12-14-20 Regular Meeting of the La Porte City Council (2)

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REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM Appropriation Agenda Date Requested:December 14, 2020 Source of Funds:032 Grant Fund Requested By:Corby Alexander, City Mgr. Department:Administration/CMO Account Number: Amount Budgeted:$600,000.00 ReportResolutionOrdinance Amount Requested:$124,300.00 Exhibits: Budgeted Item:YesNo SUMMARY& RECOMMENDATION In response to COVID-19, the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) was established by the CARES Act, which appropriated $150 billion to help state and local governments address the economic impacts of the coronavirus. Harris County received a direct allocation from the U.S. Treasury, and has established a Small Cities Assistance Program (SCAP) to provide appropriate reimbursement of Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to the respective small cities within the county. Expenses that are eligible for reimbursement under the SCAP must be incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020 and ends on December 30, 2020. The program allows Cities to take advantage of funding of up to $55 per capita, provided the City meets County requirements. The CRF allocation for La Porte is a maximum of $1,948,265.00. On September 28, 2020, City Council approved a CRF Funding Plan that allocated $300,000.00 fora Small Business Relief Fund for small businesses in La Porte, and $300,000.00 for an Emergency Household Assistance Program for residents of La Porte. The program guidelines were approved by City Council on October 12, 2020 and October 26, 2020, respectively. The initial application period for the La Porte Cares Small BusinessRelief Fund opened on October 23, 2020, and closed on November 4th. In this initial period, the City receiveda total of 25 applications. Of the 25 applications received, 17 weredetermined to be eligible. The Subcommittee of the La Porte Community Development Board and first met on November 11, 2020 to review applications. After meeting over a period of two days, the Subcommitteeawarded a total of $133,600 to 16 of the eligibleapplicants. Since the full $300,000.00 allocation was not expended during the initial period, the Cityopened Round Two of theSmall Business Relief Fund