Mayor Rob Marlowe
The situation continues to evolve rapidly. Late yesterday, the Governor issued an executive order asking seniors 65 and older, and anyone with a severe underlying condition, to voluntarily stay at home for the next 14 days. This is excellent advice. My wife and I are both over 65 and we are taking steps to minimize our contacts with others. Although we need to come into the office to assist our clients, we are limiting foot traffic into our office.
The number of infections in Florida continue to double every three days. This is a prescription for disaster. Run out the math and we’ll have over a million Floridians with the virus in a month.
Because of how small New Port Richey is compared to the surrounding area, I don’t see us issuing any mandatory stay at home orders as a city, although I would fully support such an order coming from the Governor’s office.
At the request of our City Manager and Public Works staff, I am reminding you that you should not flush ANYTHING down your toilet other than toilet paper and your bodily waste. Please DO NOT flush baby wipes, paper towels, sanitary napkins or anything else as it can clog up the sewer lines. The LAST thing Public Works needs on their plate right now is having to replace pipes that have been blocked or damaged by stuff that you’ve flushed. Additionally, if you plug up the sewer pipe between your house and the street, you are responsible for the repairs.
These are trying times. Please limit your exposure to others and we will get through all of this together.
Rob Marlowe, Mayor