City, county release reports on CARES Act spending

People received direct cash payments for food, housing; officials say more federal aid is ‘critical’

Assistance programs for Santa Fe-area residents affected by the coronavirus pandemic received a significant share of nearly $32 million in federal CARES Act funding allocated to the city and county in the fall, reports released Monday showed.

CONNECT, a community assistance program organized by the city of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County — with the help of dozens of nonprofit partners — distributed a combined $7.65 million in aid.

Much of that funding was disbursed in direct cash payments to families, the reports said.

In September, the city received $17.5 million and the county just over $10.5 million, out of $100 million in CARES Act aid the state government allocated to local governments statewide for distribution by the end of 2020.

The county received an additional $3.8 million from a pot of $50 million for small-business grants, which was dispersed through a partnership with the town of Edgewood and the city of Santa Fe.

“I think it turned out to be a very effective way to get out funding,” Santa Fe County Manager Katherine Miller said, citing the efficiency of disbursements through partners involved in the CONNECT initiative.

“We got a lot more people signed up through CONNECT for that funding,” she said. “If we get another round, that is something we would hope to expand on.”

The local governments focused a large share of their federal funding on housing aid (a combined $1.72 million) and food assistance ($586,358).

Approximately 12,462 Santa Fe households received CARES Acts funds through CONNECT partner agencies, according to the city.

“We devoted a huge portion to direct payments to residents,” said Kyra Ochoa, acting director of the city’s Community Health and Safety Department. “I think we proved ourselves to the state that we could get these funds into the pockets of people who need them. We hope we will be considered for more funds in the future.”

Having the CONNECT network of community nonprofits and the online application system in place early in the pandemic made for a smooth distribution of CARES Act funding for individual and household needs, Miller said.

Distribution of small-business grants, on the other hand, required an entirely new process.

Rich Brown, the city’s director of economic development, who was in charge of distributing grants to small businesses, said 168 businesses and nonprofits in

the county received grants averaging $21,000.

By the end of March, he said, most of them will be looking for additional funds. He said he hoped the Biden administration would approve another round of pandemic aid.

Miller said there were about 100 businesses that missed out on aid due to a combination of issues with their applications, funding shortfalls and the Dec. 30 deadline to distribute the money.

“I think if we had a little more time and a little more money, we probably could have helped another 100 businesses,” she said.

Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber also noted the need for additional federal aid, at least until the pandemic begins to trend in a more positive direction.

“We are far from being out of the woods in terms of helping families, individuals, small businesses make it through this period of time until we can see things start to reopen,” Webber said. “Federal assistance is absolutely essential.” Miller said additional funding is “critical.” “Obviously the pandemic isn’t gone,” she said. “People are still out of jobs. There are businesses that are still closed . ... I just think there are a lot of people who are really in need.”

While direct aid to struggling families was a top priority, both the city and the county used some funding to help pay for shelters for residents facing housing insecurity.

The city spent $2 million to help purchase the former Santa Fe Suites hotel property on South St. Francis Drive and West Zia Road to house people vulnerable to homelessness during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The total purchase price of the 122-room hotel property was $7 million.

Webber said the facility is now serving 13 formerly homeless people and 25 permanent residents.

The county helped purchased the 14-unit Eagle Village Hotel in Española in December through a partnership with Pathways Shelter for $401,583. Pathways operates the property as a shelter for people who may need to quarantine due to a potential exposure to COVID-19 or a positive test.