Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2020 05 06

Home Browse Search

ECONOMIC VITALITY COMMITTEE SUBJECT: DISCUSSION/DIRECTION- EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT PROGRAM UPDATE DATE: MAY 6, 2020 PRESENTED BY: MEGAN E. PIERCE, ECONOMIC VITALITY DIRECTOR SUMMARY: On April 7, 2020, the City Council reviewed the significant impacts the Louisville business community was experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Stay- at-Home Order. Council directed the Economic Vitality Committee (EVC) to develop a grant program focused on small businesses most impacted by the pandemic. The structure, administration, and criteria of a grant program was then considered by the EVC on April 13 and April 15. On April 17, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 31, Series 2020, approving the Emergency Solutions Grant Program. The grant program is funded by $250,000 of City General Fund monies as well as $100,000 of funding from the Louisville Revitalization Commission (LRC), specifically for businesses within the Highway 42 Revitalization Area. DISCUSSION/DIRECTION: The City began promoting the Emergency Solutions Grant Program on Monday, April 20. Promotions for the program were also carried by the Louisville Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business Association. On Monday and Tuesday, as I prepared the website form and process for the program to launch, I also interacted with numerous business owners as they attempted to understand the program and what they should prepare in anticipation of the application. The online application launched at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, April 22. A copy of the web form is included as Attachment #1. The bulk of the applications were received within the first three hours of the application availability. The application remained open through Friday, April 25 at 5:00 PM. Any business that submitted an incomplete application or was missing the required documentation was individually contacted and given the opportunity to correct their form. Through the application period, there was a great deal of phone call and email traffic, but I feel relatively little generated by technical difficulties; it was mostly applicants seeking additional context about how the program would be administered and the anticipated timing of funding. Between my office and Sales Tax staff, we also received and answered questions related to industry categories of certain business types. By the time the application window had closed, I had downloaded all applications and given them a cursory review to determine completeness. After completeness, the next major review process was eligibility—including number of employees, licensed businesses, and types of businesses. After this determination, and sorting the applicants by the period of their Sales or Use Tax filing (monthly, quarterly,