Officials to distribute 2nd round of grants

Economic Development Manager to officially request for new small business virus aid package.

Mayfield Village officials distributed $50,000 in grants to small businesses in October, and are moving forward in opening up applications for a second round of funds.

According to Economic Development Manager John Marquart, the funds that Mayfield Village provided to small businesses came directly from the city’s established economic development fund.

Marquart said the administration began considering an aid program for the community’s small businesses at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and after observing how many businesses were still struggling even after some of them received federal grants, there was still a need.

“It became clear that not everybody who needed the help got the help. So we got back together and decided to offer this program,” Marquart said.

He said they were able to distribute $2,500 grants to 20 small business applicants, which exhausted the available funds his department had requested from city council.

“We arrived at $2,500 per company as a figure that was sort of significant enough to be helpful, but also sort of small enough that would allow us to spread the wealth around the village,” Marquart said.

However, after the deadline to apply for a grant had passed, he said he was approached by several businesses who had not been able to complete an application for various reasons.

Marquart said this indicated to him that need still existed for additional funds.

He said that he plans to approach the city council at their Nov. 16 meeting to request an additional $25,000 from the economic development fund, and anticipates the request will pass.

According to Marquart, if it passes, the grant applications should open up again quickly.

In order to qualify for the $2,500, small businesses have to meet a series of criteria, including having a brickand-mortar presence in Mayfield Village, less than 20 full-time employees, and demonstrate a negative financial impact due to coronavirus.

Marquart said that overall their small businesses have held on well during the pandemic. He said that he did not believe any of them have permanently closed.

“I made a point actually of hand delivering the checks for the first round and it was terrific to see the gratitude and also talk with them about their perseverance and their grit,” he said. “All of them were really happy to see us walk in with the funds, but also equally happy to tell us that, ‘hey, we’ve made it, we’ve treaded water.’”

Lakeshore Dance and Gymnastics was one of the businesses to receive a grant.

Owner Sally DeAngelo said it helped her business its their personal protective equipment, since she said prices of simple items such as hand sanitizer had skyrocketed over the pandemic.

She said that they should be able to stretch the grant money “about three or four months.”