Dear Monroe Businesses,

On March 23, 2020, Governor Inslee issued a Proclamation directing all residents immediately to heed current State public health directives to stay home, except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of essential critical infrastructure sectors and additional sectors as the State Public Health Officer may designate as critical to protect health and well-being of all Washingtonians. This order takes place on March 25th, 2020 at midnight.

Prior to the order, some of you reached out to the city requesting guidance on who is designated as “essential businesses” and would be allowed to operate during a shut down.  The Governor’s office has provided a list of “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers” to help state, local, tribal, and industry partners as they work to protect communities, while ensuring continuity of functions critical to public health and safety, as well as economic and national security.

Please review the PDF link above (If you are unable to view the link please contact me directly on my cell listed below) and if you feel your business is identified as an “essential businesses”, we would ask you to please notify us and let us know the address of the facility where workers will be present and the number of employees who will be present.  We also ask that businesses operating during the shutdown do their best to reduce staff to only those necessary for basic operations/production, plan to ensure social distancing on production lines and follow other guidelines outlined in the US Dept. of Labor/OSHA Guidelines for workplace safety during the COVID-19 outbreak.  Any repeated violations of an order to cease operations of non-essential businesses will be referred to the Snohomish County Health Dept. who has the authority to close businesses during the quarantine. In the event of any disputes regarding what is and what isn't "essential", the determination will be made by the Washington Military Dept.  During such a dispute the businesses will be closed and must submit a request for an exemption from Disaster Area Re-Entry Application website in order to re-open.  The business will remain closed until an adjudication is reached by the WMD.  

Neither the City of Monroe, nor the Monroe Police Department have any desire to make any arrests for violations of this order. The department views its enforcement role as one of engagement and education with the citizens, educating people on how to keep themselves and their families safe and most importantly, to keep the rest of the community safe, especially vulnerable populations. 

We understand that the economic consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak are likely to be great. While we are keeping an eye on the immediate needs of the quarantine trying to keep our community safe, we have an eye on the recovery which will be national in scope and coordinated across state, county and local governments.  The City, the Monroe Chamber, and the Downtown Monroe Association are working together to ensure that recovery happens as quickly as possible and our businesses are informed of the community's recovery strategy and is able to access those resources intended to help with the recovery.​ We will get through this together, as we have through previous crisis. 

It goes without saying we are in uncharted waters.  Even with the most diligent attempts at providing accurate information, the "Fog of War" often makes the situation nebulous at best.  We will continue to update the business community on the status of the closure as well as announcements about the recovery and other forms of relief being made available.  As always, the City of Monroe website will have the most current information on its special COVID-19 page. If you have questions please contact the Monroe Economic Development Specialist, James Palmer, at 360-631-0050 (cell) or email JPalmer@MonroeWA.gov 

Thank you for your cooperation. Stay safe Monroe!  

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Message from Monroe Chamber of Commerce Executive Director:

Dear Monroe business & organizations,

 I want our Monroe businesses to know the Chamber is here for you, we are your resource during this time for information and working with the City of Monroe to distribute the latest information regarding business and Covid19. We are checking our emails every day Monday through Sunday to be available to you. 

The Chamber has also launched in partnership with KRKO radio this AD for Monroe business that is playing on the radio now: SHOP LOCAL Monroe KRKO.mp3

We are working hard to find information on the latest aid for small businesses in our community and are releasing that information to you as well as working with other Snohomish County Chamber Executive Directors to bring free webinars and other means of business resources from SBA, US Chamber of Commerce & AWB. Be sure to check your emails titled "MONROE BUSINESS UPDATE".

Lastly, the Chamber launched on www.choosemonroe.com a delivery & takeout page for our restaurant sector of Monroe as well as a public Facebook group "Monroe's Delivery & Takeout Options Amid Covid19" for the community and businesses offering takeout, curbside and delivery options. 

