ST PAUL, Minnesota — On Monday afternoon, Governor Tim Walz met with St. Paul business owners and state and local elected officials to talk about next steps.
Gov. Walz started his visit at Elsa's House of Sleep furniture store on University Avenue.
"The concern that we've heard whether it's walking up Lake, or being up in Broadway in north Minneapolis, or here in University, is the fear that we'll do a typical rebuilding thing with big government setting up grant programs and picking winners and losers and losing the sense of community that we have and a fear of gentrification," Gov. Walz told the crowd.
He went on to say, "I'm convinced that the one blessing we have right now is this sense of fierce urgency around change and a legislative session sitting on our doorstep provides us opportunities to think about how do we get those resources."
The governor was there mostly to listen to business owners.
Courtney Henry, owner of the Midway McDonald's, said, he wanted to "make sure that as we rebuild the Midway, that it stays diverse."
Many businesses have also been dealing with the impacts from COVID-19.
Solomon Hailie, owner of Bolé Ethiopian Cuisine, was getting ready to open Bolé Express on when his building was destroyed.
"Saturday it was supposed to happen and then this thing happened on Friday night," Hailie said.
Gov. Walz said a bonding bill could be used to help businesses rebuild.
"I think we should really take a look at how we do bonding to see if there's the possibility because if we're going to do some of these projects now, the only way you can do it is with cash, cash reserves, where bonding really does make sense right now," Gov. Walz said. "How do we maybe restructure what general obligation bonds look like and some of the things that we can do. So I am interested in seeing if there's the potential to be able to help some of these private businesses."
Gov. Walz said he's not sure if that would happen during the initial special session but said he anticipates that "this is going to be a summer where we're pretty much in session."
While business owners are in need of help, they're also addressing some of the issues they hope can be fixed moving forward.
Damen Johnson of Grooming House Barbershop told the governor that he's been in business for 11 years.
"If I go to a bank and I want to start a new business, I can get a loan pretty easily because of my work history... $40,000, $50,000, whatever it may be. But I could go to that same bank and say I want to purchase a property to have my business in and they wouldn't even qualify me for 15," Johnson explained.
Gov. Walz said he's very concerned about the economic impact from COVID-19, coupled with the last two weeks.
He said, "I think the good news is seeing the desire to rebuild. Seeing the commitment to community. The economics can come back and I keep saying, 'If we can change some of the fundamentals that created this underlying tension, what comes back will be stronger.' So I think in the short run, deeply concerned. Long run, hopeful."
After the governor's visit to Elsa's, he then stopped by May's Market on University Avenue.