Finance Committee - 07/01/2020 Page 21
Alderwoman Lu
So, Mr. Griffin we keep going back and forth on this. So there is a COVID-19 Relief Fund, it was funded by
CARES Act and also by some money from CDBG. And | think that’s all. And there will be grants approved
from that. Do | understand it correctly that the Downtown Improvement Fund also had money that they have
allocated to businesses downtown according to rubric. It’s not really part of that COVID-19 Relief Fund that
we've talked about at prior meetings with the Board of Aldermen. However, you are saying, “It is COVID relief
related”. Is that what you are saying?
Alderwoman Kelly
Could | actually respond, Mr. Mayor?
Mayor Donchess
Alderwoman Kelly.
Alderwoman Kelly
Sorry | just — | know quite a bit about this, | was on the call where they decided to do this. So if | could
potentially clear some things up for Alderwoman Lu I'd like to. So as the Mayor pointed out, the City set up the
Downtown Improvement Committee to allow them to decide what the use for the pool of money over the
$750,000.00 every year. This year, because of COVID, there was a long discussion about potentially helping
some of the smaller businesses and the discussion was around, “well we may not have a downtown to support
and put up banners and things of that nature, if we don’t help”. And so they voted to allow the $56,000.00 and
some change to go directly to businesses with a rubric like you are asking. It was part of the Impact Fund, but
just like CDBG is going to go through Sarah Marchant’s application process, this went through them directly.
Does that clear it up for you?
Alderwoman Lu
Yes | am sorry that you were forced to mute while we talked about this. The only thing that | don’t understand
is at the end when you said this is part of the COVID-19 fund. | mean it is, except it wasn’t put into a
segregated fund, correct? You know you can call money something but when | hear it is part of the COVID
Relief Fund, | think that we are talking about the fund that we have allocated money to. And so, yeah.
Alderwoman Kelly
| would like to hear from the financial body on this but the way | understood it was the COVID Impact that we
put together was multiple pools. There was the revolving loan fund which has an advisory board that looks at
it, there is the CDBG money which is a very specific type of application and a way that you have to go through
Carrie Schena and Director Marchant. And then this pool of money that the Downtown Improvement
Committee came together. So it was a little bit of like we are grabbing from different places to put as money
together to help support people throughout COVID. And so each pool of money, so you would come in and
you’d say, “I need some help” and they would look at what you qualify for and put you in the right bucket.
So if you had the right qualifications for the CDBG Fund and we thought you could follow through with the
steps, they need extra reporting and things like that, then we’d put you in that pool. If you came in and said,
“’m just a small business, | can’t pay my rent right now” you might go through the Downtown Improvement
Committee Fund and they would look at your application that way. So that is how | understood it in all the talks
with Director Cummings, Director Marchant and you know, the various bodies that came together for that.
| wasn’t under the understanding that there was a separate fund that we took all of that money into and then
put it out. But that is a financial question.
