Business Roundtable – 12/15/2020 - 10:00am
MISSION: Success in two stages during the Covid-19:
1) Response to the immediate threat
2) Economic recovery when the threat diminishes.
Recap
Response to immediate threat
1. City of Monterey. General Conversation: Recap of current measures within the City. City reactivating small business relief efforts with Tidelands funds; emergency rental assistance has 165 participants and has still funds available; vaccine distribution will first go to health care workers; City has added deficit projection for fiscal year 2020-2021 by another $3.7M on top of $18M; City closely watching eviction moratorium protection at State level.
2. Hospitality & Tourism. MCCVB only promotes future travel with target on a comeback campaign late Spring or early Summer; groups and conference business will follow vaccine timeline and see uptick in late 2021; MCHA started a gift card give-away campaign with Kindness Monterey and local Chambers; 200 families are assisted; support is encouraged.
3. Retail. Stay At Home order impacts everybody until February/March; new businesses are opening despite the poor conditions; locals are spending locally; Del Monte Shopping Center raised question about outdoor dining with takeout food; Answer: no outdoor dining is allowed.
4. Health Care. CHOMP reports 37 COVID patients and full ICU (not only with COVID patients); Hospital is at capacity; supply of medications is fully adequate; nobody will be turned away as protocols are set up to convert other units to ICU standard; prepared for steady growth for a while.
5. Community Foundation for Monterey County. County-wide effort to coordinate efforts to drive down COVID rates, identify service gaps and find resources to fill those gaps; education via trusted messengers towards underserved communities; fear of income loss still problematic within groups; COVID-19 Relief Fund has granted $3.5M to date; matching grant of $300K from a private donor was received.
6. State of California. Sacramento saw about 200 new bills introduced during last meeting of Legislature; small business relief package is reviewed below.
7. Education. Hartnell reports respiratory care program graduates working in local hospitals running ventilators.
Next teleconference will be held Tuesday 1/5/2021 at 10:00am
