Best Practice 5 Resiliency Strategies

Best Practice 5 (Community Prosperity) assesses what goals and actions a community has identified to assist in strengthening its overall economic health. This best practice also includes an assessment of a community's marketing strategy and website. For this site, we have expanded the Best Practice to include municipal programming.

Key Focus for Recovery + Resilience: Marketing, Promotion, Communication, Landlord/tenant policies, Parks and recreation, Municipal services, Support public health efforts.

Small Business Support

Leverage and market assistance through Small Business programs.
Establish a new committee or leverage an existing economic development group to raise funds for COVID Assistance grants for local businesses.
See MEDC's Small Business page additional resources.
See Reopen Main Street for additional resources.

Share your successes – “We’re still open for business!”

Through the city’s marketing and communication channels, celebrate the city’s small businesses. Develop and deploy feel-good institutional marketing and comprehensive advertising campaigns highlighting the importance of hometown, local businesses, measures to safely welcome back customers, etc.
Communicate actions and the role the city and its partners are playing to advance community-wide recovery efforts.
Livestream public outdoor events and performances to help reassure those still hesitant to venture out that the city is open for business, and to show attendees enjoying its comforts.

Promote outdoor dining and shopping through signage

Lead an awareness campaign promoting what businesses are doing to best ensure a clean, safe, and comfortable environment and experience.

Collect and promote landlord concession options

Some at-risk businesses might survive with help from landlords who are both willing and able. Share examples of leasing arrangements and concessions with landlords who may be able to help or are seeking a quality tenant.
Deferred rent and other landlord-tenant arrangements may be helpful in retaining existing businesses. Examples of common commercial landlord concessions that could help fill opportunity sites with quality tenants include free rent; higher tenant improvement allowances; shorter lease periods; and move-in allowances.

Consider basic needs for pedestrians, visitors, and transit users

Remodel information kiosks to be open and more accessible.
Install portal restroom facilities.
Signage and flyers communicating safe practices such as mask wearing.
Install hand sanitizing stations in public areas and around the central commercial district.

Parks and Recreation programming throughout the winter

Extend park hours past the early winter sundown hour
Maintain and heat park restrooms; provide portable toilets
Clear bike paths and sidewalks of snow
Open parks and golf courses to cross country skiing
Encourage people to engage with nature (maintaining 6-feet apart)

Provide secured exterior municipal drop-off locations for water bills, property taxes, voting, library, donations, and other municipal services

Support free online payments for municipal bills.

Support flu vaccination

Promote flu vaccination to residents through city communications – public cable programming, municipal/tax mailers.
Provide municipal parking lots and parks for mobile flu vaccination services.
Co-locate flu vaccination clinics with municipal voting locations.

Best Practice 5: Community Prosperity