MSE has grants for virus-affected businesses

As Main Street El Dorado awaits word about a nationwide effort to petition elected officials in

Congress to help local programs and small businesses across the country with coronavirus (COVID-19) relief, state officials have stepped in to offer aid to participating Main Street communities in Arkansas who are facing hardships due to the ongoing public health crisis.

Late last month, Stacy Hurst — secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism — announced there will be an increase in annual Downtown Revitalization Grants (DTRGs) for local communities that participate in the Main Street Arkansas network.

DTRGs are available to accredited Main Street programs for building rehabilitations, parks, streetscape improvements and other design-related projects that will have major, long-term impacts in the local Main Street area.

Main Street Arkansas is part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, through which the grants are funneled. The grants are funded by the state’s Real Estate/ Property Transfer Tax.

Hurst said the total amount of DTRG awards for the 2021 fiscal year more than doubled the amount for FY 2020, going from $249,500 to $559,000.

FY 2021 grant awards range from $3,000 to $25,000 for Main Street and Downtown Partnership communities across the state.

With the increase, state officials responded to needs that were expressed by local communities in a survey that was conducted earlier this year by the national Main Street program, which is made up of a network of more than 1,600 commercial districts and 300,000 small businesses.

More than 200 small businesses from Main Street and Downtown Partnership communities in Arkansas responded to the survey. El Dorado was among them.

MSE and downtown merchants contributed to key findings in the survey, which indicated that:

• Millions of small businesses in the U.S. are at great risk of closing permanently if the COVID19 outbreak continues for the next several months.

• The public health crisis has had a devastating effect on small businesses’ revenue and as a result, millions of small-business employees are at risk of unemployment or have been unemployed.

Scott Kaufman, director of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, said state officials learned more in a follow-up survey with Main Street communities in the state.

“They told us that the most beneficial assistance to them would be rent relief, utility bill relief and payroll assistance. I am very pleased that we can offer this additional assistance in such trying times,” Kaufman said.

Added Hurst, “Our Main Street businesses are the anchors of our communities. Main Street owners know their customers and see them every day.”

“Through these grants and the patronage of their friends and neighbors, these businesses will continue to drive local economies and contribute to Arkansas’s bright future,” Hurst continued.

Beth Brumley, executive director of Main Street El Dorado, said the group typically receives an annual DTRG in the amount of $15,000.

She said the $10,000 increase was welcome news for MSE and the merchants within the footprint of the commercial district, which covers most of downtown El Dorado and extends south along Washington Avenue to Hillsboro/U.S. 82B.

Brumley said the amount of the DTRGs are based on the size of the business population within the commercial districts of each community and the level of participation for local programs, including whether communities are Main Street or Downtown Network partners.

“El Dorado is one of the cities that received the largest amount because we have a great occupancy rate downtown, Brumley said.

Brumley said there are approximately 170 businesses operating in downtown El Dorado, adding that about 50 storefronts contain a mix of retail shops, restaurants and offices/service-oriented businesses.

Some downtown buildings also include upperfloor residential space.

Brumley said the DTRG funds came through on July 31 and MSE board members are putting together plans for how the grant will be administered.

Plans include a line item to help provide COVID-19 relief for downtown businesses.

DTRG funds will also be used for MSE’s annual mini-grant program, a matching grant that offers up to $1,500 to help downtown businesses with maintenance and repairs.

“There are close to 60 or 70 retail stores and restaurants downtown. There are also a lot of service businesses downtown that might apply because they still have rent, payroll and utilities,” Brumley said.

Brumley said that once the details are hammered out for the COVID-19 relief component, the grant application and award process should turn around fairly quickly for candidates.

“This is not matching like the mini-grants so it shouldn’t take too long. They need the money right now so we’re looking at two weeks to apply, a week to decide and then we give you your money,” Brumley said.

Brumley lauded Gov. Asa Hutchinson and AHPP officials for their efforts to assist local Main Street programs and agreeing to increase this year’s DTR grant awards.

“We’re excited and we’re ready to get that into the hands of our small business owners,” she said.

Brumley also said responses are have begun trickling in from downtown merchants for another COVID-relief program: a small-business grant that is being offered by The Hartford Financial Services Group, a Connecticut-based investment and insurance company, in partnership with Main Street America, MSE’s parent organization.