[0:00] Alrighty, looks like we have a pretty good group in here, so we'll go ahead and get this

[0:21] town hall meeting started.

[0:22] Welcome again.

[0:23] My name is Casey Astorga and I am the Administrative Services Director with the City of Scotts

[0:27] Valley.

[0:28] Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to be with us tonight to talk

[0:31] about our CDBG Small Business Grant Program.

[0:35] And tonight's town hall is not only hosted by the City of Scotts Valley, but certainly

[0:39] in partner with the Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Cruz Small Business

[0:43] Development Center, as well as the Adams Ashby Group.

[0:46] So you'll see participants from each of those agencies here in attendance tonight.

[0:51] So thank you for attending and we'll move forward with a few words from our council

[0:56] members.

[0:58] Well, thank you, Casey.

[1:02] My name is Randy Johnson.

[1:03] I'm on the Scotts Valley City Council.

[1:05] I want to welcome everybody to the CDBG Grant Program, which is exciting and I think represents

[1:12] just a tremendous amount of teamwork by lots and lots of people.

[1:17] And we'll be going over that shortly.

[1:19] You know, it was what, two years ago, I think Derek and I were handing out, you know, different

[1:26] things, sanitizer that people didn't have, masks.

[1:30] Does anybody remember spraying the mail that came in through the door?

[1:36] All things that kind of seem like a distant past.

[1:40] And I remember the county health person, I think it was Mindy, that she's now gone from

[1:44] county health, but she says, you know, this is going to last two years.

[1:47] And I kind of scoffed at that.

[1:48] But here we are almost two years later.

[1:53] But we're still here.

[1:56] People are still here meeting challenges.

[2:00] I can't think of a better group of people who are the businesses that we're going to

[2:04] be talking to tonight of one of the overused words of resiliency, where, you know, you've

[2:12] faced tough, tough times.

[2:15] And I think in business, people can deal with bad news, good news, but it's always uncertainty

[2:22] that I think really, really strikes fear in the minds of businesses.

[2:27] I mean, when you think about it, you know, expenses never sleep.

[2:30] You have worries about your employees, your family.

[2:35] Was this business going to survive that you've been working towards and making happen for

[2:40] the last, you know, one, five, ten years and so forth?

[2:45] So I just want to thank everybody for that has made this happen, that is helping here.

[2:53] You know, we have a great team, starting with, you know, Casey, you've done a fantastic job.

[3:01] He's our administrative services director, the city council, you know, Jack, Donna and

[3:08] Jim are here tonight, or maybe they're in the audience, but they're here in spirit.

[3:13] They've been very, very supportive.

[3:16] Our new city manager, Molly Lago, one of the first questions that we asked her, we told

[3:21] her about, you know, what's happening with our businesses, the economic vitality is at

[3:26] risk in the city of Scotts Valley, and she's more than up for the task.

[3:31] And of course, we have Danny Reber, who's the executive director of the Scotts Valley

[3:39] And Angela, who I think is not feeling well tonight, Danny, but give her our best.

[3:45] So I just want to, like I said, I just want to say that we're thankful the way that you've

[3:51] hung in there and Godspeed, wish you all the best.

[3:56] And I'm hopeful that tonight's meeting is going to be extremely beneficial for everybody

[4:00] in attendance.

[4:05] Thank you, Randy.

[4:06] And I'll only add to that, that, you know, we are grateful to our small businesses who

[4:11] have held on.

[4:14] It's been a really difficult two years.

[4:15] I mean, I know it's been difficult for the city, but it's also been just as difficult

[4:21] for our police department, people out there, employees, but for businesses, especially

[4:26] all you've had to go through.

[4:28] It's been a shift every week, it seemed like for a year.

[4:33] And then now, you know, we thought we were out of it this summer and we find ourselves

[4:36] right back in the middle of another wave and it's, it's frustrating.

[4:41] You feel it with your customers, you feel it with your employees, and you know, even

[4:45] just getting people into work right now with what we're facing is a challenge.

[4:48] So I want to thank you for holding on.

[4:50] The city recognizes you are the backbone of our community.

[4:54] You're what makes things work here.

[4:57] And it's been our focus for the last two years.

[5:00] We wanted to make sure that you survived because without you, Scotts Valley doesn't

[5:05] survive.

[5:06] And we've done everything we could.

[5:08] And you know, even the chamber, they were at risk of closing their doors when the pandemic

[5:13] hit because their funding sources dried up and the ways they bring in money dried up.

[5:17] And the city took a risk.

[5:19] We funded them and we funded them.

[5:22] We asked them not just to support their chamber members, but to support every business in

[5:26] town.

[5:28] We helped to get out information on how businesses could get grants, how we could get PPP loans

[5:33] out.

[5:34] And then when it came time to get them forgiven, we were on top of that too.

[5:37] And I want to thank Danny Reber at our chamber because you did such a great job.

