>> AS MASSACHUSETTS MOVES INTO THE SECOND PART OF GOVERNOR
BAKER'S FOUR-PHASE REOPENING PLAN FOR BUSINESSES, WE ARE
CONNECTING WITH TWO COMMUNITIES TO SEE HOW THINGS HAVE GONE THUS
FAR. FIRST, EASTHAMPTON MAYOR NICOLE
LACHAPELLE AS A MEMBER OF THE REOPENING ADVISORY BOARD HAD A
HAND IN CREATING THAT PLAN. WE SPOKE ABOUT THAT AND MORE.
>> THE REOPENING HAS GONE WELL. A LOT OF COLLABORATION.
A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH CONVERSATIONS WITH INDUSTRY
SECTORS AND OUR HEALTH AGENT AND BOARD OF HEALTH AND FIRE AND
POLICE. SO WE'RE TAKING THE STATE
GUIDELINES AND PULLING THEM DOWN TO THE STREETS OF EASTHAMPTON
AND THE INDUSTRIES NOT ONLY CURRENTLY OPEN BUT ALSO TO HELP
THOSE BUSINESSES GET READY TO OPEN.
>> I IMAGINE YOU HAVE HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS TO YOUR POINT ABOUT
PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES GETTING READY TO REOPEN.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT EITHER YOU HAVE HEARD OR
PEOPLE HAVE POSED TO THE BOARD OF HEALTH AND YOU LEARNED ABOUT
THROUGH THE BOARD OF HEALTH? >> ONE OF THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS
IS HOW SOON CAN THEY OPEN AND WHAT CAPACITY SO THEY CAN
PREPARE. AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT, THEY
ARE LOOKING AT THEIR PHYSICAL LAYOUTS, WHAT PTEs THEY WILL
NEED, AND THAT HAS BEEN KIND OF A FLOWING CONVERSATION BEFORE
THE GUIDELINES COME IN. THE SECOND IS ONCE THE OPENING
DATE HAS BEEN GIVEN, OR THEY ARE NOW REOPENING, WHERE CAN THEY
GET THE PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT.
WHAT DO THEY NEED TO LET THE PUBLIC KNOW TO COME INTO THEIR
BUSINESS, AND THAT HAS BEEN A REALLY BIG CONCERN, SOMETHING
THAT POLICE, BOARD OF HEALTH, MYSELF, AND AREA BUSINESSES HAVE
BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT. >> ON THE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT PIECE, IS THE CITY GOING TO GET INVOLVED?
YOU HAVE HAD THOSE BUSINESSES REACHING OUT SAYING LOOK, WE
EITHER CAN'T HAVE, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THIS TYPE OF MASK OR
OTHER EQUIPMENT, OR YOU CAN'T GET IT STILL.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET ORDERING ON-LINE.
WILL THE CITY THEM OUT IN SOME WAY?
>> SO WE HAVE MASKS FOR DISTRIBUTION, AND BUSINESSES
HAVE BEEN CALLING. AND ALSO, LOTS OF PUBLIC
INFORMATION AROUND FACE COVERINGS LIKE A BANDANA BECAUSE
MAYBE FOR A DIFFERENT MEDICAL CONDITION, THE MASKS, SNUGGLY
AROUND THE MOUTH, CAN'T HAPPEN FOR THE PERSON BUT MAYBE A
BANDANA CAN, AND THE STATE HAS OPENED A CENTRALIZED PORTAL FOR
BUSINESSES TO GET THEIR PPEs, MOSTLY CLEANING SUPPLIES THAT
HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND, AND WHERE THEY ARE COMING
FROM TRUSTED VENDORS. WE ARE ALSO HELPING BUSINESSES
DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR CLEANING AND WHAT THE STANDARD OPERATING
PROCEDURES THAT THE STATE PUT OUT, AND WE HAVE ALREADY DONE A
MASS GIVE AWAY. IF YOU EMAIL
HEALTH@EASTHAMPTON.GOV WE WILL HELP YOU GET MASKS FOR YOUR
EMPLOYEES. >> I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU
EASTHAMPTON IS HOME TO A NUMBER OF SMALL BUSINESSES, AND UNDER
THE PHASE ONE ROLLOUT, THEY COULD BE OPEN FOR CURBSIDE, BUT
THAT'S A HUGE SHIFT TO THE BUSINESS MODELS OF THE PLACES,
WHETHER IT'S A BOOKSTORE, YOU KNOW, PLACES THAT JUST AREN'T
READILY AVAILABLE AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE FOR CURBSIDE.
