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Columbiana backs drive-thru testing

By Scott Lendak 3 min read
Morning Journal/Scott Lendak Registered Nurse Niki Lester gathers information from a participant being tested for the virus at the drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Columbiana on Wednesday. Another session will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. The tests are taking place while people remain in their vehicles and take a few minutes to complete. The drive-thru testing, which has taken place in Campbell and Austintown as well, was organized by CM Laboratories and Quickmed Urgent Care. In order to be tested, participants must have symptoms of the virus or have been exposed to someone with the virus. Those participants must also pre-register and go through a pre-screening process at www.quickmed-uc.com. There are no out of pocket costs with any type of insurance card, but those without insurance will be charged $100, $50 for the visit and $50 for the Quickmed testing. The police department has been guiding traffic and ensuring appropriate distances while tests are taking place.

COLUMBIANA -- As the city hosts a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site at the Firestone Pool parking lot, City Manager Lance Willard emphasized that the county health department played a huge role in accepting the offer of the drive-thru.

"I want to thank the county health department for their support and guidance," Willard said at Tuesday's city council meeting. "We would not have done it without them. We commend them for their efforts regarding COVID-19, and they are looking forward to getting more data for our county and the state."

While Gov. Mike DeWine has talked about opening the state back up for business in May, Willard said the testing site comes at the right time. He also thanked Police Chief Tim Gladis and the rest of the police department for drawing up a plan to ensure officers at the entrance and exit of the drive-thru.

In other business, while some neighboring municipalities have decided to close their pools for the upcoming swim season, council has yet to make its decision.

"We're looking at summer just like everybody else," Willard said. "We want to know what summer is going to look like, but we don't really know yet. We're just going to have to continue to look ahead. I think the governor may make a ruling on things like that before we make a decision."

The city is also working with the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Board to make sure everyone is on the same page with events coming up. The Chamber is thinking of a few ideas to show hope, spirit and support for the frontline workers. Willard said as long as they maintain the social distancing guidelines, there shouldn't be a problem.

The FEMA stormwater project is continuing, and the next step is to secure an engineer for the project. After looking through several proposals from qualified candidates, they selected Howells and Baird Inc. Meanwhile, the ODOT Phase 1 project in Firestone Park is expected to begin within the next 10 days, and Willard said he is sure it will be finished within 90 days from the start.

The departments continue to make adjustments to social distancing as protocol continues to change. Departments are performing extra cleaning and monitoring the health of staff members. They also continue to gather personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and sanitizers to help ensure a safe workplace.

As city council and planning commission meetings have moved online, the park board meeting will move online as well. It will take place at 7 p.m. April 27 on Zoom. All of the meetings will require participants to register beforehand in an attempt to increase security and can do so on the city website.

Council's next regularly scheduled meeting is set for 7 p.m. May 5.

slendak@mojonews.com

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