New faucets plastic barriers hand sanitizer: How San Marcos is preparing to reopen city buildings

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SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN)– Public safety officials are preparing for reopening day in San Marcos.

City offices are still closed to the public because of the coronavirus but public safety director Chase Stapp says they have two teams conducting site visits to discuss when reopening might happen and how to do it.

"We put together a team of employees to meet with all of our divisions and departments to talk about how we can safely reopen our public lobbies and some of our services," he says.

Stapp says teams of two to four people visited about 30 sites over Wednesday and Thursday.

One of the most commonly requested items by employees has been plexiglass barriers.

Those orders are keeping machines running all day for some local companies like Regal Plastics in Austin.

Demand for barriers have been increasing for Texas company Regal Plastics. (Courtesy: Regal Plastics)

"The sneeze guards, the table-top standing sneeze guards, the barrier protection between restaurant booths, office partitions, different things like that, we've really seen an increase on that," says general manager Sean Smith.

Smith says they're also starting to see new clients, like schools and municipal governments.

"It's all about making people feel safe, going back down and getting back to everyday life," he says.

There are other costly measures also being considered before reopening, like retrofitting all bathrooms to have automatic faucets and soap dispensers.

Stapp says those might cost thousands of dollars, but are eligible for reimbursement through CARES Act funds. According to Hays County, San Marcos is eligible for a total of $3,655,630 in CARES Act funds.

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