The Marion County building in downtown Salem (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter)
UPDATE: This story has been updated with links to the grant application and how much money the county estimates each business will receive.
Millions of dollars are on the way to Marion County hospitality businesses as part of another effort by state government to help prop up the industry that’s been hobbled by pandemic restrictions.
At its Wednesday morning meeting, the Marion County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to create a new $3.5 million grant program for beleaguered leisure and hospitality businesses. The money is the county’s share of $55 million set aside by Gov. Kate Brown to help businesses affected by her recent shutdown order intended to control the spread of Covid.
The funding prioritizes the state’s hospitality industry, which has been hard hit by the pandemic, and will target small businesses and those owned by women and minorities. Brown tasked county governments with setting up grant programs to distribute the money, which came from federal pandemic relief funds.
“Today is a good day because I do have some good information to share with our small businesses out there,” said Barb Young, Marion County government relations manager, during the meeting.
Young said that applications, which will be in Spanish and English, are expected to be posted on the county’s website Thursday, Dec. 3 and will be open until 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11. Applications will be reviewed the week of Dec. 14 and checks will go out before Dec. 31, she said.
“We have a really tight timeline to put this all together,” she said.
Speaking after the meeting, Marion County spokeswoman Jolene Kelly said the county will send letters to business owners eligible for funding before posting the applications. Once applications are online, the county will announce they’re available with a press release, she said.
The application for the grant was posted to the county’s website and letter were sent out alerting business owners that money is available.
The county’s new grant program will target restaurants, food carts, commercial kitchens, camps, RV parks, hotels and pools licensed by Marion County Environmental Health. Young said the county will use a list of licensed businesses to reach out to them about the grant.
To be eligible, businesses (including nonprofits) need to be headquartered, registered and primarily operating in Oregon, Young said. They also must have been directly affected by the governor’s orders and can demonstrate a one-month decline in sales by 25% or more as well having taken on additional expenses since the pandemic, she said.
Businesses that saw seasonal drops in sales or other reasons not related to the pandemic are ineligible as well as those that owe federal, state or local taxes, she said. Neither are those that violate federal, state or local regulations or those that have closed permanently, she said.
Kelly said that the county intends to give each eligible business that applies an equal portion of the money. The amount of each grant will depend on how many apply, she said.
The county is anticipating about 1,360 applications for grants of about $2,500 each.
During the meeting, Commissioner Kevin Cameron pointed out imperfections in the new grant program. He said that movie theaters and gyms, which have been ordered to close, won’t be included in the grant program, (except for gyms that have pools licensed by the county).
Commissioner Colm Willis said the county would try to find a way to help businesses not covered by the program.
“We’re doing what we can do,” he said. “And we can only do what we can do.”
Because the program is paid for by federal pandemic relief funds, grants need to be spent before the end of the year. Willis said that it’s logistically difficult for the county to distribute the money.
To get the checks written before that deadline, the board also approved a contract with Public Partnerships, LLC to distribute the money. Part of the $3.5 million to fund the program will go towards the company’s costs, which are estimated to be $85,000.
Business owners who have questions or need assistance should contact Marion County Environmental Health at [email protected] or call 503-588-5346.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Polk County Board of Commissioners has not listed the grants on its upcoming agendas. Polk County Commissioner Craig Pope did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.
Contact reporter Jake Thomas at 503-575-1251 or [email protected] or @jakethomas2009.
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