Local small business owners involved in the “Opening Up Madison County Again” committee formed by Chairman Kurt Prenzler are eager to begin the process of safely reopening businesses, but they express concerns over liability and an unwilling workforce.
The committee was formed in an attempt to begin the process of developing a safe plan to reopen Madison County businesses, many of which have been closed since Gov. J.B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order went into effect March 21.
During the April 30 teleconferenced meeting, Prenzler asked the committee members to begin by brainstorming ideas and sharing how others in their areas of expertise are doing during the COVID-19 shutdown.
“We all know that it’s much easier to close something down than to open it,” Prenzler said. “We know how hard it is to start small businesses. We’re here to look ahead. We have to have hope for the future.”
County board members Erika Harriss (R-Glen Carbon) and Chris Hankins (D-Pontoon Beach) kicked off the discussion.
Harriss, who also owns the small business Saving Grace Hair Powder, said she talked to small business owners in the retail industry who are eager to return to work and worried about the “continual fallout.” The people she’s talked to have lost their income but are still paying for their businesses. However, she added that while those business owners are anxious to reopen, they want to do it safely.
She also mentioned that some business owners are concerned that minimum-wage employees will not want to return because they are making more money to stay home.
Hankins said the business owners he talked to are concerned about trying to reopen too soon, but added that they are excited to prepare a plan.
Nancy Schneider, who owns Chef’s Shoppe in Edwardsville, expressed frustration over having to shut her doors while big businesses were allowed to remain open.
She said it was unfair that small businesses were considered unessential and were forced to close while the parking lot in front of Target remained full all day long.
Matt McSparin, owner of Edison’s Entertainment, said the consensus among others in his industry is that they can sustain a four-six week interruption in business, but the delay in getting reopened “will truly prove deadly for a lot of businesses.”
He explained that “lag effect” will cause problems. In other words, just because their business is open, does not mean it will return to normal operations right away.
“Just getting the clock started on a safe and reasonable and intelligent process … is going to be critical,” he said.
McSparin also noted that he’s noticed “two factions” of employees. Some want to return to work while others are making more money to stay home and don’t want to come back to work. He said that making more money on unemployment than on the payroll has a reverse-effect on companies.
Ben Golley with Today’s Beauty supply in Alton pointed out that there is a difference between small businesses and microbusinesses.
He said microbusinesses are the traditional “mom and pop shops” with one or two employees who are often family members and have easier opportunities to control customer counts, such as a small barber shop. He added that microbusinesses are struggling because their main source of income has been cut off during the shutdown.
John Roderick, owner of Jerry’s Cafeteria in Granite City, said his business already saw a lot of carry-out orders, so he’s been able to “keep the bills paid” with carry-out during the shutdown. He also said that opening up should be done as safely as possible.
“We need to show the public, I believe, that we can do this responsibly,” Roderick said.
Justin Hopkins, who is with Truck Centers Inc. in Troy, said the trucking industry was very busy at the start of the shutdown as they worked to restock during the panic buying. However, as the pandemic has continued, he said the trucking industry and their customer’s business has dropped about 30 percent.
“It’s been exceptionally difficult to operate at this time,” Hopkins said.
He said Truck Centers Inc. has already developed thorough COVID-19 policies and procedures with hundreds of micro-protocols. He also said his business is working through issues of employees wanting to go to a “layoff format” because they can make more money at home.
Someone from Spencer Homes said they were fortunate that Pritzker deemed their industry essential, and they haven’t experienced any drastic changes. He said their biggest concern is liability in remodeling, because they have to go into other people’s homes.
Fowler said some employees have been furloughed after customers cut back on projects, but added that most of construction has been deemed essential.
He said he is also on the Board of Directors for Sunset Hills Country Club. He said they originally thought the golf course could remain open until Pritzker clarified that it is an unessential business and must close. The golf course reopened on May 1, but with heavy restrictions. Golf carts are not allowed and golfers may only golf in groups of two people.
“We think we could ease these restrictions and keep everyone safe,” Fowler said.
Reverend Danny Holliday of Alton said the biggest problem is the “fear factor” of reopening. He urged Pritzker to consider individual business’ plans and desire to reopen, adding that business owners know their business the best and should have more say in how to restart.
Edwardsville attorney James Craney of Craney law Group LLC said law firms have fared better than most due to the nature of their work. They are able to file documents online and meet with clients individually.
He said the courthouse being closed is the biggest issue for them. He explained that there is only so much work that can be done online and via teleconference before they need to go to the courthouse.
While the meeting focused on Madison County businesses, Dr. Loren Hughes spoke briefly about medical trends and safe practices.
“We’re at that point where the treatment doesn’t want to be worse than the disease, but you don’t want to put people at risk,” Hughes said.
He suggested people use the “mom rule,” which means they should consider what they would do with their mom when making safety decisions.
Hughes also provided some information on what is known about the “new territory” COVID-19 has created. He said that social distancing and separating people is working. Using nursing homes as an example, he said the outcome is far worse with high-risk people become sick in an environment where they are grouped together.
He also said that COVID-19 appears to create a higher risk of death for people with blood vessel issues, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and coronary artery disease.
Hughes suggested business leaders consider social distancing, sanitation and masking in their reopening plans.
He also said the literature is leaning towards possible testing and tracking. He explained that if someone tests positive for COVID-19, the health department will want to know who has been in the store and if they were wearing masks. As a result, there may be a push to track who is coming into the various businesses.