City meetings moving to Senior Center

By Everett Brazil, III

The Newkirk Herald Journal

NEWKIRK — Beginning April 13, the city of Newkirk will temporarily be moving all city meetings to the Senior Citizens Center to allow more room for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city commission typically holds meetings the second and fourth Monday of the month at 6 p.m. at Newkirk Public Library, and there are some commission meetings where large groups gather. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandate people may not gather in groups larger than 10 participants, the city of Newkirk cannot prevent anyone from attending. City leaders chose the Senior Center to allow more personal distance to accommodate attendees.

“We can’t limit who comes, because we fall under the Open Meetings Act,” said City Clerk Kellie Johnson. “We don’t have the technology to do a video conference, so we’re going to do our best to accommodate.”

The city’s next meetings will be April 13 and 27. City officials will decide if they will continue meeting at the Senior Center after April 30.

For more information, contact City Hall, at (580) 362-2117.