HAVE YOU SEEN BUSINESSES USING THE CURBSIDE AVAILABILITY OR
WAITING UNTIL THEY CAN OPEN AND WHAT LOOKS LIKE A MORE NORMAL
CAPACITY? >> MOST BUSINESSES ARE -- IT'S A
WAIT AND SEE. A BIG PART OF THIS REOPENING IS
WILL WE HAVE TO RECLOSE IF THERE IS ANOTHER OUTBREAK, IF THERE IS
A HOT SPOT, AND HOW DOES THAT FIT INTO A BUSINESS PLAN.
SO WE HEAR A LOT OF BUSINESS OWNERS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT NOT
ONLY HOW TO PIVOT BUT HOW MUCH TO PIVOT AND WHEN.
>> AS A MEMBER, YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE REOPENING ADVISORY BOARD
IN THAT HELPS THE GOVERNOR MAKE THE PLAN THAT HAS -- IS
CERTAINLY ROLLING OUT RIGHT NOW. IS THERE AN ONGOING
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THAT BOARD OR COMMITTEE AND THE
STATE TO SAY LOOK, WE THOUGHT X WOULD HAPPEN BUT WE ARE SEEING Y
IS HAPPENING, AND WE ARE SUGGESTING THIS ADJUSTMENT?
>> YES. WE JUST MET LAST THURSDAY, AND
WE WILL MEET, I THINK, LIKE ONCE A MONTH OR WHEN WE ARE
CONSIDERING THE NEXT STAGE. MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY BOARD,
WE KEEP IN TOUCH AND KIND OF GO BACK AND FORTH ON THE
CONVERSATIONS IN THE NOTES THAT WE HAVE, AS WELL AS A LOT OF
SMALLER CONVERSATIONS WITH TEAM MEMBERS OF THE BIGGER
ADMINISTRATION BECAUSE WE NEVER RULED OUT THAT PLAN AS THE BE
ALL END ALL. IT WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT WAS
DEFINED VERY SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE NONE OF US KNOW WHAT IS
NEXT. I MEAN, THE VIRUS, THE COVID-19
VIRUS IS IN CHARGE. FOR ANYONE TO THINK THAT THEY
HAVE A PLAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S FOOLISH.
IT'S WHERE THE VIRUS GOES AND HOW THE VIRUS ACTS, AND REALLY,
DIRECTS WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. >> AND AS A SMALL CITY MAYOR,
YOU ARE STILL PLANNING, YOU ARE ROLLING OUT THE BUDGET AND HAVE
TO LOOK AT THE REALITIES THAT THINGS WILL COME UP SHORT
BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE THE MARIJUANA AND TAX REVENUE, AND
FROM THE STATESIDE, EDUCATION MONEY COMING BACK TO THE CITY
AND TOWNS WILL BE ON THE SHORT SIDE, TOO.
HOW ARE YOU LOOKING AT THAT FOR THE 2021 FISCAL BUDGET?
>> A BARE BONES BUDGET INCREASE OF, YOU KNOW, 1.098% OVERALL.
WE SHIFTED SOME MONEY BASICALLY LEVEL FUNDING, WE SHIFTED MONEY
FROM THE DEPARTMENTS WHO WERE STAFFED BETTER COULD STAGGER
THEMSELVES A BIT. SO WE COULD UP OUR PUBLIC HEALTH
DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS PLANNING, AS WE NEED THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT
OF HOW WE REPIVOT OUR DOWNTOWN CORRIDORS AS WELL AS HOW WE GET
TO SCHOOLS, AND INCREASES. MY APPROACH HAS BEEN TO CUT BACK
AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, BUT LEAVING THE PRIMARY TENANTS OF PUBLIC
SAFETY, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INTACT
BECAUSE ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE'RE GOING TO BECOME -- WE'RE
COMING OUT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS PANDEMIC.