We appreciate everyone’s attention, concern, and sharing of COVID-19 information from the city, Calhoun County Public Health Department, State of Michigan, and Centers for Disease Control. Please keep getting your information from these reputable sources, and our local media.
We are collecting information – including links to these resources – at battlecreekmi.gov/coronavirus.
Please know that our city team is working with the entire community to help meet people’s needs as much as possible – this situation is a challenge for everyone, and continues to evolve.
Based on the latest recommendations from the CDC and Gov. Whitmer, as well as our own team discussions, we want to announce the following –
- We have various levels of planning in place, as needs change during this pandemic situation. Our plans include how to address our community’s needs, as we work with our own staff’s needs. We will continue sharing information as we adjust our services.
- Please rest assured that the City of Battle Creek is providing essential services – our Fire Department and Police Department are responding to emergencies, and our Water and Waste Water teams are providing drinking water and waste water treatment services.
- The city has suspended water shutoffs for the time being, and has turned on water for neighbors who were experiencing a shutoff. We want to ensure every neighbor can follow the hand washing recommendations.
- We encourage everyone to use the online payment option, or the drop box in the parking lot of City Hall, to pay your utility bills, when possible. If you would normally come inside to pay because you want a receipt, you can write on your bill that you would like a mailed or emailed receipt, and still use the drop box. Please be sure to share your email address on the payment stub if you want the emailed receipt option.
- Full Blast recreation facilities will be completely closed starting Monday, March 16, through Friday, April 3, with all programs canceled. At this time, we still plan to hold our Spring Break day camp, set for April 6-10. You can still sign up for this camp at bcparks.org. The camp is $150 for the week, for children ages 5 to 12.
- The March 17 City Commission workshop and regular meeting will take place, as publicly noticed. One big item on the regular meeting agenda is a public hearing about potential increases to Battle Creek Transit fares. If you want to comment on this topic, but also want to limit your time in public spaces, we encourage you to submit those in writing to Transit Director Mallory Avis, at mravis@battlecreekmi.gov or to 339 W. Michigan Ave., Battle Creek, MI 49037. You can also email the city at publicinput@battlecreekmi.gov.
- Other city boards and committees, with non-essential agenda items, will cancel any remaining March meetings.
- To help limit public interactions, we are working to combine customer service windows at City Hall and other facilities. Please stay tuned for updates as we formalize these locations.
Please share this information broadly – we are sharing with regional media, on our website, on social media, and are working on translations as quickly as possible.
We are here, and doing our best to help our community through this unique health situation. Please join us in washing your hands frequently!