Lisse Regehr brought Allen County commissioners up to date on Tuesday as to how a $132,000 grant to the county will be distributed.
Regehr is chief executive officer of Thrive Allen County, which was given authority to disburse the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) from the Kansas Department of Commerce.
She began by saying Thrive will lower its management fee from $10,000 to $7,500 to come more in line with what the awards to individual businesses will be.
In order to be eligible for assistance funds, Regehr said business owners and employees will need to submit employee certification forms to verify low-to-moderate income status.
Because the grant is geared toward helping businesses retain low-to-moderate income workers, they must prove that 51% or more of their employees make below approximately $36,000.
This number is based on household income rather than individual income, and is a federal requirement rather than something being requested by Thrive or the state.
Any business that received Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) or USDA funds are ineligible to receive CDBG-CV assistance, and farmers are not eligible as it expected by the federal government that they would seek funding through the USDA.
Businesses that received Payment Protection Plan (PPP) funds are eligible; however, businesses cannot submit invoices to receive CDBG-CV funds for the same items as PPP funds (such as payroll). Eligible expenses include: rent, utilities, equipment, salaries and inventory.
Funds cannot be used to cover future costs, and only costs incurred since March 1.
Businesses can only submit for grant funds a single time, and the maximum amounts are $7,500 for small businesses (6 to 50 workers) or $3,000 for micro businesses (1 to 5 workers). These numbers will likely vary depending on how many businesses apply for funds.
How funds will be distributed around the county has also changed, with Iola receiving 55%, Humboldt, 30% and remaining areas, 15%, though these amounts are only a rough guide.
Regehr said she hopes the Low-to-Moderate Income forms (LMI) will be posted on the Allen County website by this Friday, and that the full application will be posted by July 6.
The window for application will run from July 6 through July 17, with review of applications taking place at the July 21 county commission meeting.
IN OTHER news, new LED lights have been installed at the Allen County landfill barn, and dust control for roads has been pushed back to the end of the month.
Another one of the county’s heavy machines is down, this time, the reclaimer; though parts have been ordered and repair work is scheduled for the Elsmore area.
