Most Norfolk libraries and rec centers will reopen in July

Norfolk — After nearly a year of heavily limited access to libraries and rec centers, Norfolk’s city manager unveiled the plan Tuesday for reopening of the bulk of those city facilities this summer.

Initially closed completely at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a handful of libraries and rec centers have been open on a modified basis for months, with six libraries providing curbside pick-up and other limited services and about a third of the city’s rec centers similarly offering reduced services.

However, residents have continually have bombarded both City Manager Chip Filer and members of the City Council with requests to get their local library or community center back open, at least in some capacity. Council members have, in turn, pushed Filer for months to deliver some answers.

[ Previous coverage: After deep budget cuts, Norfolk has ended up with a surplus of money. So why are the libraries and rec centers still closed? ]

Filer rolled out the expected slate of reopening plans at the council’s Tuesday meeting. Not everything will reopen, Filer warned, and those that do still won’t be back to the pre-pandemic normal.

Public health continues to be a major variable in what reopening looks like, Filer said, but one of the biggest roadblocks to timely reopening will be hiring.

Norfolk first furloughed, and then laid off, nearly 500 employees as a result of the pandemic — the only city in Hampton Roads to do so. Most of them were libraries and rec center employees, including several facility managers.

Council members expressed concerns that hiring could push back a planned July 1 reopening for many facilities, and Tuesday instructed Filer to start the hiring process now to prevent delays.

Today's Top Stories

Daily

Start your morning in-the-know with the day's top stories.

The reopening plan includes all but two libraries — Park Place and Horace Downing.

Filer said they’ve been trying to discuss the use of Park Place, which is attached to James Monroe Elementary School, with Norfolk Public Schools to see if they have designs on using the space in conjunction with school operations. City staff said Horace Downing Library presented problems because it was so cramped, it was difficult to operate it within the public health guidelines for social distancing.

Greg Patrick, the city’s budget director, said Downing — which is in Berkley and currently the only library branch on the city’s Southside — will become “a bit redundant” when the new Richard A. Tucker Memorial Library opens this summer, less than a mile away.

Every library expected to reopen will operate at reduced hours.

The plan also calls for reopening 20 of the city’s 25 recreational facilities, some of which will also have shorter hours than before the pandemic.

Those not planned to reopen by July 1 are:

Park Place Neighborhood Service Center
Ingleside Community Center
Young Terrace Community Center
Campostella Recreation Center
Merrimack Landing Recreation Center

Ryan Murphy, 757-739-8582, ryan.murphy@pilotonline.com