By ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

POTSDAM -- Potsdam's village mayor is urging village residents to follow state guidelines and restrictions put in place to deal with the spread of COVID-19.

At the village board meeting Monday April 6 on the Zoom cloud conferencing platform, Mayor Reinhold J. Tischler advised residents to follow the advice and strictures laid down by the Governor recently.

"COVID-19 is upon us. I would urge the public to please, please follow the governor's direction, and St. Lawrence County's direction," Tischler said. "The Village of Potsdam is also (following) the same direction. Stay home, unless you have an essential position in the village."

"If you do have to go out go out by yourself … to buy groceries or medication. And please stay away at least 6 feet from the person next to you. Social distancing," Tischler said.

"If you are not feeling well, stay home," Tischler said.

The mayor pointed out that as of April 6 the governor had increased the fine for large gatherings from $500 to $1,000.

"So if somebody gets caught downtown (in a group), the chief or one of the officers, can and will break up that meeting, and whoever organized is going to pay that fine. And, we do not want to see that happen," the mayor said.

Trustee Alexandre Wilke said that although village residents live in an area where they can at least get outside during the crisis unlike in cities and other urban areas, the local population shouldn't get complacent.

"We're behind New York City as far as where the wave is. So the curve is coming. We have to be prepared. We know there is community transmission. We just have to do the smart things and stay at home and it’s very hard," the trustee said.

"I think Potsdam is in a good position when this is all done to come back economically, culturally," Wilke said. "We are lucky to have vibrant institutions and businesses that I think will be able to come back and thrive. . . But it’s going to be a hard few weeks."

Trustee Abby Lee credited local emergency workers and advised residents to do the right thing for them. "We rely on the volunteers in this community," Lee said. "They put themselves at risk. So help keep them safe by doing the right thing. Just do the right thing."

At the meeting, Village Administrator Greg Thompson said municipal employees are still working to provide services to village residents even though village offices have been closed.

"The big thing right now is juggling manpower," Thompson said.

Thompson said it was "business as usual in a really strange way" for the village at the moment. "The new normal is difficult," he said.

Tischler directed Potsdam Police Chief Mark Murray that if patrols see large gatherings in the village to "break it up."

"And tell them what the implications are if they don't," the mayor said.

Murray said the police department has received some notifications after the fact that there were some gatherings in the village.

"We ask that if people observe that to let us know right away and we can address that while its going on. It's hard to do it after the fact. But there have been some reports of some gatherings in violation of the laws that have been implemented by the governor's office for this exact example," the chief said.

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