County submits application for CDBG-CV funding

Cloud County will submit an application for $300,000 in Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Response Supplement (CDBG-CV) Economic Development funding.
The county board of commissioners, during its regular meeting on Tuesday, authorized chairman Bill Czapanskiy to sign the necessary documents for the grant application.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly dedicated more than $9 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding provided by the federal government to the CDBG-CV program to provide communities with funding to help businesses.
The funds are available for non-entitlement city and counties, which includes Cloud County.
Businesses, within the communities and counties that receive funds, can apply for the grants. They must be for-profit businesses in existence as of March 1, 2020, and retaining jobs for low to moderate income wage earners.
To receive funds businesses must meet the requirement of 51 percent or more of the full-time equivalent jobs retained must be for persons from low to moderate-income households as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Businesses with five or fewer employees, including the owner, are eligible for up to $25,000 per full-time equivalent (FTE) job with a maximum of $30,000 per company. Those with between six and 50 employees are eligible for up to $35,000 per FTE job with a maximum of $50,000 per company.
Grant funds can be used for working capital such as wages, utilities, rent, etc. and up to 60 days worth of inventory needed to reopen.
CloudCorp executive director Kim Reynolds presented the grant application forms to the county commission.
Reynolds informed the commissioners that the application process will take 15-20 days.
CloudCorp is working with the North Central Regional Planning Commission on developing the grant applications that businesses will fill out when applying.
Funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis.