The City of Westfield recently started conducting business roundtable conversations on an online conferencing platform as an extension of the outreach the city began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We knew it was important we communicate as much as we can with the Westfield business community, as we all know they have been hurt like all of us during this, especially financially,” City of Westfield Communications Director Vicki Duncan Gardner said. “So, we wanted to and continue to want to engage and understand the situation and how it’s possible we can help.”
The city partnered with the Westfield Chamber of Commerce for the roundtable conversation. It was held July 22.
Business Relations Director Michelle Krcmery said the event was the first the city called a “roundtable,” but there were other formal presentation forums during the quarantine earlier this year to alert businesses to available resources such as funding or state changes.
“This one was more accommodating for a two-way conversation,” Krcmery said. “One of the things we brought up, which is now a bit outdated, was the mask mandate passed by Fishers. We threw that out there as a discussion topic to see the general sentiment, the positives and negatives.”
Although the pandemic has negatively affected many industries, Krcmery said building permits in Westfield are doing well compared to previous years.
“It was good to hear there’s a strong invested interest in Westfield,” she said.
The roundtable ended with the city providing a link to a state directory for personal protective equipment. The city wants to partner monthly with the chamber on the roundtable events.
For more, visit westfield.in.gov.
