County Building Closed to the Public

The Cheyenne County Commissioners have stated that the Court House is open; however, individuals are strongly encouraged to use the online services, if possible, to conduct business and limit personal visits to the Court House.

The Cheyenne County Commissioners held an emergency meeting Monday morning to address the impact of the coronavirus on county business. The meeting was held in the Cheyenne County District Courtroom with a maximum of 10 people in attendance, and numerous local officials and community members attending via phone conference.

The meeting started with County Attorney Paul Schaub addressing the COVID-19 situation and its potential impact on Cheyenne County.

“We all know there's a global pandemic,” Schaub said.

He said several states have declared a state of emergency.

“We have an obligation to keep the staff safe. We have an obligation to keep the public safe,” he said.

The commissioners, with Chairman Darrell Johnson in attendance via teleconference, approved a resolution limiting access to county offices. As of 5 p.m. Monday afternoon, visits by the general public to county offices will be by appointment-only. Exceptions will be the county and district courts and sheriff's office. Judge Randin Roland said jury trials have been suspended for now. The courts are also scheduling more teleconferencing and video conferencing.

“We are encouraging telephonic as well as video appearances,” he said.

Officials encouraged the public to take advantage of the alternative communication channels: phone the offices, email, mail bills or use the county's website. Schaub stressed there will be no walk-in service during the crisis.

“By crisis I mean I don't know how long this will last,” he said.

Staff are encouraged to work from home when possible.

The intention of the resolution and resulting restricted access to the county offices is mitigate impact of the virus, according to county officials.

The commissioners stressed the resolution is a pro-active move. The commissioners asked for contact information to be posted at each entry to the building for the public to access county offices.