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Previously:

• Small Business Relief Dollars Finally Trickle Into Del Norte

• Crescent City Seeks CDBG Dollars, Signs MOU With the County to Operate Business Loan Program

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After learning that 12 businesses qualified for local loan dollars to help get them through the COVID-19 pandemic, City Councilors took another step toward finalizing yet another program meant to create and retain jobs.

The Crescent City Council on Monday unanimously approved a $250,000 agreement with the Arcata Economic Development Corporation and a $60,000 professional services agreement with the North Coast Small Business Development Center.

The AEDC will be the underwriter for a business loan program that may be funded through a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant. The SBDC will provide technical assistance for the program, City Manager Eric Wier told Councilors.

According to Chuck Wolfe, of Claggett Wolfe Associates, who has been working with both the city and with the state Department of Housing and Community Development, the $500,000 will be used to offer loans of $20,000 per job retained for a maximum of $100,000.

“If businesses meet requirements both before and after receipt of the loan they would allow for forgiveness of money up to $100,000,” Wolfe told the Council. “There are criteria, but there’s a process by which this could be a forgivable loan.”

During his presentation, Wolfe said the U.S. Small Business Administration and the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which administers federal CDBG dollars, have been aggressive when it comes to supporting businesses struggling with economic challenges brought on by COVID-19.

If the city and county are able to loan those dollars out quickly, the Small Business Administration and HCD will provide additional funding to continue to serve businesses, Wolfe said.

“This is a good extension of the work you’ve already done around the stabilization loan program and the PPP program from the SBA,” he said. “What we’ve got, even though it has requirements to it, can be an effective way to help businesses make it through to this point of recovery.”

In addition to developing the program guidelines, Claggett Wolfe Associates will work with AEDC and city staff to create a loan advisory committee tasked with approving or denying applications, according to the city’s staff report. Claggett Wolfe Associates will also advertise the program to eligible businesses in the county and receive their applications.

On Monday, Wolfe told City Councilors there may be businesses applying who don’t meet the program guidelines or aren’t in a position to secure the money to help them “move to the next level.” In that situation, he said, the Small Business Development Center will still provide support for them.

“There’s a lot of flexibility in the process,” he said. “We’re trying to get as many people eligible as possible so we can make more loans and once we meet that 50 percent, that $250,000 expended, we can go back to the state and show them that based on what we’re seeing, we can get additional money.”

In addition to spearheading the Small Business Stabilization Loan program, the Del Norte Economic Resiliency Task Force has helped businesses navigate through the various public health orders through regular webinars and online resources.

The most recent online forum focused on helping businesses plan for the possibility that Del Norte County finds itself on the state’s COVID-19 monitoring list, said Holly Wendt, Crescent City’s recreation director.

“Moving outdoors may work in Southern or Central California right now, but for some local businesses, outdoor service isn’t something they can actually provide,” Wendt told Councilors. “If we go into this monitoring phase, several businesses in our communities and sectors will have to shut down per their own requirements for offering services and just our weather.”

Twenty-six local businesses have met with Claggett Wolfe Associates and have received support in seeking state and federal loan dollars.

In addition to the 12 businesses that have received small business stabilization loan dollars, six more are working their way through the application process, Wendt said. She added that applications are still being accepted for the program.

Wendt said she also met with John Driscoll, who represents Congressman Jared Huffman about advocating for a one-page forgiveness form for loans under $150,000.

“The process will be much easier for them considering the complexities they have to deal with and the lack of other financial (supports),” she said. “We don’t have a lot of accountants and fiscal agencies to help them.”

Wendt urged business owners needing personal protective equipment and help with reopening plans and funding to visit the county’s COVID-19 information hub.

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