Dear Merchantville business community:

During these challenging times, we thought it important to reach out to you as COVID-19 has clearly already had and is anticipated to cause further impact to our small business community. We understand the difficulty of owning and operating a small business under normal circumstances and we are particularly aware of the concern you all have as a result of this ongoing situation. First and foremost., you should know that the Borough is doing everything within its power to provide relief and accommodation to our small businesses and we commit to continuing to do so until such time as we get through this difficult time. Additionally, we are communicating daily with representatives of our other local communities, County officials, State and Federal representatives to discuss the issues facing our small businesses and we are working with them to find and implement solutions aimed at stabilizing small businesses and helping them through this substantial disruption. Particularly, discussions with Senators Menendez and Booker surrounded their work to expand unemployment insurance to the self-employed, provide for loan forgiveness, rent assistance, mortgage relief, direct cash payments and grant packages. All are being discussed at the Federal level. At the State level, we have communicated with our State Assembly representatives and State Senator and they have worked hard to pass legislation aimed at assisting small business through this difficult time. Locally, we will also be asking residents to support our businesses in any way they can. We hope that some of you will consider enhancing your capability for on-line purchases of goods and services, including gift certificates, so that you can provide more opportunities for your business and so we can support you by encouraging our residents to continue to Shop Merchantville during this disruption. While we continue to generate ideas and work on local measures to help you weather the economic impacts of COVID-19, attached is an initial list of small business resources that Borough and the MBPA have put together that will be placed on our website, www.merchantvillenj.gov and updated as more resources become available.

For those businesses able to stay open during this time, please continue to abide by CDC-recommendations and directives and Executive Orders of the State of New Jersey. I will be in touch again with you soon and should you need anything, please contact us at 856-662-2472 x 303.

Be safe and stay healthy,

Mayor Ted Brennan 

SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCES

1. The State of New Jersey has established a special website devoted to addressing business concerns. https://cv.business.nj.gov/ . This website has a chat function that allows for questions to be submitted and answered and it is monitored constantly.
2. CDC - Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers https://wvvw.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html
3. NJEDA - Information for NJ Businesses regarding COVID-19. NJEDA has resources for businesses that can provide financial assistance and relief. Particularly, there are grant opportunities available that were recently provided through legislation signed by Gov. Murphy. Check out the link below, call 609-858-6767 or contact NJEDA at https://contactus.njeda.com/ https://www.nieda.com/about/Public-Information/Coronavirus-Information
4. Small Business Administration - Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources
5. NJDOL Benefits and the Coronavirus (COVID-19): What Employees Should Know https://www.nj.govilabor/worker-protectionsiearnedsicic/covid.shtml
6. IRS — Coronavirus Tax Relief https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus
7. SCORE - Coronavirus Business Resources https://www.score.org
8. Bartender Emergency Assistance Program https://www.usbgfoundation.org/beap

Dr. Emily Landon is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Executive Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control at the University of Chicago Medicine. Her research is focused on protecting patients from the harm and mortality that come from healthcare-associated infections and suboptimal use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials. She studies novel electronic hand hygiene monitoring techniques and evaluates the impact of direct, individual-level feedback to encourage provider actions that prevent infections. Hear her explain why the statewide order to stay at home is crucial to protecting everyone.

RN's are needed immediately for a Coronavirus Drive-Thru test site and Pop-Up Tent/Makeshift Hospital at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ, right off the Garden State Parkway in Monmouth County, NJ. RN's are needed starting this coming Monday, March 23, for the next 6-8 weeks, everyday from 6:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. for as many days as you are available to work. One day a week, 3 days a week, 7 days a week however you can help out. Pay: $42/hour. If interested, please call Molly at All American Healthcare Services at (862) 279-7111 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has launched a coronavirus rumor control website. The purpose of this FEMA page is to help the public distinguish between rumors and facts regarding the response to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Rumors can easily circulate within communities during a crisis, stay informed with our updated myth vs. facts related to the federal (COVID-19) response. Myths such as: "There Is A National Lockdown And The Entire Country Will Be Quarantined For Two Weeks" are answered with Facts: "There is no national lockdown.  As with all information online or shared via social media, it is important to verify the source of the information."   

