Occoquan mayor pushes for financial relief for small businesses affected by coronavirus

Occoquan officials plan to hold a scheduled town hall meeting tonight, Tuesday, March 17, according to a statement from town mayor Earnie Porta.

Seating inside the town hall will be limited. The town does not provide a streaming option for residents to listen to and/or watch the meeting in real-time.

The meeting will move ahead after both President Donald Trump and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam have banned public gatherings of 1o or more people.

Porta penned this about the upcoming meeting in an email to constituents:

The Town Council plans to proceed with its scheduled meeting this evening. Public seating will be limited, and chairs for both council members and the public will be separated by the recommended distance. Relevant surfaces will be sanitized.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside town hall, located at 314 Mill Street.

On another note, Porta says he’s heard from many of the small business owners in the town who are seeking economic relief from the impacts of the Chinese coronavirus. Some of those businesses have already closed.

Porta pens in an email:

A number of business owners have contacted me requesting information on potential federal, state, and county loan or tax deferral programs available to assist small businesses during this time. I have been in touch either directly with our elected representatives at all three levels, or their offices and they are all working to secure assistance or implement relief policies through the relevant agencies. While the federal government is working on providing such aid through the Small Business Administration (SBA’s COVID-19 website), Virginia is not yet one of the eligible areas.

[Prince William County] Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny A. Boddye has a page on his website dedicated to updates and resources on COVID-19 where he plans to post information on business relief when such information becomes available.

Dominion Virginia Power, PWCSA, and Washington Gas have all suspended disconnection actions during this period. At the Town level I have asked the Town Attorney to investigate whether or not the Town has the authority to defer BPOL tax payments (currently due May 1) and will be raising this issue with the Town Council.

For employees, the Commonwealth of Virginia has waived the normal waiting period for those seeking to file unemployment claims. This is available to individuals who have been laid off or have had their hours reduced as a result of COVID-19. Information on this is available online.

As of today, Porta says the town is working to reserve parking for businesses and restaurants that choose to remain open. Those businesses include Third Base, Grind N Crepe, Bar J Chili, Bann Thai, and the Spot. Others like Madigan’s, the Secret Garden Cafe, the Tap Room, the Virginia Grill.