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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9.b. Approval of the Rosemount CARES Small Business Program EXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Regular Meeting: August 4, 2020 AGENDA ITEM: Approval of the Rosemount CARES Small Business Program AGENDA SECTION: New Business PREPARED BY: Eric Van Oss, Economic Development Coordinator, Kim Lindquist, Community Development Director AGENDA NO. 9.b. ATTACHMENTS: Resolution, Rosemount CARES Small Business Grant Program Guidelines, Draft Grant Agreement APPROVED BY: LJM RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to Approve the Resolution Authorizing the Rosemount CARES Small Business Grant program BACKGROUND The City is proposing to use a portion of Rosemount’s federal CARES Act allocation to create the Rosemount CARES Small Business Grant Program. This program would support businesses with 50 FTE’s and under that have experienced financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One- time grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to eligible applicants to assist with payroll, rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, and other operational expenses that have occurred since March 1, 2020. Similar to other programs in Dakota County businesses must meet all the following criteria as of March 1, 2020 to be eligible: • Must be a locally owned and operated for-profit business with a physical establishment in the City of Rosemount • Must have at least one employee in addition to the owner as of March 1, 2020 and not more than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees • Must have been operating since December 1, 2019 for at least 12 months prior to March 1, 2020 • Must be licensed (if necessary), in good standing with the State, County and City, current on property taxes prior to July 15, 2020, if applicable • Must demonstrate a significant loss in revenue since March 15 (no credit score or collateral requirements apply) At the present time, Dakota County is marketing and taking applications for their similar program. The Department of Employment and Economic Development had previously taken applications also. Any local business that receives funds through one of those programs would not be eligible for the city’s grant program. It is recommended that the following are ineligible businesses for the Program: • Home-based businesses; those without a physical establishment, (except in-home childcare providers will be eligible) • Non-profit organizations • Corporate-owned chains, (franchise chains are eligible) 2 • Individuals who have or are currently receiving assistance through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program • Businesses in default conditions prior to February 29, 2020 • Businesses that primarily derive income from gambling (businesses that allow on-site charitable gambling are eligible) • Businesses that derive any income from adult entertainment • Businesses that primarily sell pawned merchandise, guns, tobacco or vaping products • Businesses that derive income from passive investments; business-to-business transactions; real estate transactions; property rentals or property management; billboards; or lobbying • Businesses that have received assistance through the Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants program offered by the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development or Dakota County CDA Small Business Emergency Loan Fund. The Rosemount CARES Grant program will be administered and applications reviewed by City staff. It is intended that the application period will run from August 10 to August 28; a total of 19 days. Review of the applications can occur as they come in to ensure compliance with eligibility criteria. If the application is deemed complete and qualifies the City will notify the applicant; the applicant will then be required to submit the financial back up to documents compliant with the grant program. The funds will be released after financial review. Applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis. As discussed previously, staff is anticipating dedication of funds for local businesses up to $500,000. All grant funds allocated to businesses must be utilized by November 15, 2020. The attached resolution addresses various components of program implementation. Staff is recommending that the typical administrative procedure for check distribution be waived to assist in Program efficiencies and expedite getting the grant to businesses. Staff is also recommending the City enter into a grant agreement with the recipient that will assist in the future audit of the program. A draft agreement is attached although final approval by the City Attorney may alter some language. Staff is also requesting the Council permit the City Administrator to enter into the agreements. