COUNCIL COMMUNICATION - REGULAR MEETING
City Council Meeting Date: June 15, 2020
Subject: Funding Third Round of C3 CAP Small Business Relief & Recovery Grants
Staff Responsible (Department Head): Michelle Claymore, Economic Development Director
Staff Member Presenting: Michelle Claymore, Economic Development Director
Action Proposed: Pass Resolution 2020-41 to authorize utilizing $100,000 from CARES Act funding for a third round of C3 CAP small business relief & recovery grants that adds home-based businesses as eligible and removes previous grant recipients from the program as eligible.
Summary and Background Information:
The COVID-19 outbreak and associated social distancing measures have left many small businesses in dire financial situations. Providing relief through small business grants is an important effort in supporting small businesses, protecting the local economy and ultimately preserving quality of life for our community.
On April 20, City Council authorized $1 million out of the city's general fund and then reimbursed through the CARES Act allocation to fund several community assistance programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. $400,000 was allocated towards the Commerce City Small Business Support and Recovery Grants program. This program is intended to help local businesses deal with the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by awarding grants of up to $5,000 during two funding rounds of $200,000. The grant money is thought to be a financial bridge for small businesses until other funding sources can be secured through loans and federal relief programs.
Businesses applied for grants in round one from April 29-May 4, 2020. There were 55 applications submitted. Applications for the second round of grant funding were taken from June 3-8, 2020. There were 57 applications submitted. General guideline qualifications were published with the application and were as follows.
Eligibility Guidelines:
• Must have a physical Commerce City storefront business that started operations on or before March 12, 2020.
• Must be a for profit, independently owned local business and is temporarily closed or experiencing dramatically limited operations due to COVID-19 Public Health Orders.
• Have no more than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.
• Must have an active Commerce City business license.
• Be in good standing with the City of Commerce City for any permits, licenses, and taxes as of March 1, 2020.
• Business consistently follows all local, state and federal laws and regulations and operates in a neighborly manner.
• Businesses with more than one physical location in the City of Commerce City may apply for the grant program for one location only. For purposes of estimating FTE’s, the FTE count shall be based only on the specific location applying for the grant.
• Corporately-owned national chains may not apply for the grant program. However, individually owned franchise operators are eligible.
• Submit a W-9 with the application.
On June 8, City Council asked staff to add another $100,000 round of funding to the small business grant program and change the eligibility guidelines to include home-based businesses. City Council also supported staff's recommendation to add another eligibility guideline that prohibits previous grant recipients from receiving another grant from this round of funding.
Financial Impact: $100,000 Funding Source: CARES Act Funding
Staff Recommendation: Support
Suggested Motion: Move to approve Resolution 2020-41 adding $100,000 of funding from the CARES ACT allocation for a third round of small business grants.