Since April, the city of Cordova has threatened residents who disregard public health rules with fines. Now, the city, working in partnership with the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, will reward residents who practice good anti-coronavirus measures with $5 certificates. The “Cordova Cares Bucks” initiative offers the city an opportunity to reward positive behavior as well as punishing negative behavior, said Cathy Renfeldt, executive director for the chamber.
Cordova Cares Bucks certificates will be distributed by harbor and airport ambassadors, City Council members and certain city and chamber staff to community members seen exemplifying careful behavior such as standing 6 feet from non-household members and wearing face coverings. These certificates will allow residents who follow public health measures to treat themselves to coffee or an ice cream, or to save up for larger purchases, Renfeldt said.
“It’s a way to incentivize good, healthy, safe behaviors that help the whole community, and a way to help local businesses in a time when they really need it,” Renfeldt said. “It gets them into the stores and participating with these local businesses in a way that will, hopefully, lead to rebuilding those relationships between businesses and their customers that needs to be done when businesses have been closed for any period of time.”
The Cordova Cares Bucks program is tentatively planned to kick off during the week of Monday, June 1. Participating businesses will return all spent certificates to the chamber and be reimbursed for their value. The chamber considered using laminated certificates that could be disinfected when returned, but decided to opt for single-use certificates.
A complete list of participating businesses will be available online once it’s been compiled, Renfeldt said. The Cordova Cares Bucks program is funded by the city of Cordova.