Councilman Sean Fitzgerald convened a meeting for those involved with the Merchantville Office of Emergency Management and coordinating entities via video conference on Thursday evening to share information and synchronize efforts moving forward. JP Beauchamp from OEM spoke about working with the County and emergency preparations to obtain PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for our first responders and equipping an EOC (Emergency Operations Center) which will open as a Level 3 center from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. in the basement of the Community Center if required. He has reviewed the school lunch distribution program developed by Scott Strong and requested that a pdf on basic hand washing/covid-19 symptoms be attached to each brown bag.

Department of Health member, Joan Brennan, is monitoring several sites for information and statistics including the CDC, NJDOH Dashboard, PA DOH Alerts, County Department of Health & Human Services and Kinsa Health/Weather Mapping. She noted that Merchantville has several websites and social media outlets where we can push out information from national/state/county/municipal outlets and virtual meetings/town halls/messages and asked asked about identifying potential cluster housing hotspots like Chestnut Station, Greenleigh Court and Wellwood Manor to determine who is coordinating their preparation efforts. Mayor Brennan stated that Denise Brouse, borough clerk, has been in touch with Chestnut Station an a plan is in place and handouts have been provided. He also mentioned that the Camden County Mayors Association is promoting the importance of the senior food program and community volunteers are welcome.

Police Chief Rich Grassia spoke on changes to central dispatch communications including screening incoming calls with inquiries about recent out of country travel and flu like symptoms. He noted that police are not entering buildings unless necessary when answering calls. The Police Chief Association keeps them current on the number of positive cases in Camden County and is working on ways to better inform police about pockets of contagion. Their info share system will red flag call situations with a Covid-19 tag (cautionary flag). Chief Grassia reported that town residents appear to be heeding warnings because there have been no walk-ups at the Boro Hall police station and no large gatherings noted.The chief and detective are at the police department every day and night shift rotate through to cover the buildings.

Fire Chief Kevin Patti discussed the status of fire, code and public works. The Merchantville Fire Department is restricted to members only, temperature screening is done upon arrival and response modifications with EMS have been made. Merchantville and Pennsauken have established a joint 14 day quarantine space if needed and right now all members healthy. All fire/housing inspections have been canceled but, they continue to complete resale CO inspections and handle minor complaints. Public Works still active and are ready to maintain trash removal in case something happens with our municipal provider, Gold Medal. They have been sanitizing doorknobs twice a day and the phone pad outside the police station can be added.

Mayor Brennan reported that the Mayors Association had decided that individual municipal emergency declarations provided no additional value or power beyond the County declaration so, 37 municipalities agreed to piggy back on the county. Mayor Brennan doesn’t anticipate he will have to put a municipal declaration in place but, we have it if needed. Mayor Brennan was very appreciative of the level of coordination and communication among municipal OEM stakeholder groups and feels we are as prepared as we can be. We hope to avoid a major situation so, the more days we go without cases the better off we will be in 14-16 days. Unless an earlier meeting is necessary the next meeting will take place on Wednesday, 3/26/20 @ 8:00 p.m.

As we all take precautions to "flatten the curve" by social distancing during the coronavirus health crisis, the Merchantville community is stepping up to share local, county and state news and information on Borough websites and social media pages. Our municipality provides official government information to residents through their website, Facebook page and Twitter feeds @mayortedbrennan and @merchantville. Merchantville Online shares community, organization and business news, information and events on their website, Facebook page and Twitter feed. Additional community stories can be found on these Facebook pages: Shop Merchantville, Merchantville Neighbors, Merchantville Matters and Merchantville Living. Updates can be found for Merchantville School on their website and Facebook page and St. Peter School on their website and Facebook page. Several churches are also using Facebook LIVE to provide services and information to parishioners. Visit Grace Church, St. Peter Church, First Presbyterian Church, Trinity United Methodist Church and High Place Church.