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of the resolution and supporting documentation creating the Rosemount CARES Small Business Grant Program. CITY OF ROSEMOUNT DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA RESOLUTION 2020- XX RESOLUTION APPROVING THE CITY OF ROSEMOUNT, ROSEMOUNT CARES SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM WHEREAS, the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and Minnesota has raised serious public health concerns and resulted in a great deal of uncertainty, and much remains unknown about the virus and how it spreads; and WHEREAS, On March 13, 2020, Governor Tim Walz issued Emergency Executive Order 20-01 declaring a state of peacetime emergency to address the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota, which triggered activation of the emergency management plan of the City and enabled the City to exercise its emergency powers; and WHEREAS, The Governor has subsequently issued additional Executive Orders to combat the impacts of COVID-19 within the State of Minnesota, which include closures of schools, bars, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation, and directing Minnesotans to stay at home (with exceptions for obtaining necessary supplies, healthcare and similar needs) unless they are engaged in critical sector work; and WHEREAS, On March 17, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2020-44, declaring a local emergency and directing City staff to take appropriate action to facilitate the directives of the Council and authorizing City staff to take actions deemed necessary to protect the public health and safety; and WHEREAS, the City has received Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) funds from the State of Minnesota and hereby accepts such funds; and WHEREAS, the City has created the Rosemount CARES Small Business Grant Program and has determined to use some of CARES Act funds to provide grants to small businesses within the City that have been impacted by COVID-19 due to required closures or decreased business; and WHEREAS, the guidelines for the Rosemount CARES Small Business Grant Program has been presented to the City Council. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Rosemount City Council as follows: 1. The Rosemount CARES Small Business Grant Program is approved. 2. The Council authorizes $500,000 in CARES Act funds to be dedicated to this Program. 2 3. The normal administrative procedure for the issuance of City checks relating to the Rosemount CARES Small Grant Program is waived in order to facilitate an expedited processing of funds. 4. The City Administrator is authorized to execute Grant Agreements with recipients of the Rosemount CARES Small Business Grants after verification of eligibility based upon approved Program Guidelines. ADOPTED this 4th day of August, 2020 by the City Council of the City of Rosemount. _______________________________________ William H. Droste, Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Erin Fasbender, City Clerk Rosemount CARES Grant Program Guidelines To provide emergency assistance to small local businesses in Rosemount adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Rosemount—Rosemount CARES Grant Program will provide grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses in need of support. Funds will help businesses pay for critical expenses such as rent payments, mortgage payments, utilities, payments to suppliers, and costs associated with reopening (including Personal Protective Equipment). Providing this support will increase the capacity of small businesses with a physical location in Rosemount to survive the current crisis and will help prevent potential future blight scenarios. These grant funds can be used to aid your business in its operations while complying with the State Stay Safe Plan. The Grant Program will be administered by the City of Rosemount Community Development Department. Grant funds will be distributed until the program allocation is exhausted. Terms: • Up to $10,000 grant based on economic injury from COVID-19 related eligible expenses. • Funds can be used for operating expenses, including rent payments, mortgage payments, utilities, payments to suppliers, or other critical non-payroll business expenses (including expenses related to reopening and personal protective equipment) as approved by the fund administrator. Eligible Businesses must meet all of the following criteria as of March 1, 2020 to be eligible: • Must be a locally owned (majority ownership in MN) and operated for-profit business with a physical establishment in the City of Rosemount • Must have at least one employee in addition to the owner as of March 1, 2020 and not more than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees • Must have been operating since December 1, 2019 for at least 12 months prior to March 1, 2020 • Must be licensed (if necessary), in good standing with the State, County and City, current on property taxes prior to July 15, 2020, if applicable • Must demonstrate a significant loss in revenue since March 15 (no credit score or collateral requirements apply) Certain businesses are ineligible, including: • Home-based businesses; those without a physical establishment, (except in-home childcare providers will be eligible) • Non-profit organizations • Corporate-owned chains, (but franchise chains are eligible) • Individuals who have or are currently receiving assistance through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program • Businesses in default conditions prior to February 29, 2020 • Businesses that primarily derive income from gambling (businesses that allow on-site charitable gambling are eligible) • Businesses that derive any income from adult entertainment • Businesses that primarily sell pawned merchandise, guns, tobacco