Reopening is on the mind of many Carbon County businesses, and things are no different for bed-and-breakfasts in Jim Thorpe borough.

Though they were technically allowed to stay open during the response to COVID-19, bed-and-breakfasts, as well as the Inn at Jim Thorpe, opted to close in March, Michael Rivkin, of the Dolon House, told borough council during a meeting Thursday night.

“We collectively made the decision to close until we are moved to the yellow zone as a county,” Rivkin said. “We did not want to be inviting folks from out of town to our homes and to the community.”

Since then, lodging owners in Jim Thorpe have been purchasing personal protection equipment and turning all their attention to reopening procedures.

On Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf declared that Carbon County will move to yellow phase on May 22.

“We’re all going to have to essentially reinvent the way we do things,” Rivkin said. “That means maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. We’ll have masks for our guests who do not. We’ll also be increasing our sanitation and staggering rooms so we don’t have people staying close to one another.”

Rivkin said a news release with full protocols for guests would be issued after an opening date is determined. Bed-and-breakfasts, he said, have looked to the national industry for guidance.

“We didn’t want to be just grasping at straws, so we’re basically following what the industry is saying is an accepted practice to move forward in a safe fashion. We want to do everything we can to make our visitors and our neighbors feel safe.”

Wolf shut down short-term rentals in early April, and Rivkin said he would share the guidelines bed-and-breakfasts are implementing with owners in that industry.

Public has been behaving

Hearing that people were going to be quarantined for a significant period of time was initially concerning to local police, but Jim Thorpe Mayor Michael Sofranko and Police Chief Joe Schatz told council Thursday night they have been pleased with the public’s behavior.

“At the outset, we met as a staff and we were a little worried there might be an uptick in domestic incidents and that kind of thing, but the residents have really been wonderful,” Schatz said. “Businesses have also been great. We’ve had a couple issues to address regarding things the governor has mandated, and we’ve just tried to educate on why those measures are in place.”

Sofranko told council he would look into getting large trash receptacles to place at some popular gathering areas near restaurants serving takeout.

“My guess is you’re not going to be able to dine in for quite a while, but people are going to come to Jim Thorpe no matter what and they’re going to get takeout and eat outside,” Sofranko said. “We don’t want trash being dropped everywhere so we’re going to try to get some larger receptacles to help with that.”

Tax deadlines extended

Like Carbon County before it, council voted Thursday night to extend tax-filing deadlines for its residents.

The borough extended the deadline for base real estate, occupational and per capita taxes from Aug. 31 to Oct. 31.

Council also announced that the borough’s tax collector, Patricia Spillman, would have office hours on May 23 and May 30, from 9 a.m. to noon at the borough office.