NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — The Niagara County legislature on Thursday announced the formation of three groups who will be tasked with getting the county ready to reopen when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Vice Chairman John Syracuse announced the county's three working groups will be ReStart Niagara, ReThink Niagara and ReConfigure Niagara.
"Niagara County and its residents are more than ready to get back to business, get back to fully functioning, but we fully recognize that there is more to that than simply flipping a switch and saying go," Syracuse said. "Our effort to date have mostly been focused on providing necessary services to taxpayers while adhering to COVID-19 restrictions.
"Now, we must begin pivoting to post-pandemic planning, some of which has already been underway, so we can hit the ground running."
Each group will be made up of members of the legislature, county leaders and community partners.
"Were breaking it up and putting everyone into their best areas, so we can really try to get a kick start on what is going on when we get the ok to reopen" said Niagara County 9th District Legislator Randy Bradt.
- ReStart Niagara will be focused on helping businesses start up again and providing support through government programs.
- ReThink Niagara will be the group charged with focusing on what the county learned from the pandemic, and how to make response better if a similar situation arises.
- ReConfigure Niagara will be tasked with operating the county with severe budget restraints due to the coronavirus.
"Businesses will have a lot of questions and issues regarding reopening, and we are using the committee as a resource for these businesses who have questions but also as an aid as we start the reopening process," Niagara County Manager Rick Updegrove said.