Aurora City Hall reopens to the public next week
As both a sign of progress and with an abundance of caution, the City of Aurora plans to reopen city hall and other city offices next week to the public with additional safety measures in place.
Aurora City Hall, the Aldermen's Office and the Customer Service Center will reopen to the public at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 6. As the city transitions into Phase 4 of the Reopen Illinois Plan, these facilities will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The first hour of each day is reserved for senior citizens. Facilities will be closed to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays until further notice.
To prepare for the reopening, following CDC, state and county health department guidance, the city has already implemented several precautionary measures including installing plexiglass sneeze guards at customer service areas, reconfiguring customer areas to meet to accommodate the six feet for adequate social distancing, installing signage to guide social distancing and to display new capacity limits for specific areas, increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting and preparing city staff for the new procedures and precautions.
All city employees will be required to wear masks or face coverings and have their temperature taken at the beginning of each work shift.
The same conditions will also apply for public visitors to city facilities including Aurora City Hall and the Aldermen's Office on Downer Place, the Development Services Center on Broadway and the Customer Service Center on McCoy Drive.
Prior to entry, each visitor must have on a mask or face covering and complete a brief health assessment with a greeter, including having their temperature taken with a no-contact digital thermometer.
In addition, the following measures will be in place:
• All visitors are required to enter city hall from the designated entrance on the Water Street Mall.
• Visitors to city hall will no longer be able to access the building beyond the first floor. Access to floors 2 through 5 at Aurora City Hall must be preapproved by calling ahead to the respective department and any visitor who has been by cleared by the greeter at the entrance must be met by the appropriate staff member and escorted to the destination site.
• For continuity of development and inspection operations such as Building and Permits and Property Standards, the city's Development Services Center will continue to remain open during normal business hours Monday through Friday. Access to the 2nd floor of the Development Services Center for Engineering, Economic Development and Zoning and Planning must be preapproved by calling ahead to the respective department.
Public meetings will continue virtually and not in person until further notice.
• The city's Pierce Art & History Center, GAR Memorial Hall, Stover Visitors Center, and Phillips Park Zoo will remain closed to the public until further notice.
To conduct business in a streamlined and safe manner, residents and patrons are encouraged to continue conducting business with the city online at www.aurora-il.org, via phone, via email and to call ahead and arrange appointments as often as possible.