Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The impact of COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus pandemic have made the first 100 days of Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s tenure memorable, to say the least.
Add in a 5.7 magnitude earthquake near Magna and dozens of aftershocks since its eruption March 18, and the term has been downright unprecedented.
But the mayor is just getting started — and so is her city.
"We have done a lot as a city. I’m really proud of our people," Mendenhall said during a Facebook Live event with the Emerging Leaders Initiative of Utah. "Salt Lake City is looking to be as innovative as we can. We’re looking to get as much growth out of our people at this time."
The event’s sponsor, an initiative that aims at improving political and community involvement among Utah’s younger millennial and Gen-Z population, held the virtual chat to discuss a variety of topics surrounding the mayor’s first four months in office.
She also used the time to update several projects that have come to light during the pandemic.
One of them is the Tip Your Server program, an initiative started by "Modern Family" actor Ty Burrell and his wife Holly — two prominent Utahns — to assist the state’s food and beverage workers while restaurants are closed or open only for carry-out and online ordering.
"The food and beverage employees were probably the first impacted by this pandemic and will probably be some of the last to come back to work in full," Mendenhall said.
By Monday evening, the city's public tally showed just under $380,000.
The Burrells kicked off the event with a $100,000 donation, and the city — in conjunction with the Downtown SLC Alliance — has responded with nearly a half-million dollars that will go directly to restaurant employees, servers, hosts and those who rely on tips for a majority of their income.
"Working for tips makes it particularly cumbersome to apply for and gain unemployment," Mendenhall said. "It’s still possible, but it’s more difficult."
The city also plans to host a number of online "virtual cocktail hours," where they will invite residents to participate and bring in licensed chefs and bartenders to teach them how to make their own cocktails, spirits and other necessities with the ingredients most people have in their homes.
"It might be accompanied by a celebrity," Mendenhall quipped. "We hope you can make yourself a cocktail and then tip your server at the same time."
Additional information, including how to donate, can be found at downtownslc.org/tipyourserver.
New street adjustments, improvements
Barely a week ago, the mayor’s office put together a survey soliciting feedback as the city seeks to convert multiple streets into temporary "physically distancing-friendly places for people to get outside."
And it’s already become one of the most popular surveys in Salt Lake’s recent governmental history, garnering more than 6,000 respondents.
"We heard from both sides, but it was predominantly supportive," Mendenhall said. "Our transportation department is working feverishly to process those, and they hope to have a map of the areas in the next day or two.
"As soon as this weekend, we might have some of those streets open up."
The street project is part of the city’s "Stay Safe, Stay Active" campaign encouraging outdoor recreation in a socially-distant and responsible fashion on all parks, trails, sidewalks and road ways.
"Both to keep people safe and for recreation, it’s so important for us to be able to leave our houses, to go for a walk, go for a run, or get out on the trails," Mendenhall added.
"Honestly, I don’t think our trails and open spaces have seen this kind of demand at this time of year, ever. We have so many people who just want to get out … and we need them to be able to do that safely."
Protesters and mass gatherings
Mendenhall said that no one has been cited from their role in Saturday’s public protest that saw hundreds rally near the capitol building to revive local businesses in the near-standstill economy as a result of the pandemic, similar to other protests occurring around the state and nation.
"I think of all the cities in the state, it’s clear that Salt Lake City respects the rights of people to gather and protest," she said. "At the same time, there is a county order in place that seeks to prohibit mass gatherings. Yet no one has been cited for doing so, that I’m aware of."
The same goes for ticketing and enforcing by way of misdemeanor citations in who are found to be in violation of the city and county public health orders barring groups of more than 10 individuals. Of course, enforcing such an order is difficult, Mendenhall admits; some households and families in Utah have at least 10 people — or at least, that could be a claim of defense many use.
"We’re taking the standpoint of trying to educate and remind people," the mayor said.
Other highlights
Other highlights of Mendenhall’s first four months include the city’s relocation and expansion of homeless services at a temporary facility in Sugar House, bringing public and private partnerships together to aid that population.
She also cited the city’s improved inland port legislation, closing several environmental loopholes in the proposal; a new citywide equity master plan; and a constantly evolving small business loan program that has helped 90% of businesses in Salt Lake City secure as much as $1 million as stopgap funding while awaiting additional aid from the federal government.
Mendenhall also mentioned Salt Lake’s plans to plant 1,000 trees on the city’s west side in honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which is Wednesday, thanks to a lengthy list of private donations.
