LEMON GROVE TO HELP BUSINESSES
City to use $650K to aid those struggling during pandemic
LEMON GROVE
Lemon Grove will dole out about $650,000 to small businesses in the city to help them cover some of their losses caused by the COVID-19 health emergency.
The city will be setting up a small business emergency fund, looking to share money this fall. The City Council has not decided how much eligible businesses will get, but the City Council last week considered giving up to $10,000 per eligible business.
Criteria will be shared on the city’s official website and will include stipulations that the business looking for financial assistance must have been open for business in Lemon Grove as of March 12, 2020; be a brick-and-mortar establishment that has between 1 and 20 employees; and not be a major chain franchise or nonprofit establishment.
City Manager Lydia
Romero said the last number she had received detailing the total number of businesses in Lemon Grove that could possibly be funded would be about 190.
Businesses applying must show that all the expenditures will be consistent with provisions of the CARES Act. Necessary expenditures incurred due to the public emergency with respect to COVID-19 include:
• Medical expenses, including thermometers and testing for employees that serve vulnerable populations;
• Costs to enforce health orders, including shielding, thermometers and markings, additional tables, signs;
• Sanitizing expenses and increased janitorial services;
• Costs of personal protective equipment, including sanitizer, gloves, masks and sneeze guards;
• Covid-related payroll and health insurance;
• Expenses associated with distance or remote working;
• Expenses for care of homeless individuals;
• Unemployment insurance costs;
• Costs of quarantined workers;
• Back rent, due to COVID-19 closure;
• Expenses related to an outdoor dining or sales plans.
The city was able to procure the funds because of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) signed by President Trump in March. In that package was the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), in which $150 billion was allocated to states and local municipalities across the country.
The county of San Diego received $344 million in CARES money, of which a little more than $480,000 was approved in May by the County Board of Supervisors to be shared with Lemon Grove. Those funds must be used by Sept. 30. In addition, the recently signed state budget has allotted an additional $334,000 to Lemon Grove for CRF needs, which needs to be spent by Oct. 31.
About $150,000 of Lemon Grove’s allotment of just
over $815,000 will be used to cover costs for the city related to COVID-19 impacts such as creating more sanitary work spaces, the purchase of more personal protective equipment and staff time. It also includes future estimated needs related to COVID-19 as well, City Manager Lydia Romero said.
Romero said businesses included are:
• Restaurants, cafes and other places offering food or beverages for on-site consumption;
• Bars, breweries, microbreweries and other places offering alcohol for on-site consumption;
• Gyms, fitness centers, exercise studios, tattoo parlors, massage therapy, spas, salons, nail salons and barber shops
• Small general retail facilities such as gift shops, florists, sporting goods stores, mechanic services, bakeries, candy stores, convenience stores and other retail shops similar in nature.
City Councilman Jerry Jones lobbied for the financial help to include some of the city’s franchises that are still run by locals.
“Both our 7-Elevens were shut down throughout the (health emergency),” Jones said. “Those places a lot of times are mom-and-pop places. They’re not getting rich there, believe me.”
The City Council will come back at its July 21 meeting to hash out further details about how it would allocate the funds, and noted that it will involve the businesses needing to fill out paperwork with the city and will eventually be audited by both the county and state.