Mayor Lloyd Winnecke: Evansville must prepare to get past coronavirus pandemic; task force sets up four main goals for any reopening

John T. Martin, Evansville Courier & Press

Tuesday, April 14, 2020 6:27 PM

EVANSVILLE — The question of “When will things get back to normal?” remains unanswerable, but Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said Evansville must prepare for that to occur.

Winnecke announced Tuesday Deputy Mayor Steve Schaefer will lead a task force on how the city will rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, which has sent unemployment soaring and thus far forced $2.8 million in city spending cuts.

In Vanderburgh County, there were 65 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. The total has continued to climb. One resident has died of complications from the virus.

State government will guide the decision of when to reopen Evansville, Winnecke said.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, giving his own coronavirus update on Tuesday at the Statehouse, was quoted by IndyStar.com as saying: "It won't be flipping a light switch, going back to the way it was. Things will be different. But as we rolling re-open, it'll be an ongoing process."

Winnecke agreed and said Evansville’s task force has four big-picture goals:

Business assistance. Leaders of the Southwest Indiana Chamber will conduct what Winnecke called “workshops” with local businesses of all sizes, hearing what will be necessary to reopen when the time comes.

Testing and workplace comfort. Winnecke said Dr. Steve Becker of the Stone Center for Health Sciences, which is the medical education and research complex in Downtown Evansville, and the city’s major healthcare providers will focus on steps to ensure local residents are comfortable with returning to work. This also will include making sure venues such as Ford Center and The Victory are safe.

Quality of life. This goal involves preparing playgrounds, golf courses and other recreational facilities to reopen.

Operation of city government. Winnecke said the decision on when to reopen the Civic Center will be made jointly with Vanderburgh County Commissioners. Beyond that, Winnecke said the task force will recommend when city employees should return to work and will monitor the impact of city revenues lost because of the pandemic.

The City Council last month OK’d $2.8 million in cuts due to the pandemic.

“I would not be surprised if we have to make further adjustments,” Winnecke said Tuesday.

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