Thank you Monroe businesses for letting me work for you, to support and fuel our local economy and I hope all of us stay safe & healthy during this time. We are Monroe Strong and WILL get through this storm together. 

Janelle Drews, Executive Director
Director@Choosemonroe.com

Sarah Rosado, Operations Manager
Office@Choosemonroe.com 

Monroe Chamber of Commerce
www.Choosemonroe.com 

We want YOU to Choose Monroe!!

Check out this article below from The Herald interviewing the City of Monroe, WA. The article spotlights Monroe hoping to bring in new businesses to our community... Especially wine and brewers! 

https://www.heraldnet.com/business/spill-the-wine-city-asks-vintners-brewers-why-not-monroe/

"Don't wait for the right opportunity, create it" - George Bernard Shaw

The Monroe Chamber, City of Monroe and business owner Sally King had the pleasure of touring Werner Paddles on February 27th, 2020 a premier manufacturing company specializing in paddles for kayaks and stand up paddle boards. 

Bruce Furrer, owner of Werner Paddles explains "A love for paddling together turned the family garage into a work shop and started the journey." Werner Paddles is the premier paddle company in America, with top notch designs that lead the industry today setting the bar high for competitors. With a 8,000 square foot warehouse and pushing 70 employee's, Werner Paddles has come along way from the garage his Dad started in. In 1959 Werner, built his first ever kayak and in the same year frustrated with the large Klepper paddles, he built and fashioned a better fitting paddle by using a tree branch and some shingles he builds his first paddle. An early sign of things to come... Starting a business was never the plan. However as more and boater friends asked Jr. to build him paddles, these earliest sales made him realize, "hey people want our paddles!" So Werner set out to help create the first handwritten brochure and encouraged Jr. with business lessons. More sales helped fund his growing passion for slalom racing and like that, a business was born. Check it out, $17.00 for a "Werner Furrer Design" paddle! Starting out as Northwest Design Works in 1986, the company officially changes its name to Werner Paddles. The M upside down stands for Martha, Werner's wife who is also a adventure seeker. 

Fun Facts:

1. 80% of employee's are based in Snohomish County.
2. Werner Paddles has around 70 full time employee's.
3. Bruce Furrer owner of Werner Paddles has been in business for 33 years. 
4. They build a few hundred paddles a day.
5. Werner Paddles has been established in Monroe, Washington for two years.

The city is submitting a video to HGTV for a chance to be featured on their new show, Home Town Takeover; the network’s biggest renovation project ever. Our video submission will be focused on downtown and the gateway entrances to the area.

On Saturday, February 1st at 10am, The Chamber, City of Monroe and Downtown Monroe came together to hold a community photo shoot to be used as part of our submission video. "We had an amazing turnout of business leaders, community organizations and SO many residents braving the rain to come together for this! It was a huge success and such a memorable day we will all cherish regardless if we win or not. You could feel the love for Monroe in these pictures, and that's why I am proud to call Monroe home!" Said Janelle Drews Executive Director of Monroe Chamber of Commerce. 

The photo was taken on West Main Street (between Blakely and Lewis Streets).

Huge shout out to the North Kelsey Business Group for another great meeting this morning.

I was able to give a quick update about events and activities the Chamber is up to this summer to Tuscano's Italian Kitchen, Bricks & Minifigs Monroe WA, Ideal Lifestyle, Empowered Integrative Health Center, City of Monroe, WA, Stars Unlimited and Monroe Army Recruiting Station.

There is nothing better than being in a meeting and learning so much and hearing about the amazing growth coming to our area!

Today I learned more about the proposed development out on N. Kelsey to build 180 multifamily units and the proposed changes to the development of 191st Street. Got questions, comments or concerns? Attend a Planning Commission meeting and learn more about this project. There is a meeting tonight and another one on June 3 at 7 pm.

