$7.5M in grants available to Pierce County businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic
Businesses can apply for $7.5 million in grants for COVID-19 expenses and rental assistance from Pierce County.
Pierce County Council approved the additional financial assistance last week, and the application process for both programs opened Monday.
The $158 million provided to Pierce County in the federal CARES Act will fund the two grant programs, a council statement said.
“Through this program we hope to provide much needed financial aid to businesses that are currently operating, but who are limited in their activities under the state’s ‘Safe Start’ reopening plan,” Pierce County Council vice chairman Dave Morell said in a statement.
COVID-19 costs
The council’s action makes an additional $5 million available for business expenses incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The initial $5 million program was passed in May and helped over 600 businesses, Morell said. Initially, the legislation provided most businesses with $8,000 and care facilities with $10,000. The initial $5 million has yet to be fully spent, council spokesperson Brynn Grimley said.
The council now has expanded the aid to businesses to include more organizations and provide more funding to larger businesses.
Those with 21 to 100 full-time equivalent employees can be awarded up to $25,000. Facilities providing care to the elderly or other vulnerable adults with more than 100 employees can receive up to $50,000.
To qualify, businesses must:
Include a written plan for how the organization is operating under new “Safe Start” guidelines related to COVID-19 including social distancing, workplace sanitation, employee workplace hazard education, and procedures to address employees, clients, and customers who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19
Provide documentation of COVID-19 related expenditures already spent based on receipts and photos of the workplace
Be open and located in Pierce County
For more questions, contact PCAdaptGrant@piercecountywa.gov.
Rent and mortgage assistance
A second bill allocated $2.5 million in grants to provide rent or mortgage assistance to businesses.
The funding is designed to help businesses whose operations are “significantly restricted in Phase 2, or who cannot open until Phase 3 or 4 of the ‘Safe Start’ reopening plan are eligible for assistance.”
Businesses that qualify could receive up to three months of commercial rent or mortgage payment assistance, a press release said.
The grant will not exceed $5,000 per month, or the monthly rent or mortgage obligation for the business, whichever is lesser. The amount will be paid directly to landlords or the tender identified in the lease agreement.
“Businesses cannot receive more than $15,000 in assistance under the program,” a Pierce County Council press release said.
To be eligible, businesses must:
• Document how operations and activities are limited by the “Safe Start” reopening plan
• Demonstrate at least a 25 percent revenue reduction attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Prove the business was in operation and occupying commercial space under a lease or rental agreement or commercial mortgage in Pierce County prior to March 23, 2020
• Prove the business continues to be in operation and occupying commercial space under a lease or rental agreement or commercial mortgage in Pierce County.
Those interested can apply here. For questions, contact PCBizRAMA@piercecountywa.gov.
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 11:00 AM.
