In accordance with the lifting of Governor Whitmer’s Stay Home Executive Order, the city of Sterling Heights will reopen City facilities to the public on Wednesday, June 10.
Employees will return on Monday, June 8 to prepare City facilities to receive members of the public in a way that is safe and is consistent with CDC guidelines.
“We completed extensive research in order to create a thorough and detailed plan to safely reopen City facilities with a priority of protecting the health of City employees and members of the public who visit those facilities,” said City Manager Mark Vanderpool. “In addition, we have worked hard to design multiple ways our residents can transact business with the City without ever leaving their home as part of our ‘At-Home Services program.”
A comprehensive list of services residents can use without ever leaving home can be found at www.sterling-heights.net/athomeservices.
All employees and visitors will be required to wear a mask when moving through City facilities, and visitors are encouraged to use the many hand sanitizer stations located throughout all City facilities. City employees and the public are also being directed to stay home should they be experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms including fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, sore throat and loss of taste or smell.
The Sterling Heights Public Library will reopen on Monday, June 8 for phone-only services and will begin contactless curbside pickup on June 15. Beginning June 29, the Library will allow a limited number of residents to use its computers, copier and fax/scan station. More information can be found at shpl.net.
Parks and Recreation has reopened all playgrounds throughout the City; however, social distancing in all parks and at all playgrounds is still required. In addition, the department has reopened baseball fields at Beaver Creek, Hampton, Mark Sawyers, and Wolf parks. Department staff is now installing remaining tennis and pickleball nets and swings. Basketball courts, soccer fields, sand volleyball courts, inline hockey rinks and pavilions are all expected to open when Michigan enters Phase 5 of Governor Whitmer’s plan (estimated early July) due to the inability to provide areas where social distance can be maintained.
The Sterling Heights Community Center will also open on June 10 for business transactions only. There will be no programming in either the Senior Center or Community Center until at least July 10.
Beginning Wednesday, June 10, the City’s drop-off recycling center located at 12260 Clinton River Road will be open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 7:30 am to 3 pm. Residents will be required to show proof of residency, and the number of vehicles may be limited at any given time to ensure proper distancing.
Lastly, the City is working on a special program titled “Turn Sterling Heights Inside Out” that creates a mechanism to temporarily allow certain businesses like salons/barbers, retailers, bars, restaurants and others to resume daily operations safely outside, on the sidewalks along their storefront and/or in their parking lots, provided it can be done in a safe and appropriate manner. To apply for a special permit or find out more, call 586-446-2630 or email shplanning@sterling-heights.net.
“While it’s great news that we are reopening our City facilities to restore important non-essential services and amenities to our residents, it’s also important that we work to support our local business community in recovering from the economic challenges the pandemic created,” said Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor. “The ‘Turn Sterling Heights Inside Out’ program is a great way to help our local businesses bring back much needed goods and services – and jobs and income – to our community.”