(Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette) Swings and slides at the Ray Kestner Waterfront Park in Houghton have been disabled to prevent violations of social distancing guidelines. The action is part of the city’s response to the COVID-19 epidemic.

HOUGHTON — To maintain social distancing, Houghton has temporarily made some city recreational equipment harder to use. 

The city was having trouble keeping people off of basketball courts, City Manager Eric Waara said at Wednesday’s City Council. To discourage use, city workers secured the nets. Other measures include cordoning off swing sets. 

City parks remain open, Waara said. 

“People need to get out in the sunshine when we get it, so we’re going to keep doing that,” he said. 

With the current executive order, the RV park is not taking any reservations until at least mid-May, Waara said. 

“Things are moving a bit slower because of how we have to do things, but spring is going to come,” he said. “There’s another side to this and we’re going to get there eventually.”

Houghton is also looking at a smaller “social-distancing friendly” celebration in place of Bridgefest, which was canceled for this year. This year marks Houghton’s 50th birthday as a city. 

“Not a big event, but at least something to look forward to,” Waara said. 

COVID-19 has also slowed the process on the city’s pier project. Financing had been lined up from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), but was reallocated to COVID-19 spending. Waara said he had been working with other organizations to either have the funding reinstated or to find other sources.

Officers have also been out answering questions about compliance with the executive orders, said Police Chief John Donnelly. 

“I think most people are respecting the orders, and in conversations, we’ve been able to work through things,” he said. 

Jon Stone, director of Michigan Technological University’s Emergency Medical Services, fitted close to 90 police officers and first responders for N95 masks at the city center. Proper social distancing was employed, Donnelly said. 

“At this point, we are supplied sufficiently,” he said.