Council approves fourth round of relief grants for businesses

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The Menifee City Council on Wednesday approved the distribution of $150,000 in a fourth round of CARES Relief Act grant funding to assist small businesses in the city.

Local businesses may apply for a grant through Dec. 24. Business owners must complete a grant application; show proof of the impact of COVID-19 on their business; show proof of reimbursable expense; and submit a W9 tax form. Grant amounts for individual businesses in the first three rounds were $5,000 each.

The City of Menifee received $1,198,820 through the state’s CARES Act in August, according to city documents. Allowable uses for the funds include an emergency operations center; community outreach and education efforts; and business outreach and support efforts. Upgrades to City Hall operations constituted the creation of the emergency operations center.

The first round of business funding distributed by the City in August totaled $100,00, assisting 20 eligible businesses. As the pandemic worsened, a second round of grants was announced in November. A total of 33 businesses were eligible and 20 businesses were chosen in another round of $100,000. City Manager Armando Villa soon authorized a third round of $65,000, assisting the other 13 eligible businesses at that time.

To be eligible for a grant in the fourth round, businesses must be a for-profit business; must be located in Menifee; must have less than 15 employees; must have experienced financial hardship because of COVID-19; and have a city business license in good standing.

The total CARES Act grant awarded to the City must be disbursed or returned to the state by Dec. 31, according to terms of the grant to the City. The fourth round of business relief grants will complete the City’s expenditure of the total funds.

Much of the grant was used for emergency operations, including the transition of City Hall to a virtual operation, with most employees conducting business from home. Villa presented to council members on Wednesday a categorized list of expenditures from the $1,198,820 grant:

Food programs, including meals for seniors: $10,000
Improved telework capabilities for public employees: $293,086
Personal protective equipment: $22,034
Public health expenses: $449,748 *
*Includes direct personnel costs; additional cleaning services; COVID communication and outreach; disinfectant supplies; employee COVID testing; plexiglass; public health expense; temperature kiosks; thermometers; and public safety personnel costs, as listed in a city document.
Small business assistance: $415,000
Unemployment benefits: $8,352

“These funds will be crucial in supporting the Menifee business community, as closures are preventing businesses from generating revenue to cover their basic operating expenses and remain open in Menifee,” the staff recommendation approved by the council said, in part.

“The City of Menifee utilized the more than $1.1 million in State CARES Act funding for the benefit of the Menifee community, supporting public safety, local business assistance, and resident well-being,” Villa said in an email to Menifee 24/7. “Like all cities and counties that accepted these funds, we signed the State’s Certification for Receipt of Funds. Our priority was, and is, getting these funds into the community to support our residents and businesses.”

One of the conditions Villa agreed to in signing the agreement in July to receive the funds read as follows:

“Adhere to federal guidance and the state's stay-at-home requirements and other health requirements as directed in gubernatorial Executive Order N-33-20, any subsequent Executive Orders or statutes, and all California Department of Public Health orders, directives, and guidance in response to COVID-19 emergency.”

City officials say this is the reason that outdoor use permits previously given to Menifee restaurants and personal services businesses were “frozen” following the Dec. 5 stay-at-home order. Failure to do so, they say, would be a failure to comply with the terms of the agreement with the state.

What penalties the City would incur for such an infraction are unclear.

Council members discussed visiting a few businesses in their district to make sure businesses owners are informed about the grant, although there was concern expressed about being out in crowds to do so.

“This [grant] sends a different message than some were giving on social media,” Zimmerman said in reference to hundreds of comments on a Menifee 24/7 Facebook post about the freezing of outdoor dining permits. “They implied we don’t care about local businesses. That is not correct.”

Businesses that received a grant in a previous round are eligible to apply again. The application may be completed online here.

“In addition to the Menifee Cares Grant Program, the City’s Economic Development Department and Menifee Chamber of Commerce have led multiple business retention efforts including, but not limited to, business resource guides and tool kits, economic surveying, essential business mapping, shop local marketing initiatives, workshops, boots-on-the-ground assistance, and giveaways, all to help local businesses,” a City news release stated today.