Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Executive
Subject: Small Business Assistance Grants for Businesses in North Fair Oaks
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution approving an allocation of $512,500 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for 100 grants of $5,000 each (totaling $500,000) to eligible small businesses located in unincorporated North Fair Oaks impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and authorizing the County Executive, or designee(s), to negotiate and enter into an agreement with the SMCU Community Fund to administer and distribute the 100 grants in exchange for an administrative fee totaling $12,500.
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BACKGROUND:
Since the start of the pandemic, the County along with other funders have contributed $21.9 million in grants to 1,332 local small businesses. The first small business grant program launched in April of 2020 and provided grants to local businesses with $2,500,000 or less in annual gross income. Subsequent rounds of grants focused on businesses and business owners in targeted zip codes, set lower income caps, and have targeted businesses in sectors that were acutely impacted by COVID-19 such as restaurants, breweries, wineries, food trucks, food carts, catering companies, and other businesses.
The pandemic has impacted lower income communities and the small businesses that operate in them. Many of the small businesses in the County's lower income communities lack an online presence and/or digital literacy, making them more susceptible to pandemic-related shut downs and shifts in customer purchasing practices. Many of these same small businesses also faced staffing challenges and experienced both significantly reduced revenue and increased costs, and, as a result, have incurred substantial debt in order to remain in business over the past two years.
The unincorporated area of North Fair Oaks, a major commercial center ...
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