Reopen Putnam Safely Task Force Gets to Work with Towns, Villages, Businesses & Elected Officials

On Friday, May 8th, the Putnam County Business Council launched a “Reopen Putnam County Safely” Task Force which gathered a cohort of Town, Village, and business stakeholders together for an initial meeting to discuss the reopening of Putnam County.

Representatives from Carmel, Southeast/Brewster, Kent, Patterson, Philipstown/Cold Spring, and Putnam Valley were joined by retail and service businesses, as well as non-profits, to give input to the Reopen Putnam Safely Task Force. 

In support of the reopening guidelines set forth by New York State and the County’s Small Business Advisory Committee, the mission of the task force in the initial reopening phase is to help businesses understand and adhere to the guidelines, access training and other support that is available to them, so the business community is in a state of compliance and readiness when Putnam is set to reopen. 

According to NYS Senator Harckham who joined us at our first meeting, the Governor is planning to start a region-by-region reopening phase on May 15th. The Senator and his team will be working on clarity and exceptions for Putnam County, including hair salons, gyms, and houses or worship. Additionally, he will seek help for businesses, like Villa Barone and World Gym, that cannot be helped by the PPP or insurance. 

The guidelines that must be met before a region may reopen are HERE.

“These guidelines and re-opening phases need to be more defined,” says Harckham. “County officials are in contact with the Governor’s office to explain Putnam County’s desire to be separated from Westchester and Rockland Counties.”

The Governor’s office is willing to start a dialogue and take Putnam County’s exception requests into consideration. Senators Serrino and Harckham will be working to begin this dialogue with the Governor within the week. It is important for Putnam County officials to obtain guidance and clarity for beauty, gym, construction, and other industries. Senator Harckham encourages all businesses to contact his office with any and all questions, (914) 241 4600 or email: harckham@nysenate.gov.

Next Steps:

• Town & Village Supervisors/Mayors will collaborate and meet to share strategies and unite on reopening guidelines and tactics

• Develop a list of needs from the municipalities and businesses, including masks, gloves, shields, signs, training, technology, etc.

• Source items and create an online list of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other small business resources that are available

•  Investigate if Towns and the County  can purchase equipment in bulk to reduce costs

• PCBC will provide training and education opportunities

• PCBC will hold meetings every Friday at 9:00 AM.

To assist you in getting you the resources you need to reopen, we need Business Owners to submit their re-opening plan and needs, including Personal Protective Equipment, Cones, Plastic shields/Sheathing, Signs, Training, Technology, etc.

This will allow us to source local businesses that can provide needed products and services, which may be ordered in bulk to save costs.