Delaware County businesses eligible for grants

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·3 min read

Dec. 19—Delaware County businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to apply for grants through the county Economic Development office.

The county announced the opening of the Delaware County Resiliency and Income Loss (RAIL) Grant, funded by a $941,175 grant awarded by the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal CARES Act Funding, in a media release.

Economic Development Director Glenn Nealis previously said businesses with fewer than 25 employees that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to apply, whether they received prior aid or not.

He said businesses that received the Paycheck Protection Program or Restaurant Recovery Aid but still had a loss in 2020 are eligible for a grant that would match their losses up to $50,000.

The federal programs had strict criteria for applicants, he said. Businesses that applied for the PPP loans or Restaurant Recovery Aid had to show that they made a profit in 2019 to be eligible for the aid.

However, some business owners did not meet that criteria because they expanded in 2019 and wrote off the investments on their taxes as a loss, he said.

Another facet of the pandemic was how goods were sold. "Certain businesses prior to COVID sold everything retail," he said. "During the pandemic they may have transitioned to online or wholesale sales and invested money to transition to these sales."

The RAIL grant has two categories: COVID Resiliency and Economic Loss. The COVID Resiliency category is meant to assist businesses that need to or already have adapted their operations to prepare for, prevent and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dennis Valente, Davenport Supervisor and chairman of the county board's Economic Development Committee, said funds will reimburse projects such as purchasing of delivery vehicles for at-home delivery of goods or services, developing an online store, expansion of outdoor dining space, and more.

The Economic Loss category is intended for businesses with severe economic loss that had expenses mostly related to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as paying regular business expenses while shut down or operating at a restricted capacity. Valente said businesses will still have to show proof of those expenses and how they are connected to responding to, preparing for and preventing COVID-19 pandemic.

To allow for flexibility, CARES Act protocols allow for the grant fund to reimburse expenses dated back to March 13, 2020.

"We have been working with the Office of Homes and Community Renewal for about a year, now." Valente said in the release. "We are happy to finally start accepting applications and get this funding to businesses that were affected and are still affected by the pandemic."

The department has published the guidelines and draft applications on its website, including a fillable digital application. The documents can be found at dcecodev.com/rail. The deadline for applications has been set for Jan. 25, 2023. Businesses that are interested should read the guidelines and can contact the Department of Economic Development at ecd@co.delaware.ny.us or 607-832-5123.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.