DISCUSSION
In June 2020, additional CARES Act funds have been allocated in the amount of approx. $3.6 million through HUD and approx. $4.6 million through the County of Orange.
ESG-CV2 in the amount of $3,635,163 has been allocated to Garden Grove. Historically, the City received an annual allocation of approximately $170,000. Due to the increased ESG-CV2 allocation, issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP) is recommended to ensure a competitive process in the selection of service providers to achieve the following objectives: Street Outreach, Rapid Rehousing, Homeless Shelter Activities, and Homeless Prevention. It is also recommended that the amount of $25,000 for additional Street Outreach activities through City Net and $100,000 for Mercy House to provide continued comprehensive homeless shelter support services be allocated and excluded from the RFP process. The RFP would be released on June 24, 2020 and award of the ESG-CV2 funds is anticipated via a Substantial Amendment to the FY 20-21 Action Plan at the August 11th City Council meeting.
County of Orange received $554 million in CARES Act funds of which $75 million have been earmarked for economic support to fund Small Business Grant Programs in each supervisory district. Supervisor Andrew Do has programmed $15 million for District 1 which includes Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Westminster and portions of Fountain Valley and Midway City. For Garden Grove, a breakdown of the CARES Act funds would be as follows:
1. Managed Career Solutions (MCS) will administer the Garden Grove allocation of $4,010,000 through the creation of the CARES Act Small Business Grant Program.
- Local small businesses and non-profits who have ten (10) full-time equivalent (FTE) employees or less will be able to apply for a $10,000 business grant.
- Approximately 380 Garden Grove businesses would be assisted.
- A pre-launch of this online grant portal is anticipated the week of June 22, 2020 through the end of July.
- The grants would be disbursed and awarded via a lottery system in August 2020.
2. Micro-Business Relief Grant Program in the amount of $617,600 will be administered by the City's Office of Economic Development to support:
- Local small businesses and non-profits who have ten (10) FTE employees or less will be able to apply for a $5,000 economic support grant for commercial rent relief and business innovation activities that evolve/sustain business operations impacted by COVID-19.
- Approximately 120 Garden Grove businesses would be assisted.
- Grants would be disbursed on a first come, first served basis.
- Launch of this program for interested businesses will begin June 24, 2020 via the City’s Business Toolkit portal at https://ggcity.org/businesses.
These additional business and homeless resources will be incorporated into the Garden Grove Business Resource and Resiliency Plan which includes: the JOBS 1st Program supporting job retention and creation, and the Accessible Eateries Program for temporary outdoor dining.
In the areas of competitive grants, preparation of an Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) grant in the amount of $6,032,780 through U.S. Economic Development Administration was submitted on June 2, 2020 for infrastructure enhancement along South Harbor Boulevard, and preparation of a Local Community and Safety Mini Grant in the amount of $10,000 through SCAG for a Bike and Hike Initiative was submitted on May 14, 2020. The EAA and SCAG grants are currently in the application review stage and funds have yet to be awarded.