Chamber plans for ‘responsible’ economic reboot

On Monday, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said there is currently no timeline for businesses to reopen following the COVID-19 outbreak. But that doesn’t mean it’s too early for the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce to start planning for the eventual restart of local businesses, or to advocate for ways to support the business community in the meantime.

“We’ve kind of turned the corner now,” Kalispell Chamber President Joe Unterreiner said on April 10.

He said the Chamber had at first focused on providing information to local businesses about the tumultuous situation with coronavirus in Montana, including navigating the tricky definition of “essential” businesses and finding financial support for out-of-work business owners and their employees.

The Chamber has been sending out email updates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, chock-full of information and resources for local businesspeople, including webinars on topics like how to manage a large workforce throughout widespread closures.

But now, Unterreiner said the organization has switched gears to start planning for the eventual reopening of local businesses.

“Today we transitioned into the path forward,” Unterreiner said on Friday. “What is a phased restart of the economy going to look like?”

THOUGH THE circumstances are unpredictable, Unterreiner said it is still worthwhile for the Chamber to begin examining the myriad issues that local businesspeople will encounter when the business closures are finally lifted.

“It’s all about what do the steps look like to get things reopened in a responsible way,” Unterreiner explained.

A prime topic, for example, is a staggered start to reopening businesses. Unterreiner said he doesn’t expect every business to suddenly reopen at once after the pandemic passes.

He anticipates businesses where fewer people gather in certain spaces will be the first to return to normalcy, while “certain things where people congregate will be phased later in the cycle.”

He listed sporting events, bars and restaurants as some of the attractions he could see opening up later, rather than sooner.

“Our top priority right now is to start pushing the conversation on reopening, in a responsible way, of course,” Unterreiner commented.

Other issues to consider before businesses open their doors again are concerns such as employers’ liability for providing a safe workplace to their workers and the potential for workplace screening for coronavirus. Unterreiner said the Chamber is working with government officials to determine what the parameters will be for employers to make sure their employees can get back to work without getting sick.

Of course, many business leaders are currently trying to figure out how to maintain their operations and their workforce until such a time when they can get back to business as usual. Unterreiner said the Chamber is doing its best to help business owners make decisions on sustainability, like how much debt to take on and how to manage a remote or a furloughed workforce.

The Chamber is also answering questions about gaining access to emergency assistance, such as Small Business Administration loans, by helping entrepreneurs prepare with the right documentation and the best place to go to apply for emergency aid, as well as by informing lenders about the provisions they need to make to applicants.

While Unterreiner observed this financial support was a little slow in getting started, he said the process has gone fairly smoothly since banks started taking SBA loan applications almost two weeks ago. Unterreiner reported, “We’re seeing people successfully getting in there.”

THE KALISPELL Chamber hopes to be able to increase the amount of support available to businesspeople.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce—the national organization that includes the Kalispell Chamber—was a key advocate of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It has already started pushing for what it calls CARES 2.0, which it hopes would add a supplemental $250 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program. The program initially authorized $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis.

While federal legislators failed to pass “CARES 2.0” during its first go-round last week, Unterreiner said they are still pushing for approval of additional financial support for small businesses. Last week, the U.S. Chamber sent a letter to federal representatives urging them to reconsider CARES 2.0 and the urgent financial needs of small business owners.

Unterreiner said he hopes this additional funding would support businesses that weren’t first in line to get financial assistance from the CARES Act. “I don’t think it’s fair that people that had gone in early are helped, and those that got in later aren’t,” he pointed out.

The organization is also pushing for the passage of an emergency infrastructure bill to address funding shortages caused by COVID-19. “We’re trying to get as much as we can in the Flathead for roads and bridges,” and maybe the airport and urban parking facilities as well, Unterreiner said.

Overall, he noted, “I think local [business] owners are anxious to get back to work.”

Enabling that in a safe, responsible way is “where we’re going to be heavily engaged as the Kalispell Chamber,” Unterreiner stressed.

Kalispell business owners can find resources on the Kalispell Chamber’s website: https://kalispellchamber.com/covid-19-resources/

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.