or vaping products • Businesses that derive income from passive investments; business-to-business transactions; real estate transactions; property rentals or property management; billboards; or lobbying • Businesses that have received assistance through the Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants program offered by the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development or Dakota County CDA Small Business Emergency Loan Fund. In addition to the City of Rosemount—Rosemount CARES Grant Program, businesses are strongly encouraged to apply for all available COVID-related funding. Businesses receiving federal relief funds are still eligible for the City of Rosemount Small Business Emergency Grant Program but must use City funds for other eligible expenses than those covered by federal funds. Application Process • Application Forms will be accepted beginning August 10, 2020 through August 28, 2020. • Application forms can be completed through the City’s website XXXXXX • If applications exceed the funding available, City of Rosemount Community Development staff will select grant recipients using a first come – first served basis. The City will notify approved applicants by email on or before September 10, 2020. Upon notice of an approved application, applicants will be required to submit the following within 10 business days: o Revenue verification. 2019 Federal Business Tax return or appropriate business tax schedule – based on entity type.  Businesses that have not yet completed a 2019 Federal Return are eligible to apply and substitute other documentation of revenue, and will need to provide their 2019 Federal Return when completed o Impact and loss of revenue verification. Evidence of negative impact and loss of revenue due to COVID-19 pandemic and peacetime emergency. Applicant should submit documentation that best demonstrates the impact and is deemed acceptable to Program Administrator.  Examples of acceptable documentation include: Sales Tax Reporting; monthly profit and loss statements; comparable point of sales, cash register reports, merchant statements or other sales records o Employee verification. Evidence of employment prior to March 1, 2020. Acceptable documentation may include: company’s 2019 federal form W3; period reporting from a 3rd party payroll processor; applicant’s Federal Form 941/Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return; or other State or Federal payroll- related filing. o Evidence of grant eligible expenses that occurred in past three months, (e.g. rent/lease agreement, utility statements, supplier invoices, payroll, tax payments, payments to suppliers, etc.). Provide documentation that expenses total or exceed the amount requested in grant application • Failure to submit required documentation will result in forfeiture of grant award. • Upon notice review and acceptance of additional documentation, the business will enter into a grant agreement with City of Rosemount. Note: The City of Rosemount reserve the right to revise these guidelines as needed to best address the impact of the current pandemic. Application Number: _____ 1 GRANT AGREEMENT FOR ROSEMOUNT CARES SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM This Agreement is between the City of Rosemount, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount, Minnesota 55068 (“CITY”) and (GRANTEE’s Name) _____________________________(“GRANTEE”), _________________________________ (GRANTEE’s address). WHEREAS, the Rosemount City Council (“Council”) has approved the disbursement of funds it has received under the Federal CARES Act for use by small businesses; and WHEREAS, GRANTEE has made an application for an award and has been selected for funding in accordance with the terms of this Agreement; The CITY and GRANTEE agree as follows: 1. TERM AND AMOUNT OF GRANT GRANTEE shall complete all grant requirements (“Grant Requirements”) commencing upon both parties signing this agreement and expiring six months thereafter or when all requirements of the Agreement have been complete, whichever comes first, unless cancelled or terminated earlier in accordance with the provisions herein. The total amount of this grant is __________ ($) (“Grant Funds”). 2. GRANT REQUIREMENTS By entering into this Grant Agreement, GRANTEE certifies that it is a Minnesota owned and operated for-profit business with a physical establishment in City of Rosemount boundaries and that as of March 1, 2020, all of the following are true and correct: • GRANTEE had at least one eligible employee as defined in the application and not more than 50 full-time equivalent employees • GRANTEE had been operating since December 1, 2019 GRANTEE acknowledges that the source of funds for this Grant Agreement are federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Coronavirus Relief Funds provided to the CITY and approved for disbursement by the Council as small business grants. GRANTEE acknowledges that this grant may be subject to federal and state taxes. GRANTEE further certifies that as of the date this Agreement is signed, all of the following are true and correct: • GRANTEE is licensed, if necessary, and in good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State 2 •GRANTEE is current on property taxes that were ordinarily due and payable on or before July 15, 2020, or on a County-approved payment plan, if applicable •GRANTEE experienced significant loss in revenue since March 15, 2020, and incurred costs due to COVID-19-related business interruption and required closures •GRANTEE experienced business interruption due to COVID-19 GRANTEE has provided sufficient documentation to demonstrate that the GRANTEE operates a current, ongoing small business which has experienced a business interruption (“Interruption”) due to COVID-19. GRANTEE affirms all information that has been submitted or will be submitted to the CITY is correct and that the documented costs have not nor will not be reimbursed through any other federal, state or local funding source. 