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The investigation continues into what caused a massive blaze at the Waldo Heights apartments Monday in Kansas City.Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from across the country are headed to Kansas City to help determine what caused the fire and whether the circumstances are suspicious."There was some absolutely heroic firefighting by the Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department last night," said John Ham, spokesman for the Kansas City ATF.As daylight broke, work began to figure out what caused the fire"We start with everything on the table as a possible cause," Ham said.Ham said the Kansas City ATF is working with the fire department and the police department's bomb and arson squad. The ATF's national response team has also been called in."That team is made up of fire investigators with collectively hundreds and hundreds of years of experience," Ham said. "We have forensic chemists, forensic engineers, electrical engineers."He said they're being tapped because of the size and complexity of the fire."Just because we're bringing in the national response team doesn't mean that we believe it to be a set fire, but that's certainly one of the things that are on the table," Ham said.Patrick Williamson lives in another building at the complex."We were seeing embers flying over our heads, hitting the building behind us," Williamson said.He said he also noticed a challenge for emergency crews."There were firemen, firefighters running all around just searching for fire hydrants," Williamson said.The fire department said it's typical for older construction to have fewer hydrants and that they had to use around 1500 feet of hose line to get water on the flames.Police say there was a disturbance call Monday night before the fire started. Right now, they cannot say whether they believe it's related to the fire. The ATF's national response team is expected to be on site Wednesday morning.The Red Cross is helping 30 families that lived inside the apartments. Officials said 33 people are sleeping at 16 different hotel rooms."There's so much stress going on when you have a life event like this, so we try to offer as much empathy as we can and try to get immediate assistance as quickly as we can," said Scott Riggs, of the American Red Cross.Waldo Heights required families to have renter's insurance, which should help with housing and replaced damaged items.Charities like Salvation Army are stepping up to fill in the gaps both short and long term."Nobody knows when an entire apartment building in Kansas City is going to go up in flames. But when it does, the donations we receive mean that we can be there to help folks not just with the necessities they need today but with longer term re-housing tomorrow," said Doug Donahoo, of the Salvation Army.

The investigation continues into what caused a massive blaze at the Waldo Heights apartments Monday in Kansas City.

Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from across the country are headed to Kansas City to help determine what caused the fire and whether the circumstances are suspicious.

"There was some absolutely heroic firefighting by the Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department last night," said John Ham, spokesman for the Kansas City ATF.

As daylight broke, work began to figure out what caused the fire

"We start with everything on the table as a possible cause," Ham said.

Ham said the Kansas City ATF is working with the fire department and the police department's bomb and arson squad. The ATF's national response team has also been called in.

"That team is made up of fire investigators with collectively hundreds and hundreds of years of experience," Ham said. "We have forensic chemists, forensic engineers, electrical engineers."

He said they're being tapped because of the size and complexity of the fire.

"Just because we're bringing in the national response team doesn't mean that we believe it to be a set fire, but that's certainly one of the things that are on the table," Ham said.

Patrick Williamson lives in another building at the complex.

"We were seeing embers flying over our heads, hitting the building behind us," Williamson said.

He said he also noticed a challenge for emergency crews.

"There were firemen, firefighters running all around just searching for fire hydrants," Williamson said.

The fire department said it's typical for older construction to have fewer hydrants and that they had to use around 1500 feet of hose line to get water on the flames.

Police say there was a disturbance call Monday night before the fire started. Right now, they cannot say whether they believe it's related to the fire. The ATF's national response team is expected to be on site Wednesday morning.

The Red Cross is helping 30 families that lived inside the apartments. Officials said 33 people are sleeping at 16 different hotel rooms.

"There's so much stress going on when you have a life event like this, so we try to offer as much empathy as we can and try to get immediate assistance as quickly as we can," said Scott Riggs, of the American Red Cross.

Waldo Heights required families to have renter's insurance, which should help with housing and replaced damaged items.

Charities like Salvation Army are stepping up to fill in the gaps both short and long term.

"Nobody knows when an entire apartment building in Kansas City is going to go up in flames. But when it does, the donations we receive mean that we can be there to help folks not just with the necessities they need today but with longer term re-housing tomorrow," said Doug Donahoo, of the Salvation Army.

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ATF helping to investigate massive fire at Waldo Heights apartments - KMBC Kansas City

In 2020, Minneapolis rolled out major changes to building standards to guide the city's growth under its 2040 Comprehensive Plan. But one year after its final adoption by the City Council, that controversial plan hasn't led to many visible changes in the cityscape.

That doesn't surprise city planners, who expected developers would take some time to analyze the new regulations before changing their business plans. Last year's upheavals also played a role, they said.

"I think 2020 has had so many things going on with civil unrest and the pandemic," said Jason Wittenberg, manager of code development for the city of Minneapolis. "I think people are still wrapping their minds around what that is going to mean for people's preferences related to what kinds of environments they want to live in."

While the plan's biggest champion City Council President Lisa Bender is set to leave office in early 2022, she expects that will have little impact on the plan's rollout. "This has always been a team effort," she said in a recent public meeting.

Much of the day-to-day work is being led by a steering committee that includes city staff as well as Council Members Jeremy Schroeder, Kevin Reich and Cam Gordon.

The 2040 plan aims to create a more densely populated, transit-friendly Minneapolis by loosening restrictions on multiunit buildings across the city, among other changes. The city is pushing forward with implementing the plan even as it awaits a decision from the Minnesota Supreme Court, which heard arguments late last year on an environmental challenge.

Jack Perry, an attorney representing the groups that have sued the city, said they hope they will get to fully argue their case, which was dismissed by lower courts, and ultimately seek to block the plan and new ordinances from being enforced.

"We're confident that if we have a hearing on the merits, the city's plan will be ruled invalid," Perry said.

In a statement, city spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie said the city "remains confident that there is no legal basis to block full implementation of Minneapolis 2040."

"The Comprehensive Plan will manage the city's growth with a focus on undoing significant racial disparities created by a history of policies that have prevented equitable access to housing, jobs and investments," she said.

Here's what's happening with the 2040 plan:

2020 ushered in one of the most contentious elements: the end of single-family zoning.

City staff are still compiling statistics on the number of permits for new duplex and triplex construction in Minneapolis but don't expect to see a dramatic increase just yet.

"I think those have been fairly slow to ramp up," Wittenberg said.

Council members have asked city staff to continue monitoring the statistics and provide an update in March 2022 so they can figure out if they need to make adjustments.

After tiny homes gained popularity on home design shows, some in the city began eyeing them as a way they might provide shelter for homeless people.

New ordinance changes took effect early in 2020 that allow for "intentional community cluster" developments. Those projects allow people to live in clusters of tiny houses with shared common areas.

Wittenberg said, "We haven't seen one of those come across the permit counter yet," but they still expect that some of those projects are on the horizon.

In the interim, the city signed off on a similar project called an "indoor village," where tiny shelters are placed inside a warehouse. Local officials hope that will allow them to provide housing while also giving people a way to keep some distance from others amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Late last year, city leaders signed off on a 10-year Transportation Action Plan that's intended to change how people get around in Minneapolis.

It offers new guidelines to increase the speed and reliability of public transit, connect bikeways across the region and make the city safer for walking. The overarching goal, city leaders said, is to ensure that more people have access to affordable transportation and reduce carbon emissions.

"Our streets make up nearly a quarter of all land in Minneapolis and present an incredible opportunity to make good on commitments to race equity and climate change," Bender said in a statement after city leaders approved the plan.

Early in the new year, the city also expects to look at what parking and transportation requirements will be in place for new development. Those requirements could include developers subsidizing transit passes for residents or providing more parking for electric vehicles and bicycles.

Some developers threatened to stop doing business in Minneapolis when the city required them to include affordable housing units in new, large apartment buildings.

City staff hope to have data in the coming weeks that will show how many new affordable housing units were constructed in 2020, but Wittenberg said they "expect that those numbers are going to look fairly similar to the previous year."

In their last meeting of the year, City Council members approved new guidelines that outline how buildings should be designed in various parts of the city.

The "built form" policies regulate such things as the height of buildings and where they should be situated on lots.

"The point that we've been making is that, in many cases, we will be allowing more development and our regulations, in some cases, will be more permissive," Wittenberg said. But, he added, "we're going to apply those rules more rigidly than we have in the past to create those predictable outcomes."

