BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The head of an economic recovery committee formed by Gov. Brad Little to help the state reopen for business while also battling the coronavirus said Friday he’s optimistic Idaho will rebound, but there’s hard work ahead.
Idaho Power CEO Darrel Anderson said Idaho can recover and even be poised to thrive when the pandemic passes, but businesses might have to adopt new practices.
“What I would say is that the people of Idaho always seem to find a way,” Anderson said. “Idaho has always shown up when the chips are down.”
The committee has about 30 members and is comprised of a cross-section of small and large business owners, including billionaire Frank Vandersloot, founder of wellness shopping club Melaleuca. Representatives from Micron and Simplot are also on the committee, as are several elected officials, including Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke, a rancher.
“The thing I like about this group is the level of energy and enthusiasm,” Anderson said. “Yes, there are some robust personalities. We have had some very robust discussions early on. But that’s how we get to the best solutions.”
Leading the committee is not that much different from running a big company, he said. Anderson oversees nearly 2,000 Idaho Power employees who serve 570,000 customers spread out in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon.
About half of Idaho Power employees are working from home because of the virus, and one employee had to be hospitalized after being infected but has since returned home, Anderson said.
Little on Thursday announced the formation of the Economic Rebound Advisory Committee as part of his four-stage plan for restoring regular activity in Idaho and recovering from the economic pain caused by the coronavirus. The plan allows a gradual lifting of restrictions that could have Idaho operating at something near normal by late June. But it is predicated on strong testing and no spikes in infections.
Essentially, it’s a strategy for gradually reopening the state without having a surge in new infections that could shut down implementing the plan because of the potential for the healthcare system being overwhelmed. But even in its final stage, the plan requires restrictions until the pandemic passes.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Anderson said. “I don’t thing there’s any question about that.”
Anderson’s committee is tasked with finding business-oriented recommendations spread over three phases that the governor can incorporate in his recovery plan.
Phase 1 for the committee is making sure employees feel safe returning to work and consumers feel safe returning to the marketplace. Phase 2 is making sure the progress from Phase 1 is maintained while also finding innovative ways for businesses to have stability and growth, possibly with new and innovative ways to do business. Phase 3 is making sure Idaho is seen as a good location for businesses to grow or relocate.
Phase 1 might involve employees wearing personal protection such as face masks, and engaging in more distant transactions, which could be off-putting to some customers, Anderson said. But that could be the new normal.
Phase 2 is likely the most difficult because people could get complacent, he said.
“How do we avoid backsliding?” he said. “How do you maintain (Phase 1) when the novelty wears off?”
Phase 3, Anderson said, gives Idaho a chance to come out ahead - if Little’s plan is successful - and enhance its reputation as an attractive place to live and work when the pandemic ends.
“This is a year to an 18-month thing,” Anderson said. “Then we get a vaccine, and we move on.”
On the same day Little announced the committee, the Idaho Department of Labor reported that the number of Idaho workers who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus surged to nearly 110,000. The agency said it paid out $44.1 million in unemployment benefits between March 23 and April 18.
The layoffs began not long after Idaho had its first confirmed coronavirus infection on March 13, and within three weeks another 1,000 people had been infected. Little responded with an emergency declaration on March 13 and on March 25 issued a statewide stay-at-home order for Idaho’s 1.75 million residents that also shut down non-essential businesses.
Those efforts succeeded in slowing the rate of infection over the next three weeks, with only 836 more reported as of Thursday afternoon, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Fifty-four people have died.
Meanwhile, Idahoans have hunkered down.
Now, Anderson and the committee must find a way for Idahoans to feel safe venturing out again and returning to work until the pandemic ends.
“With the ingenuity, you have to believe that there will be a vaccine,” he said. “We need to get through this - whatever period of time that is.”
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