3. ELIGIBLE COSTS OF BUSINESS INTERRUPTION GRANTEE shall provide an itemized and documented list of eligible costs incurred as a result of the Interruption, as more fully described in Attachment A. 4. GRANT DISBURSEMENT CITY shall pay Grant Funds directly to GRANTEE within ten (10) business days of a fully executed Grant Agreement. 5. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR GRANTEE shall select the means, method, and manner of performing Grant Requirements, if any. Nothing is intended nor should be construed as creating or establishing the relationship of a partnership or a joint venture between the parties or as constituting GRANTEE as the agent, representative, or employee of the CITY for any purpose. GRANTEE is and shall remain an independent contractor under this Agreement. 6. NON-DISCRIMINATION GRANTEE shall not exclude any person from full employment rights nor prohibit participation in or the benefits of any program, service or activity on the grounds of any protected status or class including but not limited to race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, public assistance status, or national origin. No person who is protected by applicable federal or state laws against discrimination shall be subjected to discrimination. 7. INDEMNIFICATION GRANTEE shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the CITY, their present and former officials, officers, agents, volunteers, and employees from any liability, claims, causes of action, judgments, damages, losses, costs, demands for repayment or expenses, including attorney’s fees, resulting directly or indirectly from any fraudulent act or use of Grant Funds for nonauthorized purposes by the GRANTEE, 3 a subcontractor, anyone directly or indirectly employed by GRANTEE, and/or anyone for whose acts and/or omissions GRANTEE may be liable in the performance of this Agreement. 8.DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY In accordance with Minnesota Statute Section 13.599, all applications and their contents are private or nonpublic until the applications are opened. Once the applications are opened, the name and address of each applicant and the amount requested is public. All other data in an application is private or nonpublic data until completion of the evaluation process, which is defined by statute as when the City has completed negotiating the grant agreement with the selected applicant. After the City has completed the evaluation process, all remaining data in the applications is public with the exception of trade secret data as defined and classified in Minn. Stat. § 13.37, Subd. 1(b). A statement by an applicant that the application is copyrighted or otherwise protected does not prevent public access to the application or its contents. (Minn. Stat. § 13.599, subd. 3(a)). If an applicant submits any information in an application that it believes to be trade secret information, as defined by Minnesota Statute Section 13.37, the applicant must: • Clearly mark all trade secret materials in its application at the time it is submitted, • Include a statement attached to its application justifying the trade secret designation for each item, and • Defend any action seeking release of the materials it believes to be trade secret, and indemnify and hold harmless City, its agents and employees, from any judgments or damages awarded against the City in favor of the party requesting the materials, and any and all costs connected with that defense. • This indemnification survives City’s award of a grant agreement. In submitting an application in response to this RFP, the applicant agrees that this indemnification survives as long as the trade secret materials are in possession of City. The City will not consider the prices submitted by the responder to be proprietary or trade secret materials. City reserves the right to reject a claim that any particular information in an application is trade secret information if it determines the applicant has not met the burden of establishing that the information constitutes a trade secret. City will not consider the budgets submitted by applicants to be proprietary or trade secret materials. Use of generic trade secret language encompassing substantial portions of the application or simple assertions of trade secret without substantial explanation of the basis for that designation will be insufficient to warrant a trade secret designation. If a grant is awarded to an applicant, City may use or disclose the trade secret data to the extent provided by law. Any decision by the City to disclose information determined to be trade secret information will be made consistent with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes chapter 13) and other relevant laws and regulations. 