Riverside will gradually reopen city property following a series of unanimous decisions by the City Council.

Parks and playgrounds will open immediately, while City Hall is slated to reopen with a downsized lobby on July 1.

The moves come with a handful of caveats.

In public parks and playgrounds, signs will inform visitors of health risks and public restrooms will remain closed. The bathrooms were sanitized daily before the pandemic began, and council members weren’t comfortable reopening them without increased cleaning.

“Bathroom facilities are not going to be open at this time,” City Administrator Christine Yancey said. “There’s no way to keep them sanitized continuously.”

Visitors will still be subject to county and state guidelines regarding social distancing, personal protective wear and group size in the interest of public health. Signs will not outline any specific guidelines due to concerns that rules are likely to change too quickly to keep notices up to date.

“Most likely it will change over time, so I don’t know that we want to set our own restrictions on that and just follow state and possibly county guidance,” Mayor Allen Schneider said. “When it comes to enforcement, that is law enforcement’s job when it comes to enforcing state restrictions.”

Groups interested in using the ballfields should call City Hall to book a location.

Meanwhile, City Hall’s reopening is delayed until July 1, the expected completion date of renovations to restrict public access authorized by the council at the same meeting.

Council members authorized up to $4,000 to fund the project, covering the price for new countertops, reception windows with envelope slots, and a lockable, staff-only inner door which effectively establishes a small, minimum-contact lobby at the building’s entrance.

“Each time someone comes in we have to totally disinfect the area, so we really don’t want free rein of City Hall” City Administrator Christine Yancey said at a May 18 meeting.

The two reception windows will allow a no-contact way to drop off items that cannot be turned in online such as cash payments and official documents. Previously estimated to cost more than $2,600, the city received a last-minute bid from Sorrell Glass, a business in Washington, for less than a third of the price.

The changes will require electric work costing around $1,500 to relocate fans, cables and light switches after the removal of a wall to install the lockable door.

That door will be a repurposed office door already in the building, outfitted with a new crash bar covered by the renovation funds. The barrier will keep visitors from entering the rest of the building. This protects city employees and reduces tedious and time-consuming sanitation measures.

City Administrator Christine Yancey said the renovations won’t necessarily reopen council chambers or meeting rooms, although changing state guidelines could make them accessible by the time renovations are complete.

The city intends to allow 24-hour access to the renovated lobby once open.