[OMS_MANAGERS] Notes - Mornings on Main Street Weekly Call

[STUART Sheri * OPRD]

Hi all - thank you to those who were able to join the call this morning. Lots of good conversation and ideas shared.

  1.  Boards are grappling with what to do in the face of protests and racial injustice. This will have further discussion at our next call but a lot of good thoughts were shared about the important role of our downtowns as a gathering place and being welcoming to all. This is a conversation every board should have if they haven't already in the past. Jamie Johnk ended the conversation with a good start for boards - having a message that simply states that main street has been and will continue to be open and welcoming to all regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, economic background or education level. As food for discussion with your boards, here's a link to the National Main Street Center's message: https://www.mainstreet.org/blogs/national-main-street-center/2020/06/02/we-stand-up-for-racial-justice-and-equality
  2.  Kendall Bell gave a brief update on the advocacy efforts by the National Main Street Center to secure federal funding for state and local programs across the country. Kendall's email in case you want to contact her for more information about the advocacy efforts is: kendallbell945 at gmail.com<mailto:kendallbell945 at gmail.com>
  3.  Resources/Info Shared:

  *   strongtowns.org
  *   betterblock.org
  *   Webinar 1: https://infokf.kornferry.com/stand-by-me.html
  *   Webinar 2: https://infokf.kornferry.com/in-my-shoes.html
  *   Webinar 3: https://infokf.kornferry.com/dont-talk-do.html
  *   www.destinationdevelopment.org<http://www.destinationdevelopment.org>

  1.  Updates

  *   Farmers' Market in Coos Bay last week. Followed all the guidelines and had extra volunteers. Sent out messaging asking people to come w/lists and only one person per family. Worked well and vendors did sell out. Bandon's indoor market also opened after a brief issue about whether patrons would be required to wear face coverings.
  *   Bandon - about 70% of businesses are open on the weekend but only 50% during the week. The main issue is having enough employees - there is fear in the face of rising number of cases. Staffing levels is also an issue in Beaverton and Woodburn. Adequate daycare is a factor.
  *   Woodburn - may lose one business but otherwise no other indications of closure. City Council just approved a small grant program up to $2000 to cover expenses. They have a pot of $50,000 which they hope to match with the 3rd round of Business Oregon funding and other local donations. They will be reviewing and scoring applications based on a needs statement, use of funds statement, and the applicants plan to stay in business for the next 6 months. An extra 10 pts will be awarded if the business provides info on how they were affected by the Governor's Executive Order.
  *   Oregon City shared how 3 retail businesses who are looking for employees are offering minimum wage but added medical insurance coverage. By doing this, they were able to attract really great employees. A follow-up note on the $200,000 rental assistance program the city approved. Liz had calls from at least 30 businesses who didn't know what a P&L statement was. This led to a discussion about building a stronger relationship with SBDC's to provide training targeted to main street type businesses.
  *   Oregon City is working with museums on a virtual tour activity. DOCA had some funds remaining from the Rental Assistance program which is going towards buying gift cards from restaurants to use as prizes for people who participate in the virtual tour. If they "tour" one museum they have one chance to win; if they visit all, they will have five chances.
  *   Pendleton received $25,000 from OCF which they leveraged with $25,000 from the Chamber of Commerce for business assistance. Checks are going out the door but it looks like they will have some funds remaining. This will go towards a parklet project. They are also going to close down a street on Saturdays for outdoor dining.
  *   Main Street Funding:
     *   Pendleton has had a 20-30% drop in fundraisers but that was not a significant part of their budget so they have been able to re-allocate funding from other budget line items (e.g., travel) to cover the shortfall
     *   Bandon also relies on grants and TFFF will be supporting in the short run. However, events such as the wine walk are important sources of revenue and the first two are canceled.
     *   Oregon City depends heavily on events. They are going to try a social distance wine walk selling a maximum of 200 tickets (they normally sell out at 500). Logistics will be difficult and are still being figured out. They are looking at having a volunteer take around small groups to the locations so may need up to 4x's as many volunteers.

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