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Economic Vitality Committee <br />Meeting Minutes <br />December 18, 2020 <br />Page 2 of 4 <br />maximum employee requirement and advocated that the grant amount be <br />enough to make a difference for businesses <br />Chair Dickinson noted his concurrence with almost all Mayor Pro Tern <br />Maloney's points and said he felt the tiebreaker should be a discussion point <br />since there would not likely be funding for all those that could apply. He agreed <br />with staff's recommendation of $5,000 grants and suggested prioritizing funding <br />by types of business: restaurants/bars, gyms/fitness users, and then limited <br />health service providers. <br />Councilmember Leh said that since relief from Level Red restrictions is not in <br />sight, it made sense to benefit those most affected by this dial level. He <br />suggested using applicant acknowledgements where possible to not add too <br />much administrative complexity. He questioned whether the limitation on <br />employees should still be included in eligibility to make sure the aid went to <br />small businesses. <br />The Committee discussed the potential for prior grant recipients to still <br />participate in this program and whether they should be funded after others that <br />had not yet received funding. With Director Pierce, they also reviewed some of <br />the concerns from the Emergency Solutions Grant program regarding <br />employment size and businesses that factor may have excluded. <br />Mr. Oberholzer commented that the Committee should consider allowances for <br />types of businesses that may have fallen through the cracks. He also suggested <br />a tiered system for funding, possibly related to the amount of financial hardship <br />a business has experienced. <br />Mr. Rick Kron expressed gratitude for the additional funding to the Recovery & <br />Improvement Matching Grant program. He said targeted and simplified grants <br />were the most important item to consider. He suggested Louisville should be <br />lobbying to be separated from Boulder County in terms of restrictions on <br />businesses. He agreed with having businesses certify that they have <br />experienced financial hardship. <br />Ms. Barbara Butterworth agreed with Mr. Oberholzer's suggestions and said <br />she liked the idea of tiered grant amounts. <br />Following public comments on the item, Chair Dickinson revisited the decision <br />points around grant eligibility with the Committee for consensus. They agreed <br />on the eligible business types and prioritizing them for funding in the order of: <br />restaurants/bars, gyms/fitness users, and limited health service providers. In the <br />need to break a tie for amount of funding, staff would use first come, first serve. <br />The Committee felt that it is too hard to measure damage in trying to get this <br />program administered quickly and so agreed to have grants of one level at <br />Agenda Packet P. 3 <br />