4 If certain information is found to constitute trade secret information, the remainder of the application will become public; in the event a data request is received for application information, only the trade secret data will be removed and remain nonpublic. 9.RECORDS – AVAILABILITY/ACCESS AND RIGHT TO AUDIT Subject to the requirements of Minnesota Statutes § 16C.05, subd. 5, MCCD, the CITY, the State Auditor, or any of their authorized representatives which may include other independent financial analysts at any time during normal business hours, and as often as they may reasonably deem necessary, shall have access to and the right to request submission of documentation, examine, audit, excerpt, and transcribe any books, documents, papers, records, or other data, which are pertinent to the accounting practices and procedures of GRANTEE and involve transactions relating to this Agreement. GRANTEE shall maintain these materials and allow access during the period of this Agreement and for six (6) years after its expiration, cancellation or termination. 10.SUCCESSORS, SUBCONTRACTING AND ASSIGNMENTS A.GRANTEE shall not assign, transfer or pledge this Agreement whether in whole or in part, nor assign any monies due or to become due to it without the prior written consent of the CITY. A consent to assign shall be subject to such conditions and provisions as the CITY may deem necessary, accomplished by execution of a form prepared by the CITY and signed by GRANTEE, and the assignee. Permission to assign, however, shall under no circumstances relieve GRANTEE of its liabilities and obligations under the Agreement. B.GRANTEE shall not subcontract this Agreement whether in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the CITY. 11. MERGER, MODIFICATION AND SEVERABILITY A. The entire Agreement between the parties is contained herein and supersedes all oral agreements and negotiations between the parties relating to the subject matter. All items that are referenced or that are attached are incorporated and made a part of this Agreement. If there is any conflict between the terms of this Agreement and referenced or attached items, the terms of this Agreement shall prevail. GRANTEE and/or the CITY are each bound by its own electronic signature(s) on this Agreement, and each agrees and accepts the electronic signature of the other party. B. Any alterations, variations or modifications of the provisions of this Agreement shall only be valid when they have been reduced to writing as an amendment to this Agreement signed by the parties. Except as expressly provided, the substantive legal terms contained in this Agreement including but not limited to Indemnification, Insurance, Merger, Modification and Severability, Default and Cancellation/Termination or Minnesota Law Governs may not be altered, varied, modified or waived by any change order, implementation plan, scope of work, development specification or other development process or document. 5 C.If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will not be affected. 12.DEFAULT AND CANCELLATION/TERMINATION A.If GRANTEE fails to perform any of the provisions of this Agreement including providing false, misleading or incomplete information in documents submitted to the CITY or documented in Attachment A, fails to use Grant Funds exclusively for costs included in Exhibit A or uses other sources of federal funds for costs included in Exhibit A, the performance of the Agreement or otherwise breaches or fails to comply with any of the terms of this Agreement, it shall be in default. Unless GRANTEE’s default is excused in writing by the CITY, the CITY may upon written notice immediately cancel or terminate this Agreement in its entirety and may demand repayment in full of the Grant Funds. Additionally, failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement shall be just cause for the CITY to delay payment until GRANTEE’s compliance. In the event of a decision to withhold payment, the CITY shall furnish prior written notice to GRANTEE. B.Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, GRANTEE shall remain liable to the CITY for damages sustained by the CITY by virtue of any breach of this Agreement by GRANTEE. Upon notice to GRANTEE of the claimed breach and the amount of the claimed damage, the CITY may withhold any payments to GRANTEE for the purpose of set-off until such time as the exact amount of damages due the CITY from GRANTEE is determined. Following notice from MCCD of the claimed breach and damage, GRANTEE and the CITY shall attempt to resolve the dispute in good faith. C.The above remedies shall be in addition to any other right or remedy available to the CITY under this Agreement, law, statute, rule, and/or equity. D.The CITY’s failure to insist upon strict performance of any provision or to exercise any right under this Agreement shall not be deemed a relinquishment or waiver of the same, unless consented to in writing. Such consent shall not constitute a general waiver or relinquishment throughout the entire term of the Agreement. E.If this Agreement expires or is cancelled or terminated, with or without cause, by either party, at any time, GRANTEE shall not be entitled to any payment, fees or other monies except for payments duly invoiced for then-delivered and accepted deliverables/milestones pursuant to this Agreement. In the event GRANTEE has performed work toward a deliverable that the CITY has not accepted at the time of expiration, cancellation or termination, GRANTEE shall not be entitled to any payment for said work including but not limited to incurred costs of performance, termination expenses, profit on the work performed, other costs founded on termination for convenience theories or any other payments, fees, costs or expenses not expressly set forth in this Agreement. F.Upon written notice, the CITY may immediately suspend or cancel/terminate this Agreement in the event any of the following occur: (i) the CITY does not obtain anticipated funding from the federal government for this project; (ii) funding for this project from an the federal government is withdrawn, 6 frozen, shut down, is otherwise made unavailable or the CITY loses the outside funding for any other reason. 13.SURVIVAL OF PROVISIONS Provisions that by their nature are intended to survive the term, cancellation or termination of this Agreement do survive such term, cancellation or termination. Such provisions include but are not limited to: SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED; GRANT REQUIREMENTS; INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR; INDEMNIFICATION; DUTY TO NOTIFY; DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY; RECORDS-AVAILABILITY/ACCESS; DEFAULT AND CANCELLATION/TERMINATION; MEDIA OUTREACH; and MINNESOTA LAW GOVERNS. 14.GRANT ADMINISTRATION Kim Lindquist, Community Development Director (“Grant Administrator”), shall manage this Agreement and any subsequent audit thereof on behalf of the CITY and serve as liaison to the GRANTEE. [NAME AND PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL] shall manage the agreement on behalf of GRANTEE. GRANTEE may replace such person but shall immediately give written notice to the CITY of the name, phone number and email address of such substitute person and of any other subsequent substitute person. 15.COMPLIANCE AND NON-DEBARMENT CERTIFICATION A.GRANTEE shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local statutes, funding sources, regulations, rules and ordinances currently in force or later enacted. B.GRANTEE certifies that it is not prohibited from doing business with either the federal government or the state of Minnesota as a result of debarment or suspension proceedings. C.Because the source or partial source of funds for payment under this Agreement is from federal or state monies or from a federal, state or other grant source, GRANTEE is bound by and shall comply with applicable law, rules, regulations, applicable documentation or other directives relating to the source and utilization of such funds including but not limited to applying for Grant Funds that have been or will be reimbursed under any federal, county or state program. 16. NOTICES Unless the parties otherwise agree in writing, any notice or demand which must be given or made by a party under this Agreement or any statute or ordinance shall be in writing and shall be sent registered or certified mail. Notices to the CITY shall be sent to the Grant Administrator at the address given in the opening paragraph of this Agreement. Notice to GRANTEE shall be sent to the address stated in the opening paragraph of this Agreement. 7 17. CONFLICT OF INTEREST GRANTEE affirms that to the best of GRANTEE’s knowledge, GRANTEE’s involvement in this Agreement does not result in a conflict of interest with any party or entity which may be affected by the terms of this Agreement. Should any conflict or potential conflict of interest become known to GRANTEE, GRANTEE shall immediately notify the CITY of the conflict or potential conflict, specifying the part of this Agreement giving rise to the conflict or potential conflict, and advise the CITY whether GRANTEE will or will not resign from the other engagement or representation. Unless waived by the CITY, a conflict or potential conflict may, in the CITY’s discretion, be cause for cancellation or termination of this Agreement. 19. MINNESOTA LAWS GOVERN The laws of the state of Minnesota shall govern all questions and interpretations concerning the validity and construction of this Agreement and the legal relations between the parties and their performance. The appropriate venue and jurisdiction for any litigation will be those courts located within the County of Dakota, State of Minnesota. Litigation, however, in the federal courts involving the parties will be in the appropriate federal court within the state of Minnesota. [Signature page follows] 8 I hereby agree to the terms outlined in the Agreement. CITY City of Rosemount By: Its Date: GRANTEE GRANTEE Name By: Owner’s Name Its Date: Rosemount CARES Grant Program Guidelines To provide emergency assistance to small local businesses in Rosemount adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Rosemount—Rosemount CARES Grant Program will provide grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses in need of support. Funds will help businesses pay for critical expenses such as rent payments, mortgage payments, utilities, payments to suppliers, and costs associated with reopening (including Personal Protective Equipment). Providing this support will increase the capacity