Wittenberg said city staff are working on handouts that will help residents understand how the new rules apply to them.

Liz Navratil 612-673-4994

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With little effect on ground, work on Minneapolis 2040 plan continues behind the scenes - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Dec. 29Construction of a new affordable housing project for the elderly has begun in Dupont.

The Dupont Housing for the Elderly project is being developed at the former Ben Franklin School at 611 Walnut St.

Michael Molitoris, executive director of the Housing Authority of Luzerne County, the developer, said the project represents a unique public and private partnership and the culmination of three years of planning to create a housing development which will remove a vacant deteriorated building and transform the site into a "true community asset" to provide affordable housing to low-income seniors. Construction is projected to be completed in December 2021, he said.

A + E Group JV of Wilkes-Barre designed the building which consists of 36 one-bedroom units. Four of the apartments will be designed to be accessible handicapped units and one apartment will be designed for the hearing/sight impaired.

Common amenities, which are located on the first floor, include a community area, a kitchen, an elevator accessing all floors, on-site management and supportive services office and community facilities for laundry.

The building was certified with Enterprise Green Communities for its advanced energy efficiency, the use of zero VOC paints and sealers and water-resistant materials in humid areas for quality interior environment.

The financing structure for the $10.79 million project includes low-income housing tax credits through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency with equity investment of $7.56 million facilitated by Enterprise Housing Credit Investment, LLC and other permanent financing commitments from PHFA Housing Trust Fund and the County of Luzerne HOME and Housing Trust Fund programs. Citizens Bank has provided a $5.4 million construction loan.

Trade Eastern, Inc. is the general contractor. Legal partners include Dermot Kennedy, Ernest (Bucky) Closser and Bruce Anders/ Low-Income Housing Tax Credit technical services are being provided by Tom Elias of T. Elias and Associates.

The Housing Authority of Luzerne County will provide management and maintenance staff with technical support from JLD Compliance Advisory, LLC of Hummelstown, PA. Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton will provide supportive services to assist residents in meeting their everyday needs to remain independent.

Dupont Borough Council and Council President Stanley Knick were key to the plan to develop affordable housing for the elderly when they acquired the school back in 2015, according to a press release announcing the project.

Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115, @CVAllabaugh

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(c)2020 The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

Visit The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at citizensvoice.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Construction of housing project for the elderly begins in Dupont - Insurance News Net

GREENANDSAVE Staff

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NEWS on COVID-19 in Massachusetts: READ THE ORDERS: Mass. Moving Back to Phase 3, Step 1, Adding New Restrictions

Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that effective Sunday, December 13th, all communities in Massachusetts will return to Step 1 of Phase 3, of the Commonwealths reopening plan. This will reduce indoor capacities across a broad range of sectors of the economy and tighten several other workplace restrictions. The Administration announced the roll-back to respond to an increase in new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations since the Thanksgiving holiday that is straining the health care system in Massachusetts.

The return to Step 1 will also require the closure of certain businesses designated as Step 2 industries. These include indoor performance venues and certain high-contact indoor recreational businesses. In addition, capacity limits will be reduced to 40% statewide for most industries, and the limit on outdoor gatherings will be reduced statewide from 100 persons to 50 persons. Additional safety measures will be applied to restaurant dining as well.

These new measures are designed to prevent infection and viral spread, especially in indoor settings. They will create stronger mask compliance, more social distancing, and limits to the time spent with people outside of your immediate household.

The Administration also announced additional guidance for certain sectors including restaurants, office spaces and gyms, to address activities where mask wearing is not possible at all times.

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PTAC Disinfection for COVID-19 in Massachusetts - GREENandSAVE

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) There was a dramatic rescue in Brooklyn as more than 100 firefighters rushed to save two construction workers trapped underneath a collapsed retaining wall.

As CBS2s Kevin Rincon reports, in the backyard of 454 42nd Street in Sunset Park, a 9 wall suddenly collapsed Monday afternoon, pinning two construction workers underneath it.

One of the two men did not survive.

Firefighters rushed to try and save the two who were underneath a pile of debris after the wall collapsed. Chopper 2 was on the scene as a stretcher was moved into place. One of the men was loaded into an ambulance and rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn. The FDNY says that man was seriously injured and in critical condition.

The other worker died at the scene.

Tomel Shamsuddim was working with those men. After the collapse, hesat across the street, thinking it could have been him.

God saved me. God saved me, he said.

Shamsuddim says they came to work on the project when things went wrong.

I call last night, you guys work with me, work together. They said OK, he said.

He had left moments before the collapse to get lunch.

The FDNY says more than 100 firefighters, EMS and other personnel were called to the scene.

It was a 9 foot retaining wall. It was a 90 degree collapse onto the workers, said Deputy FDNY Chief James A. Boyle.

The NYPD was also on the scene to assist. The investigation is ongoing.

Its not yet clear what kind of work the men were doing, and what exactly led up to the wall collapse.

The scene will remain closed off so investigators can comb through the debris and piece together what went wrong.

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Kevin Rincon contributed to this report.

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Construction Worker Killed After Retaining Wall Collapses In Brooklyn - CBS New York

THREE RIVERS - A storm retaining wall built on the municipality's land has been ordered to be removed.

The decision was made by Three Rivers council during a committee of council meeting in Georgetown on Dec. 21.

Brad and Kim Evans had built the wall over the past few months on a Three Rivers' easement which is intended for public works directly in front of their home on Chestnut Street in Montague.

"The town office (had) confirmed that the transportation department sees no issue with the retaining wall where it is and there are no deviations of bylaws," Kim told council during the meeting.

However, Danny Clements, the couples neighbour, expressed concern about how the wall might impact one of his property's driveways, which utilizes the easement to help those exiting to get onto Chestnut Street.

"Bottom line is that this was built on the public right-of-way," he said.

As a result of their dispute, the Evans applied to enter a legal easement agreement with Three Rivers in order to keep the wall.

Both parties spoke during the meeting before council made its decision on the agreement.

Chestnut Street is located on a hill, so the Evans had built the wall largely to protect their home and its roadside front steps from erosion caused by heavy weather runoff, Kim said.

"We need that soil to stay around the cracked foundation of our old home."

As well, because traffic runs right beside the Evans' front step, the wall was intended to make using the steps and entering their home-based business a little safer.

"(And) the road conditions have noticeably improved without mud and tree debris entering and then freezing onto the roadway," Brad said. "My family and I have invested hours of labour and money into this retaining wall."

The Evans understood that the easement is town property but argued it's there to help them access the street from their home and driveway.

"And not for our neighbour to use the easement in front of my house as their driveway," Kim said.

Clements said the wall makes it riskier to enter and exit his driveway as it has made the already narrow street even more narrow.

"It creates a dangerous obstruction," he said, "especially in the winter."

During the meeting, he questioned who was liable if the wall were to cause an accident, to which council had no answer.

He also argued property value in the area would be affected and that the wall wouldn't help counter erosion.

"I fail to see how this would be an improvement over grass," Clements said. "You can clearly see that grass would take care of any issues of erosion at least as well as the stone."

Ultimately, council denied the Evans' request to enter an agreement, on the basis it would set a bad precedent for similar requests in the future.

"We're opening ourselves up to a lot of extra costs and time," Coun. Alan Munro said. "I think that those easements are there for a reason."

During a standing vote on the decision, no councillors stood. Council gave the Evans 30 days from the meeting to have the wall removed pending a discussion to see whether that's a reasonable timeframe for them.

Council also clarified that the wall does violate Three Rivers' bylaw, as the agreement would have been required before the wall's construction.

"Seems like it was a miscommunication with the town at the time," Coun. Cameron MacLean said.

Daniel Brown is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.

Twitter.com/dnlbrown95

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Montague homeowners ordered to remove retaining wall built on town land - The Journal Pioneer

FAYETTEVILLE -- The City Council will meet twice this week to accommodate a large agenda.

The first meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Another meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Both will be held online on Zoom.

The Tuesday meeting will cover consent items and unfinished business. Consent items are noncontroversial items such as buying gravel or retaining wall blocks. Mayor Lioneld Jordan will read the items consecutively, and the council will vote on them in one motion.

Unfinished business items are those discussed at previous meetings that remained for Tuesday's meeting. Items will include a contract for a public-private partnership to build a new parking deck on Dickson Street, rezoning about 112 acres at the Marinoni family farm on Wedington Avenue and Fayetteville Police Department policies relating to juvenile interactions.

Staff will ask the council to send a set of proposed regulations for short-term rentals such as Airbnb to the council's ordinance review committee, rather than hold a vote.

Council members-elect D'Andre Jones, Matthew Petty, Sarah Bunch and Holly Hertzberg also will take their oaths of office Tuesday. Jordan will announce council committee appointments, and council members will select a vice mayor to serve for the year.

Thursday's new business items include raises for city employees, a rezoning and annexation request for land southeast of Zion Road and Julie Lane and a rezoning request for Fayetteville Public Schools on about 23 acres northeast of Catalpa Drive and Rupple Road.

The two-meeting approach is intended to avoid going late into the night, according to a city news release.

Registration is required for members of the public to speak on an item. Zoom meeting links are provided on the meeting calendar of the city's website at http://fayetteville-ar.gov/publicmeetings . Comments also can be submitted beforehand at http://bit.ly/faycityclerk or by emailing cityclerk@fayetteville-ar.gov .

Meetings can be viewed live at the city's YouTube page at http://youtube.com/cityoffayettevillear or on the city's website at http://fayetteville-ar.gov/meetinginfo . On TV, tune into Channel 216 with Cox or Channel 99 on AT&T U-verse.

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Fayetteville City Council to meet twice this week - Arkansas Online

DULUTH, MN It was a year like NONE OTHER! Dozens of stories took us by surprise, both good and bad.

Here's a quick recap nationally: In January, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit the royal family and we lost basketball legend, Kobe Bryant.

In March we were in the early stages of this thing called the coronavirus.

May and June, the police-involved killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor sparked a wave of peaceful and sometimes violent protests across the world.

There was a quick blimp of Murder Hornets, which still remains a mystery.

July the coronavirus worsened, affecting millions. States began shutting down, schools shifted to a virtual learning model.

As if it couldn't get any worse, by August, deadly wildfires erupted from California to Washington state, burning millions of acres.

In September, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at 87.

Rounding out the last half of the year, it wasn't until Nov. 7 when the world found out Joe Biden would become the 46th president of the United States.

And finally, with December we have hope, the first Americans began to receive the first dose of the new COVID-19 vaccine.

Now, here are the top 10 MOST VIEWED Northland stories of 2020:

#10 Minnesota governor: some businesses can reopen, schools will stay closed for the rest of academic year The pandemic forced schools and businesses to close. On this day, Gov. Walz made an announcement for some businesses to reopen, but all of the state's public K-12 schools were ordered to stay closed the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year.

#9 Duluth McDonalds retaining wall has collapsed The retaining wall at the Duluth McDonald's off London Road collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt and contractors were called for clean up. The food joint remained open for business.

#8 Costco alters course on plans for Duluth store Bulk-chain retailer Costco will not be building a store in Duluth. In a statement from the city, they said, "The City of Duluth worked for months to advocate with and for Costco and have enjoyed a very positive working relationship. We are proud to lead with our values of expectation that local financial investment on the part of the city yields specific local job creation. Together with Costco, we found a great way to achieve this."

#7 Mystery wooden boat found off Wisconsin shoreline after 27 years A Wisconsin couple made an unusual discovery off the shores of the Apostle Islands. Lynn and Mike BeBeau stumbled upon a little wooden boat dating back nearly three decades and 50 miles.

#6 Missing Winter 3-year-old found alive A happily ever after for a family in Winter WI. Abigail Ladwig, a 3 year-old who went missing was located safe in the woods a short distance from her residence. Abigail sustained minor scratches, insect bites and dehydration during her nearly 24 hours of being in the woods.

#5 Suspect arrested in Cloquet double-homicide After an extensive search, authorities located and arrested the man in connection to the death of a 27-year-old woman and her 18 -month-old son. He was booked into the Carlton County Jail on two counts of second-degree homicide.

#4 Duluth photographers drone captures 3 very comfortable bobcats Images that will blow your mind. A Duluth photographer's drone came face to face with three bobcats right on the St. Louis River. These images and drone video spread across social media faster than Photog., Mike Mayou had ever expected.

#3 Wisconsin Safer-at-Home order: Heres where you can and cannot go Gov. Tony Evers today signed a stay at home order that he's calling, "Safer at Home." Theorder went into effect March 25, through April 24. In the order, Evers requested WI residents to only:

#2 Authorities end search for naked person in Duluth sewers Fortunately, after hours of searching, authorities came to the conclusion the person had made it out of the sewer system before first responders could locate them.

#1 Major winter snow storm moves in Our first major snowstorm. The day started with a wintry mix and even straight rain for Wisconsin. Then it turned COLD. Rain quickly froze on surfaces, snow became heavy at times, and road conditions were BRUTAL for the evening commute. Snow continued into the overnight and slowly diminished after 3 a.m. for Duluth. It was a storm we will not forget.

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Looking back: Here are the Top 10 stories of 2020 - KBJR 6

BROOKLYN, NY A fatal wall collapse in a Brooklyn backyard on Monday happened after unpermitted construction on the wall, according to investigators.

Inspectors with the Department of Buildings investigating the collapse at a home on 42nd Street near Fifth Avenue found that workers had been excavating the length of the retaining wall "without adequate shoring" the day of the collapse, according to a DOB spokesperson.

The collapse, which happened shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, left two people trapped under the retaining wall and brought more than 120 emergency responders to the backyard.

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One of the people, a construction worker, was pronounced dead on the scene and the other was sent to the hospital with serious injuries, officials said.

The workers had been hired by the owners of a home on 43rd Street that shares a backyard with the 42nd Street home, where they were granted access during the construction, the inspectors said.

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There were no DOB permits issued for any construction at either property, according to the department.

DOB has issued a partial vacate order on both the 42nd Street and 43rd Street backyard and is still investigating the incident.

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

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Fatal BK Wall Collapse Result Of Unpermitted Construction: DOB - Patch.com

WOODSTOCK, N.Y. COVID-19 may have represented the worst of times in 2020, but Supervisor Bill McKenna said he enters the new year knowing the pandemic brought out the best in people.

McKenna made the observation during a telephone interview Thursday, Dec. 31. Not only did town employees step up to keep municipal business operating smoothly, he said, but they found ways to help residents help one another.

The departments all functioned well, they functioned under pressure, and they got the job done, he said. We had people coming up from the city to get marriage licenses. ... We didnt go over our budget, we conserved. It worked perfectly.

McKenna added that among the efforts to keep residents safe was a program that had volunteers taking care of residents' shopping needs.

That was an interesting task, he said. I really enjoyed it and it was just a great, great group of people. A few of them have even reached out to me recently and said (they) were going to start that again. There was some word about Project Resilience starting up and food being an issue and they would be happy to help.

Among the issues that started in 2020 and expected to continue into the new year is the dumping of dirt laced with construction and demolition debris on a Church Road property. McKenna said the property owners have been willing to cooperate with efforts to test for contamination and are deciding what action to take on removing the illegal material.

I think what were talking about is to dig up any of the construction debris and get that out of there ... and possibly put a retaining wall in there and cut down the steepness of it so that its not a safety hazard, he said. If they decide to leave any of the fill, we make sure its certified that its clean.

Board members are working to draft a law that would require a permit before bringing fill onto properties, according to McKenna.

It would help ensure that residents dont fear what we had happen on Church Road, he said.

McKenna also said he would like to move forward with long-planned renovations to the Comeau municipal building. The renovations are expected to include the addition of about 2,000 square feet that would include a basement and updates to existing offices to improve handicapped access. improvements.

We were really close to moving forward with that (in 2020) and going out for bonding, he said. I would like to finalize those plans and move forward. That would have been one of the things that would have been helpful to have that building. With the COVID, it didnt allow us to spread out and just all around its going to make the building more user friendly.

Among problems that are expected to continue will be keeping the Big Deep and Little Deep swimming holes clean. The issue was complicated by COVID-19 during 2020 when visitors would not practice social distancing. By closing the sites, however, there was an improvement in sanitary conditions.

The shutting down of it kept it clean so that we didnt have to go in there and clean up a mess every week ... but thats not a solution, McKenna said. For me, they have to be solutions that dont require $50,000 worth of lifeguards.

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Pandemic brought out the best in people in 2020, Woodstock Supervisor Bill McKenna said - The Daily Freeman