Washington County is one of 22 counties where Gov. Kim Reynolds did not lift restrictions on May 1. Currently, restrictions are set to be eased in those 22 counties on May 15.

With an eye to the easing of restrictions on May 15, local officials have been discussing how to go about opening public areas.

“On the 15th, some restrictions might be loosened and allow for a little more activity and the opening up of some public facilities and spaces,” Kalona City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh told the Kalona City Council Monday night.

He said he has met with officials from both Washington and Wellman on the issue.

“The cities of Kalona and Washington and I have been working together to see how things play out,” Wellman City Administrator Kelly Litwiller told the Wellman City Council on Monday. “We feel we all need to be on the same page and doing the same thing.”

Schlabaugh said that the cities are looking to take a cautious approach to re-opening.

“Take a couple weeks and open up in a staggered approach,” he said. “Open up our parks, but maybe not necessarily the restrooms right away. Both of them will probably have their city halls as-is until June 1.”

Kalona City Council Member Craig Spitzer said he agreed with the approach.

“I’m all for going for it, but baby steps,” Spitzer said.

Litwiller said that it is her understanding that even if restrictions were lifted on May 15, many businesses, including some banks, may not re-open immediately.

Wellman City Council member Shannon McCain said, “It makes sense to have us doing the same as the other cities, so people aren’t guessing what’s going on.”

Schlabaugh said one of the concerns is re-opening the Kalona Community Center, which is operated by the Washington County YMCA.

He said that YMCA board recently met to put together a plan.

“It was unanimous to start, if approved by the governor, utilizing all facilities,” Schlabaugh said. “What I would anticipate based on what the governor did previously is to operate at 50%. We’re going to work with the Y to make sure that it’s a size-appropriate number that can be managed.”

However, the building will not have 24-hour access.

“We cannot open 24/7 right away,” Schlabaugh said. “We are going to have to evaluate that a month from now, two months from now and further down the road.”

Schlabaugh said that the governor may decide to extend the restrictions.

“We might get to the 15th and still have those restrictions,” he said. “Then we’ll kick it down the road 15 days again and see where it’s at.”