HomeMy WebLinkAboutres2020-017File ID: AB2020-218
File Created:
05/13/2020
Department:
Council Office
Assigned to:
Council
Agenda Date:
05/19/2020
Whatcom County
Agenda Bill Master Report
File Number: AB2020-218
Version: 1
Entered by: DBrown@co.whatcom.wa.us
File Type: Resolution
Primary Contact Email: TDonovan@co.whatcom.wa.us
TITLE FOR AGENDA ITEM:
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360) 778-5010
Status: Substitute Amended
and Approved
Final Action: 05/19/2020
Enactment #: RES 2020-017
Resolution establishing a process for the development of a COVID-19 interim economic recovery plan
to respond to the economic crisis within Whatcom County caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE:
Resolution establishing a process for the development of a COVID-19 interim economic recovery plan
to respond to the economic crisis within Whatcom County caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE FILE
Date: Acting Body: Action: Sent To:
05/19/2020 Council SUBSTITUTE AMENDED
AND APPROVED
Aye: 5 Browne, Buchanan, Donovan, Frazey, and Kershner
Nay: 2 Byrd, and Elenbaas
Absent: 0
Attachments: Proposed Resolution, Substitute Proposed Resolution for 5.19.2020, Substitute Proposed
Resolution for 5.19.2020 with Track Changes
Whatcom County Page 1 Printed on 512112020
1 PROPOSED BY: BROWNE, DONOVAN
2 INTRODUCTION DATE: MAY 19, 2020
3
4 RESOLUTION NO. 2020-017
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7 ESTABLISHING A PROCESS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COVID-19 INTERIM ECONOMIC
8 RECOVERY PLAN TO RESPOND TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS WITHIN WHATCOM COUNTY
9 CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
10
11 WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant hardship to our local economy
12 which in turn has led to substantial unemployment, and
13
14 WHEREAS, in previous localized emergencies Whatcom County has been able to rely upon
15 the financial resources of the State and Federal governments to recover, however as COVID-19 is a
16 global problem future State and Federal government funding is uncertain as it is being stretched to
17 the limit, and
18
19 WHEREAS, the Whatcom County agencies and departments have done an excellent job at
20 reducing the rate of new infections from COVID-19, managing the increased demand for social
21 services, procuring supplies of essential Personal Protective Equipment, and will continue to have
22 to devote considerable resources to these needs for the foreseeable future, and
23
24 WHEREAS, additional resources now need to be identified and dedicated to the challenge of
25 leading the community onwards to economic recovery, and
26
27 WHEREAS, the County, the City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham have an
28 established Regional Economic Partnership (REP) agreement where the Port serves as the state-
29 designated Associate Development Organization (ADO) responsible for promoting and encouraging
30 economic growth within Whatcom County, and
31
32 WHEREAS, the purpose and goals of the REP and ADO include:
33 . Retain and attract livable wage jobs and to assist businesses, entrepreneurs, and
34 other local organizations to thrive
35 . Partner to create a thriving community for all
36 . Provide expertise in financing, planning, and technology to help start, develop, or
37 grow business
38 . Promote Whatcom County as a great place to live, work and do business..
39 . Connect businesses with economic development services and skilled workforce
40 resources
41 • Help enhance and grow cross border trade opportunities with Canada;
42 . Work collaboratively with our local and regional partners to create a vibrant
43 community of higher education learning, prosperous agricultural lands, high tech
44 businesses, marine manufacturing, and local food processing
45
46 WHEREAS, local government officials, businesses, non -profits and the community need a
47 COVID-19 interim economic recovery plan to be developed and available as rapidly as possible, to
48 be replaced by a long-term, detailed strategy once State and Federal recovery funding has been
49 defined and secured, and
50
51 WHEREAS, while the County does not have any significant untapped local financial
52 resources, the county is blessed with considerable human capital and economic acumen within our
53 community, which can be drawn on to assist the ADO in the immediate development of a COVID-
54 19 Interim Economic Recovery Plan (CIERP).
