Modesto closes its Tenth Street Place offices to public again as COVID-19 surges
Modesto has closed its offices to the public at Tenth Street Place, the city-county government center in downtown, because of the spike in COVID-19 and the governor’s recent stay-at-home order for the San Joaquin Valley.
Stanislaus County continues to allow the public to access its offices at Tenth Street Place, according to a notice on its website, stancounty.com. But the county encourages residents to access services and other information on its website. And the notice states face coverings and physical distancing are required for the public at Tenth Street Place.
This is the second time Modesto has closed Tenth Street Place to the public during the new coronavirus pandemic. The first was mid-March to mid-May. The county also closed its offices to the public then.
The city closed its Tenth Street offices to the public Tuesday. Modesto is directing residents to its website, modestogov.com, for information on how to access services online and by phone. The number to call is 209-577-5200. Services include starting and stopping city utilities and paying utilities bills, citations and business license fees.
City spokesman Thomas Reeves said Modesto also will have as many of its employees as possible work at home while its Tenth Street Place offices are closed. The employees include those at Tenth Street Place as well as the city’s Corporation Yard and two waste-water treatment plants.
Reeves estimated that during Tenth Street Place’s first closure about 75 percent of city workers at the four facilities worked at home. He said since Tenth Street Place reopened in mid-May about a quarter to half of the employees at those facilities continued to work at home.
Reeves said there is no timeline for when Modesto will reopen its Tenth Street Place offices. But he expects city officials will look at the closure when the state re-evaluates its stay-at-home order, which is expected to occur in about three weeks.
Other city facilities, including the Senior Center, McHenry Mansion, McHenry Museum, Maddux Youth Center and Modesto Centre Plaza, have been closed to the public during the pandemic. But Modesto’s parks, though not the playgrounds, and its two golf courses, Dryden and Creekside, remain open.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 11:32 AM.
