← Appropriations & Oversight Committee · 2022-03-28 · Appropriations and Oversight Committee Meeting
ORDER-2022-81 : Acceptance of Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000) from a FY2022 State Budget Earmark For Economic Recovery Efforts for Small Business and Nonprofit Sectors
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
ORDER-2022-81 Grant Acceptance of Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000) from a FY2022 State Budget Earmark For Economic Recovery Efforts for Small Business and Nonprofit Sectors Ought to Pass City Council
Transcript
▶ 1:28:24 Jen Grigoraitis: you mr kelly thank you very much all right next up we have order 2022-81 acceptance acceptance of 75 000 from a fy 22 state budget earmark for economic recovery efforts for small business and non-profit sectors and i believe joining us for the first time is director of economic recovery
▶ 1:28:51 Speaker 2: lauren grimmick welcome to the city council i don't think mine will be as uh informative as the last one but um just wanted to since this is my first chance to be in front of all of you on official business i guess just to say thank you for all that you do for the community i know that this is uh not your full-time job this is my full-time job but um and i get to be here so so I just wanted to see if you had any questions about this earmark.
▶ 1:29:19 Speaker 2: Councilor Williams. Sure, what does it pay for? So it's specifically for small business and non-profit recovery. Generally we can kind of do that however we see fit to support our small businesses and non-profits as we continue to help them recover. So we're trying to determine what that is now by talking with the business community and with the non-profits to see exactly what they need. but some of the money I anticipate will be used to continue the pop-up program, which has been really successful on Essex Street. As many of you know, one of the tenants right now is actually moving into their own permanent space, Mothership of All Design. So that space will become available, and we've got interested applicants from the last round who would like to move forward into that space, and we wanna make that happen and program what would otherwise be a vacant commercial space.
▶ 1:30:14 Speaker 2: won't be the full amount the rest will go towards other like programmatic or grant opportunities again based on what we feel the business community really needs is it um is it primarily or in part
▶ 1:30:27 Ryan Williams: the reimbursement program if people say they've suffered a loss of financial loss if it is how
▶ 1:30:37 Speaker 2: do you validate the reimbursement needs i don't i don't foresee it being a reimbursement based on like financial losses but more of something they would invest in in their businesses so one example that i've seen that was really successful is down in taunton where the grant program for small businesses was specifically to invest in technology and point of sale you know investments to kind of upgrade their businesses so the idea would be that a grant of that sort would go to something that would be long term that would then get that business to make their business better and make them stay so it could be kind
▶ 1:31:11 Ryan Williams: of open-ended they come to you and say I need this they make your the case if you
▶ 1:31:17 Speaker 2: have the money left you can get right they could I mean I think we're still trying to figure that out on my listening tour you know that I'm doing to try and understand what those needs are that's great I'll ask two quick
▶ 1:31:28 Speaker 2: questions do you is there a time limit on when the money needs to be used by we have like three to four years to spend it but I anticipate that we'll spend it by the end of this fiscal year, considering that it's not a huge amount.
▶ 1:31:43 Jen Grigoraitis: I just wanted to acknowledge the efforts of our state rep, Rep. Libra Garabedian and Senator Lewis. Obviously, this money comes from their advocacy within the State House to Melrose. What is the will of this committee?
▶ 1:31:55 Speaker 1: A motion to recommend to the full board.
▶ 1:31:58 Jen Grigoraitis: We have a motion to recommend made by President Sinella, seconded by Councilor Garipay. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? motion carries thank you director grimmick welcome thank you last but certainly not least we have