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1 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Whatcom County Council hereby requests that
2 the Port of Bellingham, to do the following through the Associate Development Organization:
3
4 1. The ADO should be appointed as the primary lead agency responsible for the research and
5 development of an COVID-19 Interim Economic Recovery Plan as outlined in Exhibit A, and
6
7 2. The ADO should report any new information which could have a moderate or material
8 impact on the county's economic recovery to Incident Command, the County Council,
9 County Executive, Port of Bellingham, the Mayors, Tribal Chairs and Health Department, and
10
11 3. The ADO should assume responsibility for messaging and communications, to the press and
12 community related to the business and economic recovery aspects related to the COVID-19
13 crisis, and
14
15 4. The ADO should provide updates, ideally every week, to the community on the status of
16 economic recovery efforts, and
17
18 5. If technical resources and analysis are required to assist in the development of the CIERP in
19 excess of resources available to the ADO, the ADO may provide Whatcom County Council a
20 detailed request of funds for that purpose, not to exceed $50,000.
21
22
23 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, by the Whatcom County Council acting
24 as the Whatcom County Health Board that the Whatcom County Health Department shall do the
25 following:
26
27 1. Add the strategies outlined in Exhibit B to its existing plans in support of the County's
28 economic recovery, and
29
30 2. Support the efforts of the ADO to produce the CIERP as rapidly as practical, and
31
32 3. Limit responsibility for messaging and communications, to the press and community to
33 those related to the health and social service aspects related to the COVID-19 crisis, and
34
35 4. Report any new information which could have a moderate or material impact on the
36 county's economic recovery to Incident Command, the County Council, County Executive,
37 Port of Bellingham, the Mayors, Tribal Chairs and ADO, and
38
39 5. Provide updates to the ADO, ideally every week, on the status of the Health Department's
40 contrt4yAiansjp the economic recovery efforts, to be included in ADO's weekly reports to
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EXHIBIT A
ADO Deliverables:
The goal will be to engage in local and statewide to develop a comprehensive picture of the
County's economic recovery needs and a plan to address them.
The ADO will provide recommendations to policy makers in our cities and county as to what actions
our community can take, consistent with the Governor's orders that will have the greatest positive
impact with the least amount of resources in the shortest amount of time.
The recommendations from the ADO will be advisory only and it will be up to policy makers to
decide what action to take.
The deliverables should include, but are not limited to:
1. Immediate response - the ADO is encouraged to work with the Health Department and
the member organizations of Team Whatcom to develop a program to promote safe
reopening of businesses. The purpose is to improve consumer confidence by rapidly
positioning our community as regional leaders/active partners in disease transmission
prevention and safe social activities.
2. Impact analysis (within 30 days) - Through extensive outreach, establish and quantify the
sectors of the economy affected:
a. Businesses expected to see a return of demand and thus recover in due course (e.g.
Auto repairs)
b. Businesses likely to recover with limited assistance (e.g. breweries and specialty
manufacturing)
c. Sectors likely to find recovery challenging (e.g. restaurants, retail, donor funded
non -profits and higher education)
As some impact analysis has been done, the focus may be more on ensuring all key
sectors are identified, including the critical inter -relationships between them.
Local actions available - Local government finances are also under considerable stress
and can't be relied upon to provide funds to improve the business climate. Therefore, the
focus on locally sourced assistance should be in the form of human capital drawn from
within our community. Some examples of how this could be used may be:
a. Mentorship matching
b. Business management education
c. Cash flow management
d. Local collaboration
e. Promotion of "buy local" policies
f. Resource sharing
g. Resiliency training
h. Local medical supply manufacturing and reuse technologies
Local and Statewide consultation:
REP will complement their human capital with the State Commerce Department, Washington
Economic Development Association (WEDA), the City of Seattle's economic development group, as
well as local and regional experts (representing both small and large businesses) to support and
implement the governor's four phased approach to opening up the economy safely. REP will
emphasize what makes the Whatcom County region better as well as different and how we
capitalize on this moving forward.
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1 REP's web presence on the Port of Bellingham's web page will continue to maintain up to date
2 information on public grants, program assistance and COVID-19 general information for businesses
3 both small and large.
4
5
6 This group could be augmented with representatives from different sectors who will be sought out
7 to contribute to their respective industries. If practical, the team could collaborate and leverage
8 resources with similar groups in Skagit, San Juan and maybe Island Counties to build a more
9 regional response.
10
11 Additional goals:
12
13 Recognizing that uncertainty causes businesses to conserve cash and delay rehiring, while certainty
14 and optimism bring business investment and job growth, the team should seek ways to increase
15 local employers' and employees' confidence in the future.
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EXHIBIT B
Health Department deliverables:
The Health Department's critical role in helping our economy recover should include:
• Disease prevention education and enforcement as businesses reopen
• Establishing and promoting best practices to reduce the County government's contribution
to the cost of providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to third parties
• Developing a program to provide information to businesses regarding best practices for
preventing COVID-19 transmission
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