As the community transitions from responding to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the cities of Bryan and College Station, Brazos County, and the Brazos County Health District have formed the BCS Operation Restart Task Force.
The task force is chaired by Private Sector Liaison Kenny Lawson of CC Creations, College Station Mayor Pro Tem Linda Harvell, and Bryan Mayor Pro Tem Greg Owens. The Executive Advisory Committee also includes Brazos County Commissioner Nancy Berry and Health District Environmental Services Manager Bob Lamkin. Other anchor partners include Bryan College Station Chamber of Commerce, the Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation, Texas A&M University, Blinn College, Bryan ISD, and College Station ISD.
“The Task Force Executive Advisory Committee’s goal is to see the Bryan College Station economy hit the restart button immediately following an order from Gov. Abbott and local action by our mayors and county judge,” Owens says. “As a task force, we are committed to addressing the needs of our community and working together to ensure that our local business owners have the resources they need to reopen safely.”
A key initiative of the task force is to quickly develop and execute a recovery program tailored to each specific business sector that is aligned with federal and state public health guidelines. This program will use communication kits, checklists, and signage outlining key public health safeguards and actions each business can take to fight the spread of COVID-19.
“The mission of this newly formed task force is to assist in quickly executing a ‘Pandemic Ready Business Program’ tailored to each industry sector. We aim to do this in unity, working together as one community,” Harvell says.
Industry representatives from various sectors, including retail, construction, banking, real estate, food and beverage, hospitality, personal services, oil and gas, and manufacturing, will serve as resources to help guide businesses into how they will be able to reopen and adhere to new health and safety protocols.
“I am honored to help lead as the private sector liaison. Small businesses are the lifeblood of Aggieland,” Lawson says. “I understand a one-size-fits-all model will not work to get our businesses back open. I am 110 percent committed to working tirelessly to assure all businesses are positioned to hit restart when our leaders give the order.” More information about Operation Restart is available at www.bryantx.gov/smallbusinessrecovery and www.cstx.gov/covid19.
