YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
More than three years after President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law, Greene County is eyeing the finish line for its allocation process.
Springfield businessperson Lyle Foster, who has led the county’s ARPA team, said just over $2 million is left to allocate of the $56.9 million the county received.
“We have to make decisions by the end of December,” he said. “All of our money has to be allocated or at least appropriated by then.
“I know one thing for sure, nobody wants to send it back to Washington.”
The final allocation for small businesses was awarded July 16 by the Greene County Commission. With the latest funding round, the county has allocated $6.6 million for 455 companies, officials say.
That’s down from a previous estimate of $8 million that was slated to be allocated for small businesses. Officials also previously have allocated $20.4 million for collaboration projects, $12 million for nonprofits and $10.2 million for countywide projects, with the remainder being held in reserves, according to past reporting. Funding is designed to support the economic response and recovery related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Foster said the small-business figure was adjusted based on demand and the size of the companies that applied.
“Based on our program requirements and the number of applications that we received, we just simply didn’t utilize all of those funds,” Foster said. “We didn’t get enough applications from small businesses based on our criteria.”
The small-business application guide on the county’s website indicates businesses could receive up to $500 per employee.
“We actually increased the number of employees that a business could have and be eligible,” Foster said, noting businesses with 15 or fewer employees made the bulk of requests.
The funding not used for small businesses goes back into the funding reserve, Foster said, noting county commissioners will examine other needs with more announcements expected to be made this year.
The ARPA allocation process also is fairly intensive, Foster said, and requires work by the recipient and the county before and after the funding announcement is made.
Businesses do not receive the money upfront, he said. Instead, they are reimbursed for expenses given the green light by the county. Organizations must utilize the funding by the end of 2026.
This fall, Foster said the county and its ARPA team would be double-checking with organizations who have been awarded allocations to make sure none of the funding is left over.
“Again, we don’t want to return it to the federal government,” he said. “They have a responsibility to let us know that.”
In the latest and last small-business funding round, the county awarded $307,169 to 29 companies. The awards ranged from $300 to $20,250.
“Small businesses and their employees are vital to our local economy and way of life and have been a top priority of the commission,” Commissioner John Russell said in a news release announcing the recipients of the small-business funding. “They provide good jobs, services and products to our community, and a sense of connection that only comes from small businesses. We are excited to continue to get these funds out into our community where they are needed.”
Jeremy Chapman, co-founder of The Acoustic Shoppe LLC, said his 1913 E. Seminole St. company intends to use its $14,500 allocation to revamp the musical instrument and product retailer’s website. The transition will allow The Acoustic Shoppe to transition to the Shopify e-commerce platform, he said.
“That’s something we had been planning on doing,” he said. “We just didn’t have the budget to build the website.”
Springfield-based O’Reilly Hospitality Management LLC is another recipient of ARPA funding from the county. The business was selected directly for a $32,000 allocation in 2022, and its DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn properties in Springfield late last year were approved for $50,000 and $36,750, respectively, according to past reporting.
CEO Tim O’Reilly said the hospitality industry was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ARPA funds assisted us in bouncing back from the COVID pandemic, which was one of the most difficult times in the history of the hospitality industry,” O’Reilly said in an email. “We are thankful for this assistance in response to a pandemic that we had absolutely no control of.”
Bambinos Cafe is getting a refresh. The goal of the project is to expand the parking lot, dining areas and kitchen of the Phelps Grove neighborhood eatery.
