By Haylee Pence
TROY – On Thursday, June 30, the Miami County Commissioners met to authorize several resolutions, including four resolutions authorizing grant agreements with various small businesses throughout Miami County through the Miami County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Small Business Relief Grant Programs.
The total grant amount awarded was $741,774 to a total of 39 different businesses. The commissioners abstained from voting for businesses that they had a personal connection with, but all 39 businesses will receive grants in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
The Miami County ARPA Small Business Relief Grant Program started taking applications at the end of February 2022 with an application deadline of May 31. Businesses had to supply documentation of tax returns, payroll, and proof of expenses, according to Charlotte Colley, Miami County administrator.
The applications that were received went through a review process, and the business had to meet certain criteria before being selected. The review process began with the Department of Development staff then went to a subcommittee of Miami County’s ARPA Committee and then to the entire ARPA Committee.
The criteria the businesses had to meet included an “impact on their revenue between 2019 and 2021, and/or increases in workforce costs associated with need to retain/recruit employees, 50 full-time-equivalent employees or less at time of application, less than $5 million in gross annual revenue per most recent federal tax return, registered to do business in Ohio and in operation since at least January 1, 2020, operating within the jurisdictional boundaries of Miami County, Ohio, and in good standing with local, state, and federal jurisdictions with respect to taxes, fees, utility payments, and other financial obligations,” said Colley.
The small businesses can expect to receive their grant funds based on when they sign their grant agreement with most grants being received at the end of July.
A citizen approached the commissioners to ask the origin of the grant funds, to which Colley replied. The grant funds were received from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act in which Miami County received $10 million in 2021 and will receive another $10 million in 2022. The commissioners created a board to determine the projects and programs that could and needed the funding.
As of currently, the Miami County Commissioners have not made a decision to determine if the second $10 million received will be utilized for this program, according to Colley.
Commissioner Gregory Simmons stated, “I’m very thankful we’ve been able to put that money back out into our community through our small businesses.”
“The small businesses are the backbone of our community. A lot of times, these economic opportunities often leave out small organizations and small businesses. I’m very pleased we made a very specifically driven program for these small businesses,” Commissioner Vice President Wade Westfall commented.
“When we looked at this money, we really felt that we needed to give back to those in the community that really needed it. We really wanted to get this back out to the public,” Commissioner President Ted Mercer said.
Then, the commissioners certified the 2023 annual maintenance assessments for the single county ditches and authorized the assessment to be sent to the County Auditor. There is a total of 23 ditches in the assessment.
The commissioners authorized the Subdivider’s Agreement with 3 GEN D, LLC for the construction of Fenner Farms Subdivision. The resolution also authorized the signing of a Record Plat of Fenner Farms Subdivision.
The next resolution was to approve the employment of two full-time social services case aides for the Department of Job and Family Services with a pay rate of $17.82/hour. It also approved the employment of a full-time maintenance utility worker for the Maintenance Department for a pay rate of $18.15/hour.
The commissioners approved an amendment to a previous resolution to reflect a total increase in travel and training for a member of the Communication Center to attend the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) Conference and CMCP Training in Kentucky. The increase was $142.36 for a total cost of $2,901.81.
The next resolution was to amend a previous resolution for the Department of Job and Family Services involving the purchase of a 2014 Chevy Cruze Sedan to reflect a new total cost of $14,283 which saw an increase of $35 to include title fees and temporary tag fees.
The final resolution was to authorize the agreement between the Miami County Sheriff’s Office and the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services, which involves the Sheriff’s Office providing two officers and a cruiser for hospital transportation services. The grant the Sheriff’s Office receives for these services is in the amount of $7,500.
