County Offers Details for Restaurant Grant Program
LOCK HAVEN, PA – With more than a few Clinton County restaurants either temporarily closed or limited to take-out service only, the Clinton County Commissioners have announced a grant program to assist restaurants while dealing with COVID-19. The program will be funded by $50,000 from the federal CARES program and carries a quick turn-around: applications in by Dec. 14 and money spent by the end of December.
The formal county announcement:
Beginning Monday, December 7 through Monday, December 14 at 5:00 PM, Clinton County businesses dedicated to serving food are encouraged to apply for round two of the CARES funding through the county. $50,000.00 has been earmarked. The grant application is being prepared by the Clinton County Planning Office and will be available December 7 at 8:00 AM on the Clinton County Government website homepage at www.clintoncountypa.com.
The Federal CARES funding is a County Relief Block Grant processed through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development.
Like all Federal CARES grant funds, the businesses will need to spend the monies by December 30, 2020. The grant can be used to offset eligible expenses from March 1, 2020 through December 30, 2020. Eligible expenses include but are not limited to; equipment needed to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic, operating expenses, payroll, rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance, advertising, PPE, cleaning supplies, and any cost associated with the preparation of the place of business to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
“We urge all establishments to apply. The window on turning this around is only open for five days, so get your applications in”, said Commissioner Miles Kessinger.
The timeline for the grant is tight. The commissioners will need to review applications after the 14th, work with Planning on business agreements, and get checks through the Treasurer’s office so that the businesses can apply the funds before the Dec. 30 deadline. The goal is to have the process completed by December 18.
Commissioner Jeff Snyder added, “The commissioners are encouraging businesses to apply, we recognize how difficult this time has been and we are happy to be able to offer this financial assistance”.
“With the increased restrictions on our food serving industry and the increase of cases in our community, we felt that our restaurants and food serving businesses were the most in need at this time” said Commissioner Angela Harding.
The Commissioners did note that they are looking at options for assisting businesses during the first quarter of 2021, predicting that the pandemic will still play a role in the reduction of revenues.
If any qualifying businesses have questions, they may contact Kari Kepler, Grants Administrator in the Clinton County Planning Office at 570.893.4080 extension 2 or email kkepler@clintoncountypa.com.
