Tim. The City Manager.

Tim is a city manager in Oklahoma - a state that as of last week is slowly beginning to reopen its economy. Thursday morning when I spoke to Tim, he had recently heard the news from the Oklahoma governor that the state would take a multi-phased approach to reopen businesses beginning Friday, April 24. 

First, barbershops, salons and spas could start to see customers. This Friday, on May 1, another wave of businesses can welcome guests, including restaurants and movie theaters. If things go according to plan and COVID-19 cases don’t spike, bars and funeral parlors will follow, and so on. 

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, Tim’s city has followed the Oklahoma Governor’s lead, implementing stay-at-home orders for local residents and closing public facilities like rec centers and libraries when the governor ordered them to do so. So when news came last week that the governor would ease quarantine restrictions, Tim quickly went to work getting the word out to local residents. 

“What we have communicated to the community is the governor has reopened the economy and we plan to follow that plan as closely as possible,” he said. 

There will be slight deviations from the state’s guidelines in Tim’s community. For instance, Tim said cardio and weight lifting areas would reopen at rec centers, but the city’s two large gymnasiums where large groups can gather would remain closed for now. Extra precautions would also be enforced at gyms to ensure people were staying six feet or more apart. 

“We are going to make sure every other machine is taped off,” he said of the workout facilities. “We are still going to make sure we reinforce social distancing.”

Some activities will be harder than others to regulate, though. Take, for example, little league baseball, which may get the green light to carry on as normal this summer. 

“I don't know how you socially distance yourself if you are a batter from the catcher or the first baseman once you get there,” Tim said. “It is navigating all those nuances. I think it is going to be a challenge.”

MANAGING DURING A PANDEMIC 
Whether or not Tim’s city and others in the state can slowly return to normal will be dependent upon the state continuing to see a decline in hospitalizations due to the Coronavirus and positive COVID-19 cases. Oklahoma has just under 3,200 reported cases of people infected with the virus in the state, much less than places like Illinois, for instance, which has more than 41,000. Still, Tim is cautiously optimistic about easing restrictions on public gatherings. 

“Oklahoma, because it is predominantly rural, we haven't been impacted as bad, but it is concerning,” he said. 

Tim has been a city manager in Oklahoma for the past seven years. Previously, he served as assistant city manager for towns both in and out of the state. He has seen how natural disasters like tornadoes, ice storms and earthquakes can impact a community, and he has worked as part of the local government to help residents respond and rebound during those challenging times. He was also an assistant manager during 9/11. A global pandemic, though? This is unprecedented. 

 “I never ever imagined that I would be managing during a pandemic. I never thought that I would have to face this in my career,” he said. 

During 9/11, for instance, you could see the physical toll that took on a community. 

“This is very different,” he said, “Because it is this invisible thing that you are trying to prevent the spread of.”

To continue slowing the spread of the Coronavirus, Tim said the city council in his community will host their public meetings virtually in May, as they have been in recent months. Video council meetings over Zoom have certainly been interesting thus far, Tim said. 

“It was like a really bad Hollywood Squares without Paul Lynde,” he joked. 

The city council will return to regular, in-person meetings in June if the state of Oklahoma sees the decline in COVID-19 cases it hopes to. 

PANDEMIC PLANNING
Tim’s city was perhaps more prepared for this than other communities across the nation, however. The city had a pandemic policy drafted from years ago that Tim and others within the local government could turn to for some guidance when the virus began to significantly impact daily lives. 

“We pulled that out the first week of March so we knew how we would implement things for our employees,” Tim said. 

Other immediate steps the city took was freezing spending, and while part-time city employees had to be laid off, no full-time salaried positions were cut. The city’s existing pandemic plan helped its initial response to the Coronavirus, but it also became clear that no matter how thorough a plan it was, it could not provide a precise roadmap for dealing with a public health crisis of this scale. 

“There is no game plan for this, there really isn't,” Tim said. 

As city manager, Tim is already thinking ahead to how the city can improve its response should something like this happen in the future. He will meet with city department directors, city council members and other local stakeholders to talk through what the local government did well during this pandemic and where it can improve. Do they start that process now? The state is reopening its economy at the moment, sure. But that doesn’t mean the Coronavirus wont continue to impact the community. 

“That is another question: When is it over?” Tim said. 

COMFORT AND STRENGTH FROM THE COMMUNITY
Tim knows he lives in and works for a resilient community. And that provides some comfort. The day after he interviewed for his city manager position back in 2013, the local area suffered devastating damage due to a nearby tornado. High winds tore down trees and destroyed homes. Yet as Tim drove around the city that morning, he saw residents outside helping their neighbors clean up and clear debris. 

“That, to me, was a very good sign of a community of people who are about each other,” he said. 

Fast forward to today, and he still sees that sense of community in action. He himself has received phone calls from local pastors at community churches asking how he and the city staff are doing. He has managers at the local Walmart asking if the city needs certain supplies. Residents are also inquiring on how they can help the city’s first responders in any way possible. No matter how tough his days feel during this pandemic, he finds strength in the people he serves. 

“Those phone calls, emails and text messages came at the right time when you are feeling like you are ready to give up,” Tim said. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT TIM...

WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION TO KEEP GOING?
“The ability to make a difference in people's lives and impact the future in a positive way, hopefully.” 

WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR AT THIS MOMENT?
“I think right now, more than anything, that I am employed. I am also grateful for my health.”

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THINGS “GET BACK TO NORMAL”?
“My immediate and extended family is from the Philadelphia area, and I would like to go back to see them. We have done Facetime, but it’s just not the same as physically seeing people.”