[5:41] I mean, he literally was knocking on people's doors, having them sign those grant applications

[5:44] to get them in the night before they were due, just to make sure people didn't miss

[5:49] out and businesses could stay open.

[5:51] And this is just another chapter in what we've been working on for months.

[5:54] We've been working on this CDBG loan grant program and it's taken a while.

[5:59] Casey, thank you for all your work with the state.

[6:01] I know it's been a challenge, but we're very happy tonight to kick that off.

[6:05] So with that, I'll hand it over back to Casey so he can begin to explain what we're working

[6:11] on and how you can apply and how you can get funds in for your business.

[6:14] Thank you.

[6:15] Absolutely.

[6:16] Thank you very much, council members.

[6:18] So first, let's go through the agenda tonight.

[6:19] Our plan, we don't expect this meeting to last more than maybe 15 or 20 minutes.

[6:24] We'll first talk about our meeting format.

[6:27] We'll talk specifically about the economic recovery subcommittee that the council members

[6:30] were alluding to.

[6:31] And then we'll talk specifically about the CDBG small business grant and the application

[6:36] process.

[6:37] And then we'll open up the forum for questions from all of our attendees today.

[6:42] The good news is that this webinar is being recorded and will be posted on the city's

[6:46] website.

[6:47] So you don't need to take notes.

[6:48] We're going to be mentioning a few different websites here and some details.

[6:51] All of this information will be on the city's website.

[6:54] We're going to use the zoom webinar function.

[6:56] So you'll see that you are muted at this time.

[6:57] All of the attendees are.

[6:59] So if you are going to ask a question or have an inquiry, you can either raise your hand

[7:04] at the end of the presentation or you can type your question into the chat.

[7:07] We also have Lauren Lambert, the city's deputy city clerk here to help with that as well.

[7:14] So introducing the full body of the city of Scotts Valley's economic recovery subcommittee

[7:18] Molly, the go, our city manager, myself, admin services director, and we are joined by councilmembers

[7:24] Derek Kim and Randy Johnson, representing certainly the full city council.

[7:28] And then again, Danny Reber, executive director of the chamber, as well as Angela Marshall,

[7:32] operations manager of the chamber.

[7:36] So through our efforts as a collaboration, the city council said we need a subcommittee

[7:41] to handle our local business needs, especially during this time.

[7:44] So we have this subcommittee to work collaboratively through the chamber to hear the business voices

[7:48] and their needs and have they emerged and evolved and really compounded, quite frankly.

[7:54] So some of the examples of what this subcommittee have helped champion and raise concern for

[7:58] and respond to, quite frankly, was providing the mask to sanitizer, sanitizers to businesses,

[8:04] some policy changes, some fee relief programs, promotional events.

[8:08] And you see the very different types of campaigns, whether it's a banner down some of our main

[8:13] roadways, social media presence, or campaigns either through email, television, or quite frankly,

[8:19] like we were mentioned before that, you know, knocking on doors, picking up the telephone.

[8:23] How can we get the word out?

[8:24] And where we're here tonight to talk about is the CDBG small business grants, which really

[8:29] just the next chapter of how this subcommittee and not just the city, the chamber and our

[8:33] business community are going to partner to help stay resilient, quite frankly.

[8:36] Also, as part of this effort, the city retained a couple consultants to help with this project.

[8:44] One is Paul Ashby.

[8:46] He is with the Adams Ashby Group and he is here in attendance tonight to help answer

[8:50] any questions.

[8:52] And then Alex Peterson is with the Santa Cruz SBDC.

[8:55] He's going to be your main point of contact and we'll talk more about that later.

[8:59] He is not in attendance tonight, but he is our small business expert and we'll learn

[9:02] more about Alex in a bit here.

[9:06] So what is CDBG?

[9:07] I know there's going to be a few different acronyms that we spell out for you because

[9:11] some of it's kind of government jargon.

[9:13] So CDBG is a community development block grant.

[9:17] It's a federal program that provides support to local businesses with the goal of supporting

[9:22] the broader economies.

[9:23] And this is principally targeted towards supporting low and moderate income persons.

[9:28] So you see a link down below to look at the federal program, give some very detailed explanations

[9:34] And you'll see what these requirements look like in terms of the application process and

[9:38] what this means for you specifically in your business and their eligibility for the grant.

[9:44] What is SBDC?

[9:45] Again, another federal program, but we are lucky to have a Santa Cruz branch here in

[9:48] our backyard.

[9:50] And like I mentioned before, they are the small business experts and they're going to

[9:53] be your first point of contact when you have questions about your individual situation

[9:58] as a business or to help with the application process.

[10:01] So you can think of SBDC as your first point and your main point of contact in working

[10:04] through this small business grant application process.

[10:07] Again, their primary goal is to support economies as they start locally and then have impacts

[10:12] throughout the nation.

[10:15] How do we get this funding?

[10:17] They really are your tax dollars at work.

[10:19] You see it started up at the federal