The City of Crookston Development Policy and Review Committee met Tuesday morning and discussed and approved the guidelines for the Crookston business CARES Act grants. The City of Crookston will have $450,000 available for businesses. The Polk County Commissioners haven’t decided what they will do with their extra $800,000 in CARES Act money. If the Polk County Commissioners elect to give the $800,000 earmarked to the communities, and an estimated $250,000 more for Crookston for a total of $700,000 in grants for Crookston businesses.
The committee decided to have the following requirements to apply for the CARES Act grants. The requirements were –
– Currently operating
– In good standing with the Secretary of State
– Business needs to physically be in the City of Crookston city limits
– Supply a profit and loss statement
– If a business received PPP, they will need to provide documentation
– If a business received unemployment, they will be required to list how much
“The city received the amount based on the capita, which is the population of the City of Crookston so we need to ensure the business is located within the city limits,” said Interim City Administrator and Finance Director Angel Weasner. “If you received a PPP loan, you are still eligible, we just need that documentation that went with that.”
There won’t be a cap on what a business can ask for, but it will be based on need. (Example, if a business has lost $15,000 compared to 2019 they wouldn’t get more than $15,000.) “We will be asking for a profit and loss statement to compare the timeframes from 2019 to 2020 to show that you had a significant decline in your business,” added Weasner.
The committee won’t know the business name as each business that applies will get a number.
The Crookston City Council will be asked to approve the grant requirements at the August 24 meeting and the applications should be ready by August 28 online (on the City of Crookston website, on KROXAM.com, and the Crookston Times site, along with social media), and at Crookston City Hall. “I want to make sure all businesses have the opportunity to submit an application, which will be available by the end of August,” said Weasner. “You can apply to receive compensation. It is a grant, not a loan, so you don’t have to pay it back.”