City of Bessemer issued the following announcement.
Gaston County’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 outbreak means some short-term changes in how people apply for wedding licenses or building permits.
Beginning Wednesday, March 18, the Register of Deeds Office, located inside the Gaston County Courthouse, 325 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, will be closed to the general public until it becomes safe to re-open. Register of Deeds Susan S. Lockridge said her staff has been working to ensure services will still be available to citizens.
Specifically, those that wish to request records can do so online at deeds.co.gaston.nc.us or in writing via mail. Vital records requests will be handled in the same way – visit the Register of Deeds page on GastonGov.com for more information.
All marriage licenses and Notary oaths will be conducted on an appointment basis only. For marriage licenses, call (704) 862-7687 and for Notary oaths, call (704) 862-7681.
Passport applications have been canceled for the next two weeks. To make an appointment for a passport application after that, call (704) 862-7685.
Lockridge said her office is working closely with the Gaston County Health Department and local funeral homes to minimize person-to-person contact when it comes to the filing of death certificates.
Building inspections in Gaston County will also see some changes over the next several weeks.
Building Services Department Director Brian Sciba is implementing new procedures to help keep County inspectors safe when entering homes. They’ll bring a questionnaire to those that need an inspection to see if a delay of three weeks can be implemented. If not, they’ve asked the public to avoid handshaking, keeping a six-foot distance from the inspector to maintain social distancing and having paperwork prepared beforehand to minimize the amount of time an inspector would need to be on site.
Sciba emphasized that despite the changes, the department is working to ensure projects are not delayed because of anything within the department’s control.
The grants division of Building Services will halt all in-person applications for the time being and ask will handle those contacts by phone or email.
Original source can be found here.
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