With the close of applications for public grant funding for COVID-19 pandemic-related relief last month, the Platte County Commission is preparing for yet another round of small business grants.
Commissioners met Monday, Dec. 7 at the Platte County Resource Center for the regular administrative session. After a light agenda, presiding commissioner Ron Schieber announced he had an update on the county’s CARES Act grant programs, which now includes options for small business and public entities. The first round of small business grants opened in the spring, with the public option coming much later in the process, only within the last two months. Now, another round of small business grants will be open to applicants.
As of this week, only three applications for public entities have been approved – for West Platte and North Platte schools and for the regional sewer district. Applications are pending for the Platte County Health Department, the City of Kansas City, City of Parkville and more.
Schieber said since the county received the approximately $12 million in CARES Act funding, commissioners earmarked the largest portion for aid to small businesses impacted by the pandemic. Commissioners budgeted $8 million for these ‘survive and thrive’ grants.
Platte County Economic Development Council director Matt Tapp said the county received almost 250 applications in the first round of funding.
Schieber said public entities have requested $10 million in funding, but very little discussion was held on the public portion of the grant program. Instead, Tapp said the commission-appointed grant committee planned to meet Friday, Dec. 11 to finalize plans for the second round of small business grants.
Commissioners asked for committee members to carefully consider their prioritization of the second round of applicants to avoid the possibilities of businesses double dipping into the grant funds. The second round would help cover expenses incurred following the end of the first grant period, so for July through December, although county auditor Kevin Robinson expressed concerns about businesses submitting estimated expenses for December spending.
Tapp noted that each grant applicant is capped at no more than $250,000, while commissioner John Elliott said the committee needed to clarify that the amount approved was a ‘not to exceed’ number. Actual reimbursable expenses may vary, so businesses may not receive the total they were potentially awarded.
Tapp also said there were a small “handful” of businesses at the $250,000 award range, and they were those with either large payroll obligations or some hospitality businesses.
Robinson presented commissioners with a handout giving them an example of the auditing work required to handle the grant program, calling the process “cumbersome.” While he has so far been able to handle the load with his own staff, he will soon seek assistance from an internship program at Park University to help.
So far, $1.1 million has been expended to 60 businesses and one school district has received $70,000. Appropriations so far are at $1.6 million.
With the deadline to have all CARES paperwork complete by March 2021, Robinson said he is working to minimize any risk to the county while fulfilling the necessary oversight obligations.