[MainstreetManagers] Commerce update

Mon Mar 16 16:32:28 CDT 2020

Happy Monday Main Street.

Brent sent the email below to ED's across the state, and I want to make sure everyone knows what is going on at the Department of Commerce.  We are reducing staff presence in the ODOC building, but we are still working.  All of us are teleworking and rotating days in the office.  We can be reached as usual, our in-state travel still ongoing, but we do want to limit face-to-face meetings and practice social distancing.

For me, this is going to be a great time to review programming, look at what we can do with web conferencing, online resources, so please send me suggestions.

The NMSC is grounded until further notice.  Norma and I were chatting this morning, and I asked her if their stance regarding the National Conference has changed.  It has not, but they were having a meeting today.  I will keep you posted.

We are still here to help, and it's business as usual (as much as possible).

Have a great day,
Buffy

Buffy Hughes
State Main Street Director
Oklahoma Department of Commerce
900 N. Stiles Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73104
E: Buffy.Hughes at okcommerce.gov
P: 405.815.5249
C: 405.664.1260
OKcommerce.gov/main-street

[OKLAHOMAMAINSTREETCENTER]

OK, LET'S COUNT! Census 2020
The 2020 U.S. Census is right around the corner! It is important that all Oklahomans are counted. Want to do your part to spread the word? Sign up for the OK, LET'S COUNT community partner email<https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/OKDOC/subscriber/new?topic_id=OKDOC_112>!
Learn more about the 2020 Census at OKletscount.org<http://www.okletscount.org/>.
When Everyone Counts, Everyone Wins!

Dear Oklahoma Economic Development Leader,
It is not a stretch to say the last week has been a crazy one in Oklahoma.  We will do our part at the Dept. of Commerce to make sure all of you from all across the state are as informed as possible with the latest information to keep your local companies operating and thriving in our state.  Everything is fluid right now, so I will be sending updates regularly so you know the latest.

First of all, Governor Stitt is hosting a conference call today (March 16) at 3:30pm with local Chambers of Commerce about the State's response to the COVID-19 concerns.  The dial in number is 253-215-8782 with a meeting ID of 313-897-077 and the password is 045537.  I would encourage you to call in if you are available.

Our focus at Commerce right now has changed from outreach and project development to more of a focus on making sure our existing businesses in the state are getting the assistance they need.  The biggest tool available today to your companies will be the SBA Low Interest Disaster Assistance Loan program.  This program allows 3.75% loans to small businesses and 2.75% loans to nonprofits that can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills.  The maximum loan available is $2 million.  Even though the applications for this program will be found at www.ok.gov/OEM<http://www.ok.gov/OEM>, Commerce has designated Ray Little as our single point of contact for assistance with SBA programs.  His email is ray.little at okcommerce.gov<mailto:ray.little at okcommerce.gov> and his phone number is 405-815-5227.  Ray oversees our Regional Development Specialist program at Commerce and he will be assigning one of them to work as a caseworker on each of the businesses that need assistance.

We are also monitoring other developments in DC with potential business assistance.  This week Congress is voting on a bill called the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that would include mandatory sick leave for those affected by COVID-19, full coverage of testing by private health insurers and Medicaid, increased funding for nutrition programs, health care worker protection plans, and funding for expanded unemployment programs.  We will give you more information as this legislation moves forward.

On the state level, most of our business assistance programs relate to business "growth" and not always disaster related.  We are analyzing our programs today to see if there are any tweaks we could look at in our programs to make them more useful for companies facing adversity right now.  We are also working closely with the Oklahoma Employment Securities Commission and their new Director, Robin Roberson, to make sure those facing layoffs right now are directed to employment services so we can assist with signing folks up for unemployment assistance and connecting them to potential new jobs.  The OKJobMatch on line app is very user friendly and is a great place to start.

Our Main Street Division has been providing additional assistance to our state's 32 Main Street Communities and the small businesses that operate there.  They are assisting them with their on line presence and connecting them to potential resources to help them survive a potential downturn in retail shopping.  Even if your community is not designated as a Main Street Community, we would love to provide a similar service to you if it is needed.  Just let me know and I'll connect you to our team.

For the latest on COVID-19 in Oklahoma, you can go to www.coronavirus.health.ok.gov<http://www.coronavirus.health.ok.gov>.  You can sign up to get updates when they are available as well.  We have a link to this site on our www.okcommerce.gov<http://www.okcommerce.gov> website as well.

As of today, there have been 13 call trips and trade shows that have been cancelled or rescheduled that Commerce and many of you were planning to attend.  We are also considering a number of cancellations within the state over the next few weeks.  We will be rescheduling our RFI training that is coming up and our international site selector visit to our state.  We are also looking at the State Main Street Banquet and the Lt Governor's Turkey Hunt.  We will let you know directly if any of these get moved.

And if there wasn't enough going on, this week cranks off our Oklahoma efforts to make sure everyone responds to their Census forms.  You will see a lot of billboards and social media ads going up this week to remind people of this important civic responsibility.  With the closure of many of our state libraries, we are looking for alternative sites for people to respond to the Census in their community.  We will be sending more information out about alternative assistance locations later this week.

We are reducing our staffing at the Commerce building and will be allowing many of our Associates to telework over the next few weeks.  Please be patient with us as we get situated into this new method of service, but also, please let us know how we can be of service to you.  You can reply to this email with any needs you might have and we will do our best to help.

This is certainly an important health crisis for our state, but it is also quickly becoming an economic crisis.  Together we can get through this, but the role of the Economic Developer in our state is as important as any time in recent history.  Please let me know what we can do at Commerce to support your efforts in your community.

Thanks,
Brent

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