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A new grant program aimed at providing financial relief to store businesses affected by ongoing road construction will be introduced to the city council next week.
City officials are proposing to allocate $2.25 million in federal funds from the American Relief Plans Act (ARPA), giving eligible business owners up to $35,000 to help cover costs suffered by the COVID pandemic and city-funded construction projects. offsetting losses.
For months, bar owners and others on N. St. Mary’s Street and elsewhere have complained of slowing sales and infrastructure work affecting parking and pedestrian safety. .
The grant program is designed to provide some assistance to such businesses that are just beginning to recover from the economic devastation caused by the pandemic, said Mayor Eric Walsh.
If approved by the council, the COVID/Construction Recovery Grants program will be managed by the non-profit LiftFund and will be available to businesses with stores in 14 designated areas where major construction blocks customer access will be
These areas include Broadway Street, Boulevarde Road, Commerce Street, Ballera Parkway, Fredericksburg Road, Harry Wurtzbach, Austin Highway, North Main Avenue and Soledad, North New Braunfels, North St. Includes Santa Rosa and West commercial districts. Commerce and streets around the Alamo.
Applications are scored according to business size and net revenue loss, and grants between $10,000 and $35,000 are awarded accordingly. Funds can be used for operating expenses such as working capital, labor, supplies, and utilities.
In 2022, the City Council allocated $17 million in ARPA funding for the COVID Impact Grants program for small businesses in 19 designated construction zones. So far, only 117 applicants have qualified for the fund. New programs will be funded with a portion of these dollars.
In early December, Department of Economic Development staff planned to use another recently budgeted $400,000 for a construction mitigation pilot program to help businesses meet construction challenges.
Walsh said he plans to act quickly to implement the new proposed grant program, starting with ensuring that companies recognize the program.
“If the council is OK with that, I have the authority to implement this program under the existing ARPA Act, so we moved pretty quickly,” he said.
Walsh said he is also working to change the way the city manages construction projects to ensure work is done on time and to improve communication with all those affected by major projects. said.
At a weekly meeting with business owners, city officials and contractors on the St. It said it would be completed “in the summer or sooner.”
The project will start in May 2021 and is expected to be completed in December. Hosseini explained that weather conditions, both wet and cold, set back parts of the project.
But at least one bar owner wanted to know how to hold a contractor accountable for problems and project delays that the business owner thought could be avoided.
The city hasn’t criticized the contractor’s work, but Walsh told the San Antonio Report that he plans to introduce legislation to Congress at the end of January that could “skip underperforming contractors” during the bidding process. said. , He said.
“What I expect is the delivery of these infrastructure projects on schedule, over-communication to affected stakeholders, and upholding the commitments we get from voters to deliver the projects. that’s it,” he said.
In addition to holding contractors accountable, Walsh said the city plans to improve how it coordinates projects with utilities and telecommunications companies involved in road construction projects.
“The public expects it to be their money and I certainly expect it because it’s my responsibility,” he said.
The council will hear clarifications and a vote on the proposed COVID/Construction Recovery Grants Program on Wednesday.
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