Fair Fest (a huge basketball competition) is coming to N. Kelsey's very own Galaxy Theatres Monroe August 24-25. This is a huge draw to our community and we are so excited to hear they are coming out of the Fairgrounds and into the city.

Did you know that City Council meetings are recorded? There is a lot of information but if you can't make a meeting it is great idea to plug in and catch up on these weekly meetings.

The Monroe Police Department has introduced a new process for our businesses to file trespass notices.  Businesses can now go to the City of Monroe website and fill out a Trespass Letter of Consent (TLC).  This specifically worded, legal document will allow police officers to take enforcement action on behalf of the business without contacting them first.  Officers who observe trespassers on private property can then immediately address the problem.  To file a Trespass Letter of Consent or more information go to www.monroewa.gov/68/Police-Department  and look for Trespass Letter of Consent in the left hand column. 

**Please note, we would like this done even if you have previously given us signed trespass notices.  This is a change in our procedure.

There is still time to sign up...

The U.S. Small Business Administration and SCORE will host a 2-Day Virtual Conference during National Small Business Week. The conference will take place Tuesday, May 7 – Wednesday, May 8 between 11:00 AM – 5:30 PM Eastern / 8:00 AM – 2:30 PM Pacific each day. Registration is FREE to the public.

Click here to register and learn more. 

the days are starting to brighten up and bring much joy to our fair city! 

With Spring here, the flowers are starting to grow, the grass is looking a little greener and attitudes are getting cheerier! :)

A lot has happened this month. We had the Business Excellence Awards at the March Chamber Luncheon and they went well. We were able to get through them in the hour we allotted and even heard from Rene Jensen about Prop 1 and how it’s funded and what the hospital does for our community. 

The Chamber also has a huge announcement. We have a new office at the St. Vincent de Paul's Resource Center. The Resource Center has a training room attached to it and my office is now there.  I will be helping to manage the training room and we now have a nicer, more spacious location to hold our workshops and trainings. 

Membership renewal invoices went out this week. If you have questions or would like to set up a meeting please do not hesitate to call me (360) 453-7671.

We have finalized our dates for the Farmers Market and lineup for the Music in the Park concerts. Click the links below for more information. 

Music in the Park

Please take a moment to introduce yourself to our new members and get to know their business. 

This week has been a GREAT week for the Chamber.   It was the last week of the month and that meant a lot of tasks needed to be completed.   Janelle finalized the music in the park lineup. We got some great input from Mike and Denise from the City and sent out our contracts to the bands. Hopefully by Tuesday morning we will have a final line up ready for release.

Wednesday, I attended a Small Business Board meeting in Everett that helps bring attention and focus to the Small Businesses in our county. Any input you have for me to take back to the board would be greatly appreciated. This week's meeting was a discussion about what kind of help and resources we could provide to businesses as a Board.

Wednesday was also Ideal Lifestyle Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting! Janelle and I were so excited to be there and help celebrate this great success for Katie and Linda. We are excited to watch them grow and help our community live their ideal lifestyle.

Thursday was a day of catching up and getting applications and payments in order to submit for our Music in the Park concert series. The Beer Garden is growing and we need to hear from you what kind of drinks you want to see in there this summer. After the great feedback from the ChiliBowl in January I think we might need to bring back the Jalapeno Margarita!

Friday, we had a great Coffee and Connections event discussing Facebook and a few tips about how to improve your page and visibility. I would love to host more events with local subject matter experts! What kind of class can you lead that would help our members grow their business and community engagement?

We also started our interviews for the new Community Engagement Specialist. Excited to get this process going and the new person in the office later this month. As soon as we finish our interviews we will announce our new person on Tuesday after our Board meeting.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and goes out and enjoys the sun. Did you know that Governor Inslee declared this Saturday Washington Beer Day!?!?! Where are you going for a beer this Saturday? https://blog.seattlepi.com/washingtonbeerblog/2019/02/28/governor-inslee-declares-this-saturday-washington-beer-day/.