PORT TOWNSEND — The Board of Jefferson County Commissioners approved a grant report Monday for the economic development councils of both Jefferson and Clallam counties.
Brian Kuh, EDC Team Jefferson executive director, and Colleen McAleer, executive director of Clallam EDC, spoke with commissioners Monday, outlining how grant funding was distributed from the Community Development Block Grants last April.
Jefferson County entered into a Community Develop Block Grant (CDBG) last year for an Economic Opportunity Grant that was available as part of COVID-19 relief to provide $132,517 in Microenterprise Grants to qualifying businesses impacted by the pandemic in both Jefferson and Clallam counties, according to commission documents.
The county entered into sub-recipient agreements with EDC Team Jefferson and Clallam EDC to administer funds to their respective microenterprises.
Clallam EDC was allocated $82,559 to distribute, and Team Jefferson was provided $69,958, documents said.
Both organizations paid administration costs for the grants out of pocket, not drawing from the grant funds. Those expenses included staff time to organize and evaluate applications, organizing documentation and selecting the grant recipients, Kuh and McAleer said.
Team Jefferson received 27 applications for the microenterprise grants, and 12 were approved. Two applicants were disqualified, one for not qualifying as low to moderate income and the other due to being a non-profit, Kuh said.
Of the dozen businesses selected, two were retail, three were food service, two were agriculture and four were professional services.
Six of the businesses are located in Port Townsend, five in the greater Port Townsend, Port Hadlock and Chimacum area, and one in Brinnon, he said.
As of Monday, $46,188 of Team Jefferson’s $69,958 had been distributed to the microenterprises, along with $3,770 paid to the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship, which provided up to 94 hours of support to local businesses, with the Team Jefferson working on the final documents to write the checks for the remaining funds, Kuh said.
Clallam EDC received hundreds of applications, selected 32 finalists and approved 19 initially, McAleer said. However, one did not fill out the required documentation, so the funding was reallocated and 18 businesses received grants with a combined total of $76,329, she said.
Of the 18 businesses selected, four were retail, two were food service, three were personal services, three were hotels or bed & breakfasts, two were construction, three were manufacturing and one was a professional service.
Four of the businesses are located in the West End, nine are in the Port Angeles area and six are in the Sequim area, McAleer said.
Clallam EDC paid the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship $6,230 for its support of businesses applying, totaling 177.5 hours, McAleer said.
Support from the center included application filing assistance, general business counseling and support to fill out documentation, she added.
The application and approval process was a laborious process for the teams and applicants because it required the collection of 12 different types of documentation, including tax forms, operating expenses, proof of lost income and more, McAleer said.
County Administrator Philip Morley said he appreciated the work the two groups did in managing the grants and that not taking an administration fee was a “large sacrifice” for the organizations.
The commissioners approved the report after a public hearing that received no public input.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
