COVID-19 Update from the City of Greater Sudbury: Wednesday, March 25, 2020

The City of Greater Sudbury, through decisions of City Council, and with guidance from Public Health Sudbury & Districts, continues to take additional steps to limit the potential spread of COVID-19 in the community.

Please see below for updated information related to City services and programs. If you require services that would normally be completed in-person, call 311 to discuss your options.

Important information about 911 Screening
911 is for emergencies only. If you call 911 for an emergency, you will be asked a series of questions to assess the risk of COVID-19 exposure. These questions ensure the safety of paramedics, firefighters, police officers and healthcare workers.

It is critical that you are honest with the 911 operators. Emergency crews will still respond to your emergency, but need to know what precautions to take. Please do your part to keep them safe.

Tax Payments
Residents are reminded that payments for the April 2 tax due date will not incur interest or late payment penalties until June 4, 2020.

Garbage Collection
City Council has approved a temporarily increase in the garbage bag limit from one bag to two, effective immediately. This change will be in effect until the end of the provincial emergency declaration.

Landfill Sites
Residents should postpone all unnecessary trips to the Landfill Sites and the Walden Transfer Site until the end of the provincial emergency declaration.

Water and Wastewater
City Council has approved the suspension of charging interest on overdue water and wastewater accounts, until June 4, 2020, effective immediately. Please call Greater Sudbury Utilities at 705-675-7536 for assistance in canceling automatic payments, if required.

The Valley East Treatment Plant and Chelmsford Water Pollution Control Plant are closed to recreational vehicles until further notice. Dumping of recreational vehicle tanks is by appointment only at the Sudbury Wastewater Treatment Plant, 1271 Kelly Lake Rd. Call 705-674-4455, extension 4822.

Parking
City Council has approved free downtown metered parking until the end of the provincial emergency declaration.

Leisure and Recreation Refunds
If you registered for a municipal leisure or recreational program, lesson or facility rental that has been postponed or cancelled, you will be contacted by Friday, March 27 to process or discuss your refund. If we have not contacted you by March 27, call 705-674-4455, extension 2446. For details, visit www.greatersudbury.ca/refunds-available-for-city-of-greater-sudbury-recreational-programs-lessons-and-facility-rentals.

Parks, Playgrounds and Open Spaces
The use of playgrounds is not recommended, as equipment is not sanitized or maintained in the off-season. All park facilities, including buildings, washrooms and fieldhouses, are temporarily closed. Benches, tables, waste bins, gates, handrails and other surfaces in parks are not sanitized. Off-leash dog parks remain open,

Residents should avoid gathering in parks and open spaces in order to maintain proper two-metre social distancing (physical distancing) guidelines advocated by Public Health.

Gova Transit
The Downtown Transit Hub building remains closed to the public. A number of changes have been made to Gova operations to encourage physical distancing. Riders should only use Gova for necessary travel, as recommended by Public Health.

Click or Call
Many City services are available online or over the phone, including:
• Ordering garbage bag tags, blue boxes and green carts
• Payment of parking tickets
• Purchase of animal tags

Only essential City services are being offered in-person, by appointment only. Please call 311 to book an appointment. These services include:
• Ontario Works
• Housing Registry
• Building Services, including permits
• Planning Services, including rezoning applications
• By-law Services, including business and lottery licences

Other Updates
• The Greater Sudbury Animal Shelter is accepting visitors by appointment only. Please call 311 to make arrangements.
• The Cemetery Services office is open by appointment only. Please call 311.
• The Committee of Adjustment hearing scheduled for Wednesday, April 1 at 5 p.m. is postponed. The applications scheduled for that hearing will be rescheduled.
• Library book drops are closed. Due dates will be automatically extended. Late fines will not accumulate during the library closure. If you already have a fine, it will not be erased but it will not get any larger.

For up-to-date information and details on service changes related to COVID-19, visit www.greatersudbury.ca/COVID.

“This is a challenging time for the residents of Greater Sudbury, and City Council is keeping our community’s needs top of mind. We are working quickly to make decisions people are telling us they need. This includes easing the financial burden by changing property tax and water bill due dates, increasing garbage collection as people do their part to stay home, and offering free downtown metered parking to help businesses through this difficult time. We also continue to offer many City services in innovative ways, and we will continue to do everything we can to help our community.”
- Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger