LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — By a unanimous vote, the Lawrenceville City Council approved a declaration of local emergency for the city. According to officials, the action is intended to help alleviate some of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lawrenceville.
As the declaration states, the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to result in significant loss of life and become a major disruption of community affairs, business services and governmental operations.
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“I believe it is in the best interest of the City to declare a local state of emergency to provide certain emergency powers to cope with such an emergency for the protection, safety, health and welfare of the public,” said Mayor David Still. “In addition, this action will allow the City to be creative in responding to the needs of our local businesses in order to lessen the impact to their bottom line.”
The City’s state of emergency calls for the following:
- City Council and all other City public meetings may conduct meetings and take votes by teleconference
- City Manager, with approval of Mayor, shall have authority to take such actions deemed necessary or appropriate for public health and safety of the citizens of Lawrenceville
- Allowance of purchases by the City to meet emergency provisions of the City’s purchasing ordinance
- Allowance for staff to temporarily waive certain ordinances and regulations to help businesses during these uncertain times such as:
- Restaurants licensed to sell beer and wine for on-premise consumption to sell unopened bottles of beer or wine (with food purchase)
- Delay in due date for alcohol excise tax payments for restaurants licensed to sell alcoholic beverages
- Creation of drive-thru/pick-up lanes for restaurants on the downtown square
“In addition to addressing public safety, this declaration will allow the City to provide various incentives to City businesses and lessen the impact of this pandemic,” said Mayor Still.
According to city officials, the declaration will end April 17, unless otherwise noted.
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