Managing the impact of COVID-19/coronavirus has become the paramount concern of leaders across the Commonwealth, in all areas of business and civic life. To that end, herein please find resources that may be of help to you during this time. The 495/MetroWest Partnership stands ready to provide support regarding information, advocacy, and coordination; please do not hesitate to contact me if we can be of any assistance.

• For Small Businesses and Non-profit Organizations: Many businesses and organizations will experience a loss of revenue during the crisis, due to reduction or suspension of business operations, or other interruptions and uncertainties related to funding sources. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Baker-Polito Administration are working closely with the SBA to activate the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, which would provide assistance to eligible businesses and non-profits impacted by COVID-19. The first step in this process is to meet a minimum threshold of affected businesses within Massachusetts. To do this, affected small businesses and non-profits should download, complete, and submit the SBA EIDL Worksheet and Instructions to expedite activation of the EIDL program (available online at this link). Completed forms may be submitted by email to Disaster.Recovery@mass.gov or by fax to 508-820-1401.
• For Municipal Governments: Gov. Baker has issued an Executive Order suspending certain provisions of the state’s Open Meeting Law, to enable public bodies to carry out their responsibilities while adhering to public health recommendations regarding social distancing. The full text of the Governor’s order can be found at this link.
• Further, the Governor intends to file legislation relative to potential delays in Town Meetings and the adoption of FY21 municipal budgets; both the House and Senate are likely to take up legislation providing relief from certain restrictions and providing further operating support to local governments as well. The Partnership will be in close contact with our legislative delegation regarding these proposals, and will be soliciting feedback directly from municipal leaders as they develop.
• For Higher Education Institutions: The latest guidance from the Department of Higher Education and the Department of Public Health advises that higher education institutions “continue to pursue strategies to reduce the need for students to be on campus, including suspending in-person classes and implementing institution-wide programs to shift to remote learning, technology enabled solutions, and other tools to allow students to successfully complete course and degree requirements. Institutions should also pursue strategies to reduce the need for faculty and staff to be on campus by maximizing remote work opportunities, while maintaining essential on-campus services, especially for residential students who cannot safely return home.” Additional guidance from DHE and DEP on this subject is forthcoming.
• For Larger Businesses and Organizations: Gatherings of 25 people or more have been limited by emergency order of the Governor, available in full here. Please make every attempt to move larger meetings to remote participation, or re-schedule them as you are able.
• For All: Communications Tools: In the current climate, disinformation can spread quickly, and is often counterproductive. The CDC has created an online toolkit of communications resources for COVID-19/coronavirus, which include fact sheets, videos, graphics, and other informational tools. The toolkit can be found online here.

The 495/MetroWest Partnership will continue to operate during this time, and will continue to be a resource for all of our various partners. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if we can be of any assistance to you; I can be reached via email at Jason@495Partnership.org, or by phone at 774-760-0495

Sincerely,

Jason Palitsch, Executive Director
The 495/MetroWest Partnership