MEDICAL LAKE — Small businesses who experienced negative financial situations directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic can now apply for coronavirus relief funding (CRF) grants through an application process available on the city website.
The city received $225,225 in virus relief fund allocation from the state as part of the federal CARES act. Council agreed with city administration’s plan to allocate $120,000 of those funds for small business grants, and city administrator Doug Ross made the application for small businesses available Sept. 23.
Grants are expected to be between $2,000 and $7,500 depending on demand and individual business need. The funding will be on a reimbursement basis; businesses will apply to the city, who will then apply to the state for the reimbursed funds before giving them back to the business.
Businesses can apply online by going to the city website. A green link on the website’s home page links to the application, which takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
To qualify for potential financial relief, businesses must be for-profit, within the city limits of Medical Lake and have experienced a decrease in revenue directly correlated to COVID-19. The business must also have 25 or fewer employees as of March 1, 2020 to count as an eligible small business.
The application asks for basic business information like addresses, websites, number of full and part-time employees, annual gross revenue and a description of business services. It also asks for a number of employees laid off due to COVID-19.
The application also asks about the business’s sector, and whether it is owned by a minority, veteran, woman or member of the LGBTQ community.
It then asks for a description of how the business has been impacted by the pandemic, how long that impact may last and what the long-term effects of that impact may be. Businesses are also asked to provide the minimum amount of grant funding that would help the business stay solvent, and whether the business is currently closed due to the state’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order.
The application then asks how the business will use funding, and whether the business has previously received any federal, state or county funds related to COVID-19. If the answer to this question is “yes,” the application also asks how the business will use the funds from the city differently than previously obtained grants.
Applications are due by Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. and must be mailed or emailed to the city. They can also be deposited in the utility payment box outside city hall. They can be completed manually or electronically.
As of press time, the city had not received any completed grant applications.
Drew Lawson can be reached at [email protected].
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