of small businesses with a physical location in Rosemount to survive the current crisis and will help prevent potential future blight scenarios. These grant funds can be used to aid your business in its operations while complying with the State Stay Safe Plan. The Grant Program will be administered by the City of Rosemount Community Development Department. Grant funds will be distributed until the program allocation is exhausted. Terms: • Up to $10,000 grant based on economic injury from COVID-19 related eligible expenses. • Funds can be used for operating expenses, including rent payments, mortgage payments, utilities, payments to suppliers, or other critical non-payroll business expenses (including expenses related to reopening and personal protective equipment) as approved by the fund administrator. Eligible Businesses must meet all of the following criteria as of March 1, 2020 to be eligible: • Must be a locally owned (majority ownership in MN) and operated for-profit business with a physical establishment in the City of Rosemount • Must have at least one employee in addition to the owner as of March 1, 2020 and not more than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees • Must have been operating since December 1, 2019 for at least 12 months prior to March 1, 2020 • Must be licensed (if necessary), in good standing with the State, County and City, current on property taxes prior to July 15, 2020, if applicable • Must demonstrate a significant loss in revenue since March 15 (no credit score or collateral requirements apply) Certain businesses are ineligible, including: • Home-based businesses; those without a physical establishment, (except in-home childcare providers will be eligible) • Non-profit organizations • Corporate-owned chains, (but franchise chains are eligible) • Individuals who have or are currently receiving assistance through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program • Businesses in default conditions prior to February 29, 2020 • Businesses that primarily derive income from gambling (businesses that allow on-site charitable gambling are eligible) • Businesses that derive any income from adult entertainment • Businesses that primarily sell pawned merchandise, guns, tobacco or vaping products • Businesses that derive income from passive investments; business-to-business transactions; real estate transactions; property rentals or property management; billboards; or lobbying • Businesses that have received assistance through the Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants program offered by the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development or Dakota County CDA Small Business Emergency Loan Fund. In addition to the City of Rosemount—Rosemount CARES Grant Program, businesses are strongly encouraged to apply for all available COVID-related funding. Businesses receiving federal relief funds are still eligible for the City of Rosemount Small Business Emergency Grant Program but must use City funds for other eligible expenses than those covered by federal funds. Application Process • Application Forms will be accepted beginning August 10, 2020 through August 28, 2020. • Application forms can be completed through the City’s website XXXXXX • If applications exceed the funding available, City of Rosemount Community Development staff will select grant recipients using a first come – first served basis. The City will notify approved applicants by email on or before September 10, 2020. Upon notice of an approved application, applicants will be required to submit the following within 10 business days: o Revenue verification. 2019 Federal Business Tax return or appropriate business tax schedule – based on entity type.  Businesses that have not yet completed a 2019 Federal Return are eligible to apply and substitute other documentation of revenue, and will need to provide their 2019 Federal Return when completed o Impact and loss of revenue verification. Evidence of negative impact and loss of revenue due to COVID-19 pandemic and peacetime emergency. Applicant should submit documentation that best demonstrates the impact and is deemed acceptable to Program Administrator.  Examples of acceptable documentation include: Sales Tax Reporting; monthly profit and loss statements; comparable point of sales, cash register reports, merchant statements or other sales records o Employee verification. Evidence of employment prior to March 1, 2020. Acceptable documentation may include: company’s 2019 federal form W3; period reporting from a 3rd party payroll processor; applicant’s Federal Form 941/Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return; or other State or Federal payroll- related filing. o Evidence of grant eligible expenses that occurred in past three months, (e.g. rent/lease agreement, utility statements, supplier invoices, payroll, tax payments, payments to suppliers, etc.). Provide documentation that expenses total or exceed the amount requested in grant application • Failure to submit required documentation will result in forfeiture of grant award. • Upon notice review and acceptance of additional documentation, the business will enter into a grant agreement with City of Rosemount. Note: The City of Rosemount reserve the right to revise these guidelines as needed to best address the impact of the current pandemic.