Snellville, Braselton reopening city halls to public

Snellville residents can participate in early voting for the Dec. 3 city council seat run-off election until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27. (Courtesy City of Snellville)

Snellville residents can participate in early voting for the Dec. 3 city council seat run-off election until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27. (Courtesy City of Snellville)

Two Gwinnett County cities are reopening their main government buildings after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to close.

Snellville is reopening is city hall on Monday, May 11, and Braselton Town Hall is reopening the following week on Monday, May 18. Both buildings will have new protective measures in place for employees and members of the public.

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Snellville is requiring all visitors to city buildings to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The city’s senior center will not be reopened at this time; it remains closed until further notice. People over 65 are at higher risk of developing complications from coronavirus, and the CDC discourages groups of more than 10 from congregating.

Braselton is installing plexiglass “cough shields” at transaction windows that didn’t previously have them. There will be signage showing recommended distance between people, and the public will be restricted to the lobby area and meeting rooms unless they have an appointment.

Meetings with town officials are by appointment only, according to a Braselton press release. Members of the public will be required to wear masks inside town buildings, and public employees are allowed to refuse to meet with someone presenting symptoms of coronavirus or the flu.

Braselton is also reopening its library and requiring no more than 10 people be in the building at a time. No meetings will be allowed and the return of books and other items will be restricted to the lobby area.

Municipal courts in both Snellville and Braselton will resume operations in June. Braselton will follow the same rules for its town hall in the court and may perform temperature checks before allowing people inside.