A note from Mayor Chuck Hinz: COVID-19
by Mayor Chuck Hinz · April 16th, 2020


Hello ROBINS,

We are currently living in a situation which impacts us all 24/7 unlike any time since World War II. Now churches are closed. Schools are closed and children are home. We can't visit grandparents. We can't shake hands. We can't give hugs and kisses. We have to maintain social distancing by staying at least 6 feet away from others. Movie theatres, libraries and parks are closed including South Troy and East Knoll Park. Theatre performances and musical venues cancelled. No extracurricular school activities or practices or in person social activities. Stores and restaurants and businesses are closed. Drive up and take away have become the norm and those activities help support those restaurants and stores in our community.

People have lost their jobs and are worried. Many people are now working at home and learning how to do so and balance that with being an at home teacher and adjustment coach for their children. Just as many people have to go to work at their place of employment and wonder if they may be exposed to COVID-19 as a result and worry how their children are doing during the day.

Robins City Hall is closed to public walk in traffic.

However, City staff is still at work. Call 393-0588 to contact City Hall. If there is no answer, leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible. You can also leave a message @ [email protected] which we monitor consistently.

We are learning how to conduct city business via other means than face-to-face interaction. Electronic and group tele-meetings have now become the norm and we are learning more and improving every day.

I want to give a sincere thank you to our city office staff, public works personnel, fire department, EMT personnel, police department, engineering services, and legal services for providing essential services to meet daily needs of City operations to keep our city safe, operational, and growing without undo interruptions.

And the big question is "How long will this last? When do we return to normal?"

I can tell you we receive daily briefings from Linn County Emergency Management Agency to keep us up to date. Reports from Linn County Health, Mercy Medical Center, UnityPoint St Luke's, United Way, Public Safety, K-12 School systems, Linn County government, county municipalities, and United Way are all part of those EMA briefings. These briefings keep us up to date and in the information loop. These briefings have let me develop the most admiration and gratitude for all the medical personnel and public safety personnel who are putting in long and dangerous hours to help our community. I thank them very much.

So, we are not sure how long this COVID-19 situation will last.

We do not know. BUT, in the big picture, this is temporary. In the meantime, be positive. Reduce your stress. Talk to others via phone, email, facebook, face to face (at least 6 feet separation), exercise, go for a walk, organize that closet, try a new recipe you have never done before, read that book you have never read and is staring at you from the shelf, volunteer to meet a community need, support your local businesses, call somebody you have not talked to for a while, have your kids learn about and create a family tree, learn about Robins history......

Be nice to each other, practice patience, smile and wave, keep social distance.

You are in control--not a victim.

Stay safe... Be well.