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<br />COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants must not have received any other emergency COVID-19 funds from <br />state, federal, county sources for that same eligible expenses. Applications were available on October <br />20th and the deadline for application was Friday, October 30th. <br /> <br />A total of 10 applications for the Business Relief Grant Program were received from local businesses <br />by the application deadline on October 30th . Staff has reviewed each of the submitted applications and <br />has been working with a few applicants to provide additional documentation. The following is a table <br />and a brief summary of each application. <br /> <br />Applicant Business <br />Size <br />Grant <br />Requested <br />Use of Grant <br />The Athlete Lab 1-14 $5,000 Accounts Payable / Lease Payments <br />Bix Produce Company 15+ $7,500 PPE <br />Creative Catering (Catering) 1-14 $5,000 Lease & Utility Payments <br />Creative Catering <br />(Production) <br /> <br />15+ <br /> <br />$7,500 <br /> <br />Lease & Utility Payments <br />El Sombrero 1-14 $5,000 Lease & Utility Payments <br />Global Volunteers 15+ $7,500 Lease & Utility Payments <br />Little Venetian 1-14 $5,000 Lease & Utility Payments <br />Panels Plus Woodworking 1-14 $5,000 Accounts Payable / Lease & Utilities <br />Quality Furniture Rental 1-14 $5,000 PPE <br />Scholar Edge, LLC Non-profit $2,500 Lease & Utility Payments <br />Tierney’s Liquor Store 1-14 $5,000 Lease & Utility Payments <br /> TOTAL: $60,000 <br /> <br />The Athlete Lab: As a small business in the fitness industry, they have had to make massive <br />adjustments to our operations. Their membership has dropped approximately 53%, classes are capped <br />to a certain number of people, yet expenses have remained unchanged. The business has $18,014 in <br />back-pay due to landlord. It is extremely difficult to regrow membership due to the trepidation that <br />people have regarding COVID-19. <br /> <br />Bix Produce Company: Bix Produce is in the food service industry and most of our customers have <br />been negatively impacted by the virus. Many of our restaurant customers remained closed, and those <br />that opened struggle to pay us or have operated with reduced traffic. People are not eating at <br />cafeterias because many schools have closed their doors and people are working remotely. While they <br />are not seeing the kinds of revenue declines we saw when the entire state was shut down, they are still <br />well below last year’s revenue levels. <br /> <br />They were forced to reduce labor costs in April and May, but sought to maintain operation and <br />commissioned sales staff until revenue improved. For those who were furloughed, they provided 3 <br />additional months of benefits. They are now facing a very uncertain period as the restaurant patios <br />close. Bix Produce has continued to look for options to address changes in how people consume food, <br />including the addition of a new Grab & Go line (investment of $369,762 to date). <br /> <br />One difficult decision that Bix Produce was forced to make was to transfer ownership of the building <br />from Bix Real Estate Holdings, LLC to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) WP Carey. City staff <br />has worked with attorneys to assist with this process. Grant funds will be used to reimburse Bix <br />Produce for a portion of COVID-19 PPE costs that have been required since March ($36,830).