If you own a business in Coquitlam, city hall wants to hear from you.
Municipal staff have been reaching out to restaurants, shopkeepers and industries by phone and through an online web portal to find out more about their pressing COVID-19 needs.
The information will be used to develop a range of initiatives to support the business community as it recovers from the pandemic.
“The city plans to use the preliminary information collected through its outreach efforts to develop targeted tools and identify further resources, as well as inform and advocacy efforts to support local economic recovery,” the city said in a press release.
Businesses that have not been contacted by phone can provide their input online at www.letstalkcoquitlam.ca/business.
The web portal provides news and updates, and gives visitors the opportunity to take a survey and ask a question.
The effort is part one of a $5-million Community Support and Recovery Plan approved by council.
While details for the fund are still being worked out, staff said at a meeting earlier in May that the money could be used for targeted grants, waived city fees, technology investments and marketing to support local businesses. The city also wants to make sure it has money available to complement any provincial or federal cost-sharing initiatives.
“The recovery plan is a more targeted approach,” deputy city manager Raul Allueva told council at the time. “It is about a longer-term perspective. This pandemic is a multi-year impact on us and the community. The goal is to be able to support our community through the entire process of the recovery.”
According to the staff report, CSRP initiatives will be further outlined as part of the city’s 2021 budget consultation process that is expected to begin this summer.
• For more information about the city of Coquitlam’s efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, go to www.coquitlam.ca/covid19, email covid19@coquitlam.ca or call 604-927-4383.
