As summer approaches, Montana’s busiest tourism season, Jefferson County businesses prepare for Phase 2 of Governor Steve Bullock’s three phase reopening plan to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Phase 2 begins Monday, June 1.
One of the biggest changes in Phase 2 is the end of the 14-day self-quarantine travel restriction for out-of-state visitors. But businesses and events are still under restrictions. Businesses are limited to 75% capacity and social distancing remains the norm. Events have to be limited to no more than 50 people unless appropriate social distancing is enforced.
“Right now we are at the mercy of what the state says we can and can’t do,” said Bruce Binkowski, Jefferson County event coordinator.
Binkowski helps coordinate and market large annual events in the county — gatherings such as the Jefferson County Fair and Rodeo that can attract more than 1,000 people from both Montana and beyond.
Binkowski said that any event, large or small, is important to Jefferson County businesses. They depend on the events to bring customers to their doorsteps and if events keep getting canceled throughout the summer there will be a sizable impact to the local economy, he said.
Some events, like Montana Mule Days in Whitehall and the Governors Cup, a road race starting near Jefferson City have been canceled while others, like the Jefferson County Fair and Rodeo set for Aug. 27-30, are tentatively waiting to see if the state will progress to Phase 3 by that time. There is currently no indication when Phase 3 will start. Phase 3 is considered business as usual.
The fair can only happen if the state is in Phase 3, according to Binkowski, he said that it would be too difficult to enforce social distancing with the amount of people expected to attend.
Binkowski said that he and others are hoping for the best — it’s all they can do at this time.
“We are hoping to get into Phase 3 sooner rather than later, to salvage some of the summer,” Binkowski said.
Before Bullock’s decision to lift the 14-day quarantine, the upcoming summer was looking grim for some local businesses. That outlook has since improved for many of those who rely on out-of-state visitors.
Patricia Lewis, owner of the Mine Motel in Boulder, saw a large decrease in business that ultimately led to her being unable to rehire a part-time employee. She said 95% of her business comes from out-of-state and the travel restriction was detrimental to her usual business.
Now, Lewis expects business to pick back up after June 1, but she said it is going to be hard to make up what she has already lost due to COVID-19.
As for added cleaning protocols due to the novel coronavirus, Lewis said she cleans the motel herself and keeps the rooms sanitary regardless of COVID-19. For that reason, she doesn’t plan to change her cleaning method. However, she is wiping doorknobs more often and spacing guests out at least three to four days between stays in any given room instead of back-to-back as the pandemic continues.
The Merry Widow Health Mine in Basin is operating at 20% the normal amount of customers they usually have at this time, according to the operating manager Veronica Kim. She said many reservations for this summer have been canceled because a lot of their potential visitors are from a different state or in Canada and can’t get across the closed border. She doesn’t know if business will begin to increase as Montana enters Phase 2. She said nobody really knows.
Barry Wareham, owner of Mountain Good Restaurant, said that business has slowed down with no tourists due to COVID-19, but for the most part, Boulder and the greater Jefferson County community have come together to support them first through take-out orders and now dine-in as well. Wareham believes his business will be fine heading into the summer. He predicts business will be slower than usual, but he has already started to see new faces he doesn’t recognize from within the Boulder community coming to the restaurant.
“We have just been blessed by the community,” Wareham said.
During the past few years the Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce has tried to work with as many events as possible to promote and market Jefferson County. They made the website “Discover Jefferson” to highlight what Jefferson County has for its visitors. The county has campsites, hiking trails, and 550,000 acres of public land — all popular attractions to both Montana residents and non-residents.
“We are always looking to promote Jefferson County because we do have so much to offer,” Binkowski said.
Binkowski expects there is going to be a tremendous burst in business and visitors after the pandemic is over. He said that people are anticipating the end and are anxious to get back to doing the things they love.
“When things get back to normal I think things will be great,” Binkowski said, “but we need to survive the down time.”
Meanwhile, some community websites, such as Whitefish, have urged potential visitors to postpone or cancel their trips due to COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, the website had not been updated to reflect the move to Phase 2.
Jefferson County, on the other hand, hasn’t openly turned visitors away on its site.
“We are not saying don’t come to the county but we are not promoting events at this time,” said Binkowski.
