A total of $122,424 in small business COVID-19 relief grants was approved for 16 small businesses Friday by the Grays Harbor County Board of Commissioners.
This was the first round of funding of up to $500,000 in federal CARES Act funds the commissioners allocated to assist small businesses that suffered losses amid COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions. Applications went live online in June. The county qualified for more than $4 million in CARES Act funds, which are earmarked specifically for costs and losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 30 applications were received for the grants of up to $10,000 each. Of those, 16 were approved for varying levels of funding by the county, while the remaining 14 will be sent back to the applicants for more financial data.
The applications were reviewed by the county’s .09 Advisory Committee, which normally reviews Distressed Rural County Economic Development grant applications.
“Five members of that seven-member committee went through all the applications one-by-one,” said Mark Cox, Director of Utilities and Community Development. “The majority of issues that were found were with insufficient financial data, and we are going to return those to the applicants to give them an opportunity to resubmit with all the data.”
Businesses that were approved for funding included:
• Devonshire Pet Lodge, Montesano, $10,000
• Playtime Family Fun, Ocean Shores, $10,000
• Divine Designs Hair Salon, Elma, $6,000
• Red Lotus Creations/The Cat’s Away Studio, Grayland, $1,266
• Cachalot Kites and Toys, Westport, $10,000
• Harbor Awards, Hoquiam, $3,875
• Mac’s Cigar Store, Aberdeen, $10,000
• War Byrd Battle Labs, Aberdeen, $10,000
• Dirty Dogs, Ocean Shores, $4,224.92
• Pacific Polygraph and Investigations, Ocean Shores, $6,000
• Action NW Guide Service, McCleary, $9,484.31
• Logan’s Inn, Montesano, $4,500
• Stormy’s Used Cars, Elma, $7,164
• D&M Machine Division Inc., Montesano, $10,000
• Suplay Products Inc., Elma, $10,000
• Standard Truss Inc., Aberdeen, $10,000
“My assumption is that no application thus far has been denied?” Commissioner Vickie Raines asked Cox.
“No,” said Cox. “All the applications that didn’t make the first cut were returned and we asked them to clarify the financial information and resubmit.”
Part of the requirement for acceptance was providing clear financial data describing the specific economic impact the businesses suffered so far due to pandemic-related regulations.
“The financial data was all over the board or not provided at all (on some of the applications), which makes it hard to figure out the losses,” said Cox.
If the businesses that did not get approval the first time around can provide the required financial data, they could qualify for funding in the next round.
“This is just the first cycle, we have a few more to go through, and I’m optimistic we’ll get through all these and get the money out there as soon as possible,” said Cox.
CARES Act funds are reimbursable funds managed by the state Department of Commerce. Because they are reimbursable funds, the county must come up with the original outlay of grant funds, then apply with Commerce for reimbursement.
