SIDNEY — The Sidney Water Park will not open for the 2020 season. The closure is one among many other cancellations as the COVID-19 pandemic grows.
A city of Sidney press release said Gov. DeWine announced on Thursday, April 2, 2020, an extension of the Ohio Department of Health’s orders until May 1, 2020. Part of those orders affects the operation of public swimming pools.
“The city has been monitoring the impact that COVID-19 has had and will continue to have on city operations since March 13,” said City Manager Mark Cundiff. “Parks and Recreation Director Duane Gaier and I have had multiple conversations over the last few weeks about how the Stay-at-Home orders, as well as the orders to close swimming pools, and how those things would affect the Sidney Waterpark. It was not a decision we made lightly, but the Sidney Waterpark facility will not open for the 2020 season.”
Parks and Recreation Director Duane Gaier added, “Last year we struggled to find certified lifeguards to properly staff the facility and we had a plan in place this year to offer training through the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA and we had a few prospective new candidates. We really thought we were headed in the right direction this year. When the first round of orders to close pools came in mid-March we were hopeful that our April course would be able to continue. Now with the extension of the orders until May 1, the harsh reality is we simply will not have enough properly certified lifeguards for the season.”
• City of Sidney yard waste collections scheduled for April 13 through April 17 has been cancelled due to minimal staffing levels amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
City Manager Mark Cundiff previously announced changes to city staffing levels to protect city employees during the COVID-19 pandemic; these staffing level changes were effective Monday, March 23, 2020.
“Some employees are working remotely from home, some are reporting to work on a rotating schedule, some will continue to report each day and others, because of the nature of their job, have been sent home to wait for recall,” Cundiff said.
“We’re now entering our third week of operating on minimal staffing levels and are looking at the impact these staffing levels will have on services provided by the city into the month of April,” said Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Gary Clough. “Essential services, such as water and wastewater treatment continue with no changes or interruptions. Solid waste collection changes were announced last week, but minimum city staffing will impact the level of employees available to provide yard waste collection.”
Clough said, “We continue to work with Republic Services on the start date for daily collection of yard waste. Republic typically begins this service on May 1, but it may be delayed a few weeks because of the pandemic.”
In the meantime, residential customers may take their yard waste to Roe Transportation Enterprises, Inc., 3680 W. Michigan St.(state Route 47 West) while the city collection services have been suspended. Residential customers will be required to show an ID before dropping off materials.
For additional information about how the COVID-19 pandemic as it pertains to city operations, please visit the city’s COVID-19 Update website at: www.sidneyoh.com/465/COVID-19-Update.
Honda suspends work to May 1
MARYSVILLE — As the unprecedented economic impact of the fast-changing COVID-19 pandemic worsens, Honda continues to evaluate conditions and make temporary adjustments to its production operations in the U.S. and Canada.
In addition to the impact of COVID-19 on the marketplace, stay-at-home orders in many cities and states prevent consumers in a number of markets from purchasing new vehicles. As a result, Honda must continue to suspend production in order to align product supply with a lack of market demand.
The following actions are in response to the continued steep decline in sales across the automobile and powersports industries:
Automobile: Honda is extending the production suspension previously announced for all of its automobile, engine and transmission plants in the U.S. and Canada through May 1. Honda began its automobile production suspension on March 23.
Powersports: Honda of South Carolina Mfg., Inc. (HSC), which produces powersports products including ATVs and side-by-side vehicles, is extending the production suspension through May 1. HSC originally suspended its production on March 26.
Due to the fast-changing nature of this situation, we will continue to provide updates on our business impacts and actions on Hondanews.com.
