employees of the City of Winona attended a class on racial diversity yesterday and on incident de-escalation today at the Community House on Sterling Street. The classes were planned by Chief Tommy Bibbs at the direction of Mayor Jerry Flowers to educate city employees and first responders to better serve all citizens of Winona.
According to Bibbs, these classes will soon be mandatory for all police officers as part of Congress’ police reform efforts.
• The board hired Javar Ammons as an operator for the Winona Street Department.
• The board clarified the city’s policy on home quarantine for COVID-19. According to Flowers, if an employee elects to go home because of COVID-19, they will not be compensated during their absence. However, if an employee is exposed to the virus by a family member living inside the same home or tests positive for the virus themselves, they are required to quarantine at home until they test negative for the virus, and they will be paid during their absence.
