Plumas County businesses will receive nearly $146,900 in grant funding designed to backfill some of the losses they suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The checks going out to 14 microbusiness owners are the second round of funds made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, approved by the U.S. Congress March 27, 2020. They are part of a $5 billion federal COVID relief program aimed at promoting economic stability and assisting with eligible business expenses.
Each check represents a reimbursement to a small business that persevered through the year-long pandemic and kept its operations open, said Plumas County Planning Director Tracey Ferguson.
“They are a long time coming. We appreciate the patience of these businesses in the allocation of this money,” she said.
First come, first served
In January, the Plumas County Board of Supervisors amended the local interpretation of the federal program to increase the number of months for reimbursement from three to 12 and expand eligible expenses. In March, a total of 20 microbusinesses shared $262,569 in CARES Act funds.
That left $146,892 in money still available, Ferguson said. The supervisors agreed to allow microbusinesses that received awards to reapply for additional funds from the pool remaining after the initial grants were awarded.
In June the supervisors faced a choice. They could divide the remaining funds among all 20 applicants or they could award them in order of their application process. The supervisors had used a first-come, first-served system in the first round of grants.
The Plumas County Board of Supervisors decided June 18 to continue that system. Changing the methodology for the second round could cause legal issues, said Josh Brechtel, interim county counsel. The supervisors unanimously approved repeating the funding system on a motion by Supervisor Jeff Engel, seconded by Supervisor Kevin Goss.
Complicated application process
Each recipient was eligible for up to $50,000. Grant awards to Plumas County businesses range in size from less than $10,000 to the $50,000 maximum, Ferguson said. Among the recipients are tourism-based businesses, automotive businesses, retail businesses and media businesses. All have five or fewer employees, including the owner.
Strict eligibility standards eliminated many potential applicants, and the application process itself was not for the faint of heart. “It took hours and hours,” said Mat Fogarty, owner of Crescent Mills Inc. His business includes the Crescent Hotel and several adjacent buildings.
Other businesses earning second-round funding include Young’s Market in Taylorsville, Frank’s Garage in Quincy, Pearson Realty in Portola and Lazzarino Machine Works in Quincy. First-round recipients who were not included in round two include Mary Cheek, CPA, of Chester, LaPorte General Store and Deli of LaPorte, Neff Automotive of Crescent Mills and Jeremy DeOcampo Pump and Well Service LLC of Meadow Valley.
All of them continued to pay their employees, their rents or mortgages and their utility bills despite the disruption to their businesses caused by the pandemic. The CARES Act reimbursements are a way of “paying it forward for keeping their businesses going,” Ferguson said.
“They supported the county and sustained their employees,” she said.