4-15-20
North Florida weighs in on COVID-19 ramifications
Officials, local businesses and community leaders speak out
By Tami Stevenson
The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic are ever changing and far reaching to all walks of life on our planet. The hardest hit by the social distancing and economic shut-down seem to be the developed nations where people are used to going to work everyday, used to social gatherings and not used to not knowing if their livelihood is ever going to be the same again. For many, stress levels are up and bank accounts are low, although stimulus checks (economic impact payments) should begin to be deposited this week.
During this unprecedented time, many north Florida businesses and area leaders are determined to see this thing through and come out stronger than before. Businesses are thinking out-of-the-box and finding new ways to generate revenue. Area leaders are making sure information on small business loans, guidelines and other ways to help their communities are readily available through social media, websites, webinars and video-conferencing, while essential businesses and employees like healthcare, first responders, grocery stores and gas stations continue to do their job and remain open. They are on the front lines of this battle, exposing themselves everyday to the threat of coronavirus, truly, they are the unsung heroes of this war with an invisible enemy.
Suwannee County
Economic Development Director Jimmy Norris had a lot of good things planned for 2020, he told the Suwannee Valley Times during an interview.
“I was telling everyone that 2020 was going to be our year,” Norris stated. Everyone is aware of the Publix Superstore that is under construction near the I-10/Hwy 129 interchange, he added. There are some projects that will be falling along behind that and he is excited to see Ag Pro almost near completion, located next to Big Wood BBQ & Grill in Live Oak.
Norris credits much of the growth of the I-10/Hwy 129 intersection to Busy Bee. “Marshall Beck and the people involved with Busy Bee are such great community supporters, they do a great job.” Norris added that a lot of businesses have taken note of that so he is looking forward to good things once this is over.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has set us back a year or so, but we are strong, we will recover. Suwannee is a great place and I love it here.”
Norris stressed the importance of shopping local once businesses are able to open again. “Our existing small businesses are going to struggle and we need to do everything we can to support them by shopping local all we can.”
In closing he added, “I would like everybody to understand these are difficult times, but we will overcome.…and the sun’s going to come up tomorrow and its going to be another beautiful day in Suwannee County.”
Suwannee County Chamber Director Hillary Cannon also owns and operates a flower shop, Celebrations, in Live Oak. She offered a first hand account of what she is going through as a small business owner.
“We were deemed essential but with restrictions. The long and the short of it is that the business I normally do in half of one day, is what I am doing in five days,” Cannon said. For instance, churches normally call for Easter lilies this time of year, and that is revenue lost. The other big thing for florists is prom. They are in the formal-wear business as well. “We would normally rent tuxedos and sell corsages and boutonnieres. That’s normally a big deal for us. We didn’t have that this year. The other thing is weddings. Spring is wedding season.” She said four or five weddings have cancelled as well.
“It’s been challenging, but I won’t say that I’m not optimistic. We are remaining open.”
As for the Suwannee County Chamber, Director Cannon said they are doing everything they can by posting information and links for the small business loans that are available and doing their best to keep the businesses informed. These loan options are available even to sole proprietorships and work for hire individuals.
Cannon sits in on tele-conferencing meetings at least twice a week with the Florida Chamber. “We started last week and will continue as long as we need to - reaching out to everyone of our members personally and letting them know what options are available and encourage them to apply.” Each loan program is different. She wants to encourage all business owners to go on sba.gov and see all of the different options.
“I think it’s important to remain optimistic and just be in it for everybody as a community.” She added, “One of the main things, now more than ever, we have to support our local businesses.”
Local Business Owner Bart Boggus said they had to close their shop all together. He, along with his brother, Jon Boggus, own and operate Live Oak Jewelry. The shop has been in existence for three generations, since 1946. Since the brothers have taken over the business, they have survived two floods and a fire.
“So hopefully we’ll bounce back from this too,” said Bart Boggus. Although they are there at the shop, working behind the scenes doing what repairs the can with their suppliers shut down, their doors remain closed. They are hoping they will be able to re-open April 30th, but realize that date may change.
Madison County Manager Brian Kauffman said that from a state and government standpoint they are already preparing for decreases in their revenue for this year. He said they just recently cancelled one contract with a vendor that helped with economic development and froze two positions.
“Much of the office staff are working from home, but the guys in the field can’t work at home. The crews are busted into small crews of two. We are allowing them to take the trucks directly home so they are not having to come into the main offices and expose everybody. So they go to work directly from their house.” Kauffman said. Some restaurants have been successful doing take out, but for others it was easier for them to just close up. “I think the workers at the grocery stores are really the unsung heroes of the situation and not given enough credit. No one wants to go to work and expose themselves, but they have to go to work.”
In ending he wanted to add that he is proud of the Madison County staff that have continued to work and provide essential services to the public.
Hamilton County
Economic Development Director Chadd Mathis of the Hamilton County Development Authority said in an email that the impact of this COVID-19 coronavirus is far-reaching in Hamilton County as with the entire state. “Our new sit down restaurant on Hatley Street Cafe has closed temporarily during this shutdown and even dental offices have had to limit services in order not to expose their workers or patients.
We do not have an unemployment office or reemployment office here locally to really visually (see people standing in line) get the extent of how this is directly affecting our community.” In Hamilton, as in other surrounding counties - consumers are staying home, businesses are losing revenue and subsequently laying off workers at a rapid pace. “I personally have noticed the impact of physical-distancing measures are making doing business much more difficult and we are having to adapt. We decided to postpone our monthly meeting for April as a result of the Governor’s recommended stay-at-home order. Hopefully and prayerfully we can get beyond this and get back to normal soon.”
Local Business Owner Matt Green of Green Sales and Service, Heating & Air in Jasper, say they are doing all right. They are actually busier than normal because many other businesses have shut down and he is willing to work. They have school-age children and the transition of schooling at home has been a little harder.
“But we are doing all right,” said Green, and he is thankful for that.
Columbia County
Columbia County Chamber Executive Director Theresa Pinto said the chamber is doing everything they can for business owners. They recently held a webinar specifically related to COVID-19 and had more than 50 people join in the webinar. Their board meeting webinars have been a smooth transition. Last week they held another webinar on the CARES Act, namely the emergency loan programs and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and talked about all of the business loan programs available. It was very well attended, Pinto said they had around 50 participants with a good variety of businesses, several non-profits and a few banks, several personal services and professional services.
Daycare centers and charter schools were among those that attended the webinar. Although there were no restaurants, she added. The chamber is sharing info on their Facebook group and on their Facebook page. They also email members directly. They have a Facebook group for dine-in and take out for the people to support the local restaurants and already have over 2300 members. Everyday local restaurants are posting their specials and it seems to be helping. They have another group for information on COVID-19 resources. Pinto said she is praying theseloans come in soon but realistically, it may be June.
“I am grateful that I’m working, and I don’t mind working 12-14 hours a day. I know my blessings.” Pinto added, this is going to test us in ways we’ve never been tested when it comes to our sense of community and caring for one another. It forces us to not look inward, this is where I have to step up and ask who can I help, how can I make an impact in a positive way. What people are doing, it matters! Doesn’t matter how small.”
Local Business Owner Fred Lammers of Fred’s Leather on Marion Avenue in Lake City was deemed essential because of the repair work they do, so they remain open. They have been in business going on 42 years. He said although they are open, they are only getting 3-5 customers per day, but are hanging in there and he remains optimistic.
“I’ll be glad when this is over. We are all trying. That’s the only thing we can do is try,” said Lammers. He asked the readers to please help support the local businesses that are still open when they can.
Mark Yarick, Consultant for Florida Small Business Development Center at UNF (University of North Florida of Jacksonville) shared that although there is a lot of information on the internet, some people like to talk with a real person instead – and that is where his office comes in when it comes to business loans.
He has been processing Florida Emergency Bridge Loans since this began. A $50 million program that is state instituted with a 12 month no interest loan until some of the other programs from SBA kicked in.
The number one question is about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) because they may have that one forgiven. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) is also very popular because the first $10k of that may be forgiven as well.
His advice to readers, beyond the loans is, “You need to look at your operation, what can you do, maybe out-of-the-box? Some of the restaurants are shifting into some new areas like picking up groceries and delivering as well. (Ask yourself) What can you be doing to generate revenue?
Yarick services Baker, Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton, Dixie, Lafayette and Gilchrist Counties.
“I hope we can get a re-start for the businesses out there. I am concerned we will lose some along the way. I definitely look forward to helping as many businesses as I can with financial management to get re-started and back in business.”
Yarick added,
“Good record-keeping is key, especially for the forgiveness side, keep track of your expenditures. A year from now, when the 2020 taxes come due, good record keeping is going to be key. Because there will definitely be some questions on the forms about these loans, what your expenditures were, tax credits and things connected with this.”
The main theme throughout these interviews seems to be shop local and help one another. Remember the unsung heroes like grocery workers. Stay optimistic and keep fighting the good fight. As Fred Lammers stated, “I’ll be glad when this is over. We are all trying. That’s the only thing we can do is try.”
