In a letter received by the OBSERVER Monday afternoon, the city of Dunkirk has canceled all remaining meetings for the month of March including; Personnel Committee, Safety Committee, Economic Development, Finance Committee and Department of Public Works.

In addition, Monday’s Common Council meeting and workshop, along with the four public hearings scheduled to be held are postponed until further notice, but was mentioned that these would be rescheduled.

Councilman-at-large Paul VanDenVouver told the OBSERVER Monday that he contacted Dunkirk Police Chief Dave Ortolano and Dunkirk Fire Chief Mike Edwards to get their opinion on whether to hold the council meeting and was told it would be in the best interest of the residents to cancel it.

“I said that would be fine if all of the council and the mayor would be on board with that because we did have the public hearings going on and weren’t sure on the legality if we had to postpone,” VanDenVouver said. “We don’t know at this time when we’re going to be setting them in the future. On the agenda tonight, we were going to cancel the first meeting of April also because of this. Everybody’s taking precautions and I think everybody should. I know they’re closing up the restaurants and clubs, which a lot of the local residents attend. We did this for the safety of the residents. Safety first, I think everyone needs to worry about themselves and their families.”

Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas called a state of emergency in the city soon after the cancellation, but wanted to inform the public not to become overly alarmed at the announcement.

“We need to emphasize the seriousness of the virus. This is a very serious situation, the virus is very contagious and we need to do everything that we can to prevent it, or at least contain it once it hits here in our community,” Rosas stated. “As far as city hall functions go, we are not closing, our staff is going to be working normal business hours and all of our services will continue as usual until further notice. The state of emergency puts us in position to react more promptly should the need arise to address a confirmed case in the city.”

Rosas also recommends citizens take note from the governor and the New York State department of Health and to follow protocols accordingly.

“People need to stay home,” Rosas added. “This is a time for us to be serious about this virus and we need to follow the directions that have been given to us by the professionals in this field and I’m asking all of our citizens to stay together, united through this period of time.”

The announcement will remain in effect for five days, or by declaration of the Mayor that the state of emergency no longer exists, whichever occurs sooner, and may be extended as necessary.

Along with Dunkirk, Fredonia also declared a state of emergency which took effect at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The declaration was made by Mayor Douglas P. Essek. He said its purpose is to “remain consistent with the county, state and federal declarations. This action has been declared to help mitigate the total number of cases of COVID-19.”

Essek notes that although there are no confirmed cases within Chautauqua County to date, this situation is rapidly evolving, and the threat of this virus is imminent to the citizens of the community. “Along with the other government agencies, this proactive action is taken to protect the general public from contracting, and or spreading this virus,” he said in a statement.

According to Essek, in addition to the county, state and federal governments declaring states of emergencies, the Fredonia Central School District will close after today in response to this pandemic. The State University of New York at Fredonia will remain open, but with limited operations. Some students will remain on campus while most will be spending the remainder of this semester at home using distance learning to complete their courses.

“I am encouraging calm and respectful actions by all citizens of our community to get through this unprecedented situation. We will assist in social distancing today by closing our village hall and other village locations off from the public until this declaration has expired,” he said.

Essek said that village employees will be available to assist the public during normal hours of operation by telephone. He is requesting that all bill payments be mailed in until this order has been lifted. “Police and fire operations could be overwhelmed during this time period. Answering our residents’ emergencies are our top priority and we thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience during this time,” he said.

According to Essek, this state of emergency will remain in effect for a period not to exceed 30 days or until rescinded, whichever occurs first. He added this order may be extended for an additional period not to exceed 30 days.

All employees have been still instructed to report for work, unless they are sick or are under self-quarantine, until further notice.

Here are how some other municipal governments in northern Chautauqua County are handling the coronavirus crisis:

BROCTON

The Village of Brocton offices will be closed to the public beginning today, according to Village Clerk Scott Jagoda. Today’s Brocton Board of Trustees meeting is still on, but will be closed to the public. Audio from the meeting will be posted afterwards on the village’s website.

CASSADAGA

At this time the March 25 regular board meeting will still take place at 7 p.m. as scheduled.

GOWANDA

Elections were supposed to be Wednesday and have been postponed to April 28. The public hearing scheduled for March 24 at 5 p.m. is still taking place and Mayor David Smith is considering a closed meeting for next month’s regular board meeting.

TOWN OF DUNKIRK

Town of Dunkirk Supervisor Richard Purol said town offices would be closed to outside traffic starting today. It’s unclear if today’s town board meeting is still on, but the meetings are held at the town office, so the public can’t attend even if it is held.