Grants helped nearly 70 in the city

CARES Act funding a lifeline in pandemic

LEOMINSTER » With the $175,000 of CARES Act money targeted to help small businesses survive the shutdown caused by the pandemic nearly exhausted, the city says the program was a success.

“They were very thankful and all told us about their struggles to make it through,” said Ellen Racine, the city’s Community Block Development Grant and Housing Rehabilitation Coordinator.

The city opened up the small business grant program in early May, using $175,000 of $272,508 provided by the federal government.

Within only a few weeks, 53 businesses had already taken advantage of the program, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said in early June.

We have to do everything we can to keep them open,” Mazzarella said about the businesses at the time.

Since then, the city has allocated $167,500 to nearly 70 businesses.

“There were all kinds of businesses that took advantage of the program,” Racine said.

She said nail and beauty salons, a few restaurants and bars, a tax preparer, a dentist, a few vendors who operate in the Mall

at Whitney Field, a tuxedo rental business, a music teacher, and a tae kwon do studio were just several of the nearly 70.

And while the grant money helped those businesses stay afloat, Racine said one additional benefit of the program the city hadn’t expected was creating a line of communication between it and the businesses.

She said when speaking with businesses that had applied for a grant, many of the owners said they needed guidance on reopening and were unsure how.

“When we got those questions, we pointed them to the building commissioner and Board of Health,” Racine said.

When the city was granted the CARES Act money, not only did it set up the small business program, but is also set aside $65,000 to be used for emergency assistance, especially to low-income individuals and senior citizens.

Racine said those types of requests, which ranged from utility bill help to purchasing appliances like refrigerators and stoves, were usually funneled to the Fitchburg social services agency Making Opportunity Count before the pandemic and lockdown.

With MOC stretched thin during the lockdown, the city stepped in, she said.

The city also socked away $32,000 of the federal funding to be available if it is needed to “help down the road,” Racine said.

As Mazzarella said in early June, Racine echoed about the importance of helping those small businesses in the city get through the pandemic.

“Hopefully, they won’t go away and get through this and it was nice we got to help them,” Racine emphasized.