Coronavirus Information for Businesses

CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH COVID-19 TELECONFERENCE WITH BUSINESSES MEETING AGENDA

Welcome - Ellen Glasser/Mayor
Introductions - Kevin Hogencamp/Deputy City Manager
COAB COVID-19 review for businesses (5 mins)
Open discussion
Adjournment

DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY

It is requested that, to the greatest extent possible, residents and other customers interact with City staff by telephone (247-5800) or online (info@coab.us). Our city hotline is (904) 247-5804. You can also email your questions to info@coab.us. Also check for updates at www.coab.us/coronavirus.

BEACHES TOWN CENTER PAID PARKING

On Sept. 1, the City of Neptune Beach began managing the North Beaches Parking program in-house. The program's soft roll-out ends Monday, Sept. 7. As of Tuesday, Sept. 8, overtime violators will be subject to being ticketed. Pay-for-parking is enforced from 11 a.m. to midnight every day. Everyone gets 30 minutes free in NB and AB with no action required. Registered AB residents get three hours free in AB with no action required. Register at www.northbeachesparking.com/atlantic. Questions? Email info@coab.us or call 247-5804.

PROPOSED AB SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF GRANT PROGRAM

The City Commission is considering whether to implement a small business relief grant program to assist local businesses adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The City staff has produced a draft set of guidelines that is still being fine-tuned, and has not received Commission or public input. This is on the City Commission’s Sept. 14 agenda.

As proposed, this program would set aside $50,000 to provide one-time grants for up to $5,000 to Atlantic Beach-based and independently operated businesses. To be eligible, the awardees would have been classified as non-essential and mandated to close because of the COVID-19 outbreak. To receive funding through this program, businesses would be required to clearly articulate a plan for applying City grant funds for an eligible use within the typical operating expenses of the business, including: commercial rent or mortgage payments, utilities, payroll, retention of employees, employee support programs, or investments in materials or equipment necessary for reopening or operating during social distancing mandates. Repayment would not be required unless funds are not used for eligible expenses. If the program is successful and the full amount is allocated, the City Commission may decide whether to implement a second round of grants.

Among the determinations to be made by the City Commission would be:

Whether to proceed with a small business relief grant program
Eligibility requirements, including whether the intent of the program is to support businesses with low-to-moderate income employees
Whether grants would be approved at the staff level or by the City Commission
The application-to-award timeline

LINK TO SEPT. 14 CITY COMMISSION AGENDA: https://coab.civicweb.net/document/20854

LINK TO PROPOSED GRANT GUIDELINES: https://coab.civicweb.net/document/20842/Draft%20proposed%20small%20business%20grant%20relief%20program.pdf?handle=F9165EC2CAB84488B03BCECEA3E66999

CITY OF JAX SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF GRANT PROGRAM (ROUND 2)

The City of Jacksonville launched its second round of the Small Business Relief Program on July 16. With this relief grant program, the City will make one-time payments of up to $2,000 to a limited number of qualifying small business owners.

Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to applicants that meet the following conditions for eligibility:

The business must be located in Duval County;
You must provide the Tax ID assigned to your small business;
The business must have been in operation for at least one (1) year prior to Feb. 29, 2020;
The business should not have had more than 100 employees on Feb. 29, 2020 (there’s no minimum number of employees, sole proprietors will qualify);
You must certify that the business has experienced a reduction in revenue of at least 25% since Feb. 29, 2020, as a direct result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Those interested in participating in the program are strongly encouraged to create a MyJax business account at myjax.custhelp.com (follow the link for the “small business relief grant program”) before applying; the same website and account will be used for the application process. While business owners may create a MyJax business account immediately, the application process will not begin until Thursday, July 16, at 9 a.m.

HOW CARES ACT FUNDING BENEFITS THE BEACHES

The overwhelming majority of City of Jacksonville CARES Act appropriations have been countywide, so residents in all of Duval, including the Beaches, benefit from these programs. Here is the City of Jacksonville legislative bill search page by searching for the term CARES for bills filed in 2020. That site is found at: https://jaxcityc.legistar.com/Legislation.aspx

Here the CARES Act appropriations in Jacksonville:

$36 million to county-wide COVID-19 testing (active and continuing for several months to come, with a beaches location at the old Kmart)
$26 million allocated to VyStar small business loan program (capacity remains for businesses to apply between 2-100 employees)
$12 million allocated to small business grants (cards mostly distributed with some receiving in coming weeks)
$3 million allocated to senior and disabled residents relief
$40 million allocated to mortgage rent and utility relief payments
$23 million allocated to business/non-profit relief (list of businesses and non-profits accessible in attachments to ordinances that passed)
$20 million in relief for various fees charged by the county government (anyone pulling a county permit or otherwise subject to a fee for a service covered by this relief bill is still eligible until the program closes no later than 12/30/2020)