Nancy Edmonds Hanson
The city of Moorhead is putting finishing touches on a $2 million program of grants to help small businesses, nonprofits and independent contractors cope with the financial effects of the pandemic.
A website and online application process was being set up at the time The Extra went to press. It is expected to go live at 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17, providing details of who is – and is not – eligible for the grants. Applications will be accepted through the end of the month. They’ll be reviewed by a six-member committee of city staffers, with checks expected to be written in late September and early October.
That’s the outline shared with the Moorhead City Council at its regular meeting Monday. Acting city manager Dan Mahli, government affairs director Lisa Bode and Downtown Moorhead Inc. president/CEO Derrick LaPoint detailed how the local CARE team of city department heads laid plans for distribution of $3.28 million apportioned to the community by the state of Minnesota using funding from the U.S. Treasury via the federal CARES Act.
Mahli said more than 250 residents reviewed the plan via an online survey. He reported 83% supported the proposed allocation of the city’s share of the money – $1.28 million – among needs ranging from the cost of software and equipment for teleworkers and remote meetings to expenditures for sanitizing and protective supplies, maintenance and cleaning duct work. A portion is also earmarked for protecting voters and poll workers during this week’s primary and November’s general elections.
An even larger majority, 93%, approved of the plan to aid struggling businesses and community organizations. As explained by LaPoint – who consults with the city on economic development – the local team has largely followed Minnesota’s lead in laying out its Small Business Economic Relief Grants … with several key differences tailored to suit the needs of a border city.
The state grant program was operated by the Department of Employment and Economic Development; when its program was announced late last spring, 30,000 businesses applied for $62 million in funding. Six thousand ultimately received grants, including only 260 in the west central region stretching from St. Cloud to Moorhead.
One half of the new local program is being used for grants of up to $10,000 for small businesses with 20 or fewer employees. The other slice of the $2 million total is earmarked in equal parts for certain nonprofit organizations known as 501(c)3s and 501(c)19s; sole proprietors and independent contractors; and minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses. The proportions may be adjust depending on the volume of requests by category.
As Mahli explains it, one big difference between the state’s grant framework and the one being tweaked for local applicants is that the original barred businesses owned by non-Minnesota residents. Moorhead’s program will not; businesses that operate in the city but whose owners live across the river are eligible for the awards. Another difference is that entrepreneurs and recent start-ups may apply for the city’s grants. The state program required that applicants had been in operation for at least 12 months.
La Point noted that Clay County also has received CARES funding and is currently determining how to apportion it equitably across other businesses throughout the county.
Companies that already received MN DEED grants cannot “double-dip.” However, those that have already received SBA loans under other CARES Act provisions may also apply for the grants. “Our goal is to spread these funds as far as we can and not leave anybody behind,” he told the council.
At the time the Extra went to press, city IT staffers were setting up a separate website to accept applications and laying out the online application process. When operational, the site will be linked to the home page of the city’s official page, www.cityofmoorhead.com.
D-S Beverages grows
D-S Beverages was approved for a property tax exemption for its expansion project – a 20,000-sq.-ft. warehouse that will be built adjacent to its existing facility at 201 17th St. N. The facility will be constructed on the site of the now-defunct All-Star Bowl and Northsider. Completion is expected in late 2021.
LaPoint reported the warehouse will enable the expanding beverage distributor to better serve its 1,000 retail customers within a 100-mile radius of Moorhead. With an estimated price tag of $1.3 million, the project was approved for a commercial-industrial tax exemption totaling $106,000 over five years.
Mayor Johnathan Judd applauded owner Doug Restemayer for increasing his investment in the Moorhead business community. He noted that the company, founded by Restemayer’s father-in-law Don Setter in 1968, was recently named one of ten Ambassadors of Excellence by Anheuser-Busch. “We’re proud to know that one of the top distributors in the nation was built and continues to grow right here in Moorhead,” he said.
