By Beacon Staff
A cascade of local summer events is being canceled in the wake of President Donald Trump’s call for another month of social distancing.
One of the most prominent is the annual Memorial Day weekend Snake Alley Criterium bicycle race which was officially canceled Monday. Trump said the social distancing timeline could be extended, which made organizing an event reliant on business sponsorships nearly impossible, according to criterium organizers.
The Slocum 50, one of the biggest races of the year for 34 Raceway, has been postponed from its original date of April 18 to July 3. Raceway officials made the announcement Tuesday, adding that all upcoming April races, including the Sprint Invaders opener scheduled for this weekend, have been postponed or canceled.
The next scheduled race for 34 Raceway is slotted for the weekend of April 25, but that is dependent on state and federal guidelines, track officials said.
Life has stopped for many in Burlington, even as health care workers, service workers, and factory employees report to their shifts as requested. Case New Holland has halted production for the next two weeks and will return in staggered shifts. CNH is designated an essential business.
Though state and city parks remain open, playgrounds and playground equipment within the parks are now off-limits to the public — a mandate encouraged by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
During a Monday (March 30) night work session, the Burlington City Council also discussed the likelihood of the annual spring cleanup being delayed. The contagious nature of coronavirus, combined with the transferal of household items, would likely increase the chance of infection in Burlington during the peak of the virus.
None of the council members want to give up the program entirely and spoke of possibly pushing it back to the fall, depending on virus restrictions.
Burlington City Manager Jim Ferneau did have some good news. Traffic in Iowa has been reduced 50 percent, he said, which means a lot of people are staying home as the governor asked.
Not everyone will listen, of course, which Burlington Mayor Jon Billups attested to during the meeting.
“Leave your kids at home,” he said.
Billups said he saw families crowded into narrow store aisles at a local Hy-Vee, as though the country weren’t on partial lockdown.
“I was very disappointed,” he said.
Ferneau said he expects the city to take at least a $700,000 revenue hit due to the virus, and is advocating for cessation on most new capital projects.
Even existing services, ranging from the Burlington Regional RecPlex and Flint Hills Golf Course to the Greater Burlington Partnership itself, will demand reevaluation by the council. While many Burlington shops and restaurants are offering curbside and delivery service, Ferneau said business is still a fraction of what it was. And he doesn’t expect a swift bounce-back when the time to reopen does come.
“The chamber will be asking for money soon,” Ferneau said during the council work session.
The next day (March 31), phones screeched with a warning notice usually reserved for severe storms. Illinois, specifically Chicago, is in desperate need of health care personnel.
Meanwhile, Ferneau and city staff are trying to figure out how to hold remote, online meetings so outside groups can make presentations to the council. The council chambers were closed Monday night, the council members spread in six-foot intervals across the room.
It will be a learning process.
“I don’t know what to expect from this,” Ferneau said.
Photo by Jeff Abell
Participants in the Snake Alley Criterium are shown on May 25, 2019, in downtown Burlington.