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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPED 2020-08-03 Item 1A - COVID-19 - King County Coronavirus Relief Fund Grant for $31,965City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Planning and Economic Development Committee FROM: Derek Speck, Economic Development Administrator CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: July 27, 2020 SUBJECT: Business Recovery Update: Grants ISSUE Staff requests Committee approval to use a $31,965 grant from King County's Coronavirus Relief Fund. BACKGROUND King County allocated $1.95 million to cities within the County (except Seattle) to provide economic relief and support to small and underserved businesses. On June 19, the City of Tukwila was notified that we are eligible to receive $31,965. A copy of the County's objectives and eligible expenditures is attached. Eligible uses and examples of expenditures are described on page 2 of the attachment titled King County Corona Virus Relief Fund — Subrecipient Grant Agreement. Potential uses of these funds was briefly discussed at the Committee's meetings on July 6 and July 20. At the July 20 meeting the Committee focused on two options: (1) Issuing small grants directly to businesses. (2) Marketing Tukwila's International Boulevard through a program that includes small business grants in combination street pole banners or flags representing the United States and the main countries of origin for our residents with a social media component to attract visitors to the area. Staff has asked the County if street pole banners or flags would be an eligible expense under their grant criteria. They are looking into it and we hope to have their answer in time for the PED meeting. DISCUSSION Staff recommends using the funds to issue grants directly to small businesses. We recommend the following approximate allocation: Direct grants $26,000 Grant administrator $ 3,000 Interpretation and assistance $ 2,000 PPE 965 Total $31,965 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 Grants would be up to $1,000 each and would reimburse businesses for business interruption costs not previously satisfied by any other funding source. The grant administrator would be an organization, such as Evergreen Business Capital, which is a lender certified by the US Small Business Administration and a mission to provide financing to underserved communities. We recommend reserving some funds for interpretation and assistance. This could be used to translate documents, one-on-one interpretation, or small contracts with local non -profits to provide technical assistance in our top languages to help businesses fill out the application. Under this grant the City could purchase and give PPE to eligible businesses. That may be a useful way to introduce the program and build relationships with very small businesses. Due to the very limited funds, it would be unfortunate to set eligibility criteria so wide as to have many applications that would be rejected due to lack of funds. Also, due to the small size of the grants, it is important for the application process to be a simple as possible for the businesses, the grant administrator, and the City. Thus, in addition to other basic criteria, staff recommends the following key eligibility criteria: a) Businesses with fewer than 10 FTEs b) Located within the Tukwila International Boulevard District boundary c) Occupies a brick and mortar location (versus purely online) d) Gross annual revenues under $1 million e) Properly paid the City business license for past two years If we receive more applications than available funding, we recommend the following ranking criteria: a) Historically underserved business owner b) Financial impact due to COVID-19 pandemic c) Required to close under Washington State's Stay Home order d) Required to reduce capacity and operations under Washington's Safe Start order e) Serves key community need of child care Staff is available to discuss variations of the above program or other alternatives. FINANCIAL IMPACT No budget changes are requested at this time; however, we would need an amendment to the 2020 budget to reflect the grant revenue and matching expenses of up to $31,965. RECOMMENDATION Authorize staff to implement the small business grant program as described. ATTACHMENTS King County Corona Virus Relief Fund — Attachment C Scope of Work https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Mayor's Office/PED, August 3/King County Coronavirus Relief Fund/PED 2020-8-3 2 Infomemo Business Recovery Grants.doc 1. King County King County Coronavirus Relief Fund Subrecipient Grant Agreement Economic Development for Cities ATTACHMENT C - PROGRAM SCOPE OF WORK 1. Introduction On May 12, 2020, King County Council passed Ordinance 19103, which allocated a total of $1.95 million for a grant program to support King County cities' economic relief and recovery activities in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. This grant program is intended to help alleviate the significant adverse economic impact of COVID-19 on incorporated municipalities of King County. The funds will be distributed to every city of King County, except for the city of Seattle, based on per capita population with a minimum grant of $10,000. Note: With the grant minimum set at $10,000, some of the calculated city allocations will be adjusted slightly to keep the total programmatic allocation at $1.95 million. 2. Program Objectives/Outcomes King County is seeking to achieve the following outcomes with this grant program: a. Small businesses receive the support they need to overcome disruptions caused by COVID-19 b. Small businesses receive the support they need to safely re -opening while adhering to local public health guidance and operating guidelines designed to protect employees and customers c. Support underserved and other priority small businesses that have not been able to access other resources* d. Help small businesses restart quickly, recover from the impacts of the pandemic, and contribute to the overall economic stability of the community (i.e., revenues and jobs) While King County empowers the subrecipient to define 'small business', cities should prioritize grant funds to businesses that meet a reasonable standard of 'small' and have experienced acute business interruption or require immediate assistance to adapt their services to adhere to public health guidance and considerations. * For the purposes of this grant program, King County considers historically underserved business owners to be those from Black, Native, people of color, immigrant, refugee, and LGBTQ communities. 3. Eligible Expenditures The grant funds must be used for cities' economic relief and development activities in response to COVID-19. The funds should only be used for costs that were not accounted for in the city's 2019 fiscal year budget and must comply with all federal requirements set for the Treasury's Coronavirus Relief Fund (detailed in Attachment A "Federal Terms"). Expenditures must be incurred in the period from March 1, 2020, through December 30, 2020, and must be recorded and documented using the generally accepted accounting principles and the provisions of Title 2 CFR Part 200 — Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements. Attachment C — Scope of Work Page 1 of 2 3 LQKing County Expenditures may fall in any of the following broad categories: ❑ City internal operational expenditures ❑ City direct expenditures for small businesses ❑ Passthrough grants to small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures. The following list provides some examples of eligible expenditures: • Materials to give out to businesses to facilitate safe opening (e.g., PPE, sanitation supplies, plexiglass barriers, markers, signage) • Rental of materials to increase the outdoor seating capacity for restaurant businesses • Marketing materials for businesses • Passthrough grants to businesses to reimburse business interruption costs not previously satisfied by any other funding source • Technical assistance to businesses (consulting services) • Temporary staff hired to engage with businesses • Consulting Services (business surveys, training, city marketing materials, etc.) 4. Grant Documentation & Reporting EXIBIT # Form/Report Short Description Interval 1 Pre -award: risk Short survey to understand City's With the intake assessment questionnaire administrative capacity form preceding agreement signing 2 Federal Funding • Only for entities receiving grant funds in With the signed Accountability and excess of $25,000. agreement Transparency Act (FFATA) . King County will use this information to (if the grant amount Data Collection Form report to www.FSRS.gov within 30 days is in excess of of the award. $25,000) • Template attached. 3 Bi-monthly performance Summary expenditure report by eligible Bi-monthly report activity following agreement signing 4 An expenditure report A standard report generated from the Within 30 days of detailing all expenditures city's official accounting system or final payment up to the grant amount sufficient documentation to demonstrate utilizing grant funds grant expenditures, payee, and date of transaction 5 Direct Grant & A standard report that outlines all Within 30 days of Beneficiaries Report businesses who received a direct grant final payment payment from the city, detailing business utilizing grant funds information and key demographic indicators Attachment C — Scope of Work 12 Page 2 of 2