Greenwood’s curfew is set to expire Monday morning.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to end the curfew, which has been in place since early April to help curb the spread of COVID-19. It first lasted from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. and then from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Until Monday, the curfew will remain in place with a few modifications, as adopted by the council. The hours will be from midnight until 5 a.m.
Convenience stores and restaurants will be allowed to stay open past curfew, and residents will be allowed to patronize these places past curfew, Ward 3 and Council President Ronnie Stevenson said.
Residents are also allowed to be out past curfew to go to and from work and for emergency matters. Other than those reasons, Stevenson emphasized that people should not be out and about past curfew.
Stevenson also said it’s his intention that the council hold its June 2 meeting at City Hall. Since mid-March, the council has held its meetings on Zoom, an online platform, to practice social distancing.
Come June, the council will still practice social distancing in its chambers by ensuring that everyone is spread out and limiting the number of chairs in the room. Stevenson said he would work on finalizing the details.
Mayor Carolyn McAdams also said that she’d like to open up City Hall to the public in June.
The city’s easing of social restrictions coincides with the state’s loosening of similar mandates. Gov. Tate Reeves’ safer-at-home order is expected to end Monday.
The mayor said people should still be cautious. “Just because we’re lifting the curfew and the governor might be lifting some other things … we need to remember that the virus is still very much out there,” she said.
People should maintain social distance, wash their hands and stay at home when possible, she added.
In other business:
•The U.S. Department of Labor conducted audits of municipal police departments’ payrolls and found that the Greenwood department has not paid the proper compensation for 64 officers for the time they worked, McAdams said.
Collectively, the Police Department owes these officers $70,609.
The mayor emphasized that city employees must be compensated for the time they work.
For example, an employee whose work schedule starts at 8 a.m. but who shows up at 7:45 a.m. shouldn’t be working until 8 a.m., McAdams explained.
The city’s police department will be able to pay these employees lost time through its payroll account, the mayor said. She also said Police Chief Jody Bradley has purchased a time clock for the department.
•The council voted to rezone 712 and 714 U.S. 82 W. from an I-2 West Heavy Industrial District to a C-3 Highway Commercial District to allow Pafford Medical Services to convert the facility into a service and maintenance center and business office. According to the resolution, Pafford’s new center will create about 10 jobs.
•The council made the following reappointments: Don Brock as city attorney and prosecutor for code violations, Elizabeth Davis as public defender, Charles Swayze III as prosecuting attorney and Carlos Palmer as municipal judge.
Councilman Carl Palmer, the father of Carlos Palmer, muted his phone during the vote for the municipal judge.
•The City Council approved a donation from Scout LLC, owned by Floyd Melton III, to accept the empty lot at 100 W. Market St., the former location of the Cowan Music building. The council voted voted to have that building demolished in late April.
“It’s prime property,” McAdams said.
•The council voted to transfer the position of fire marshal from under the city to under the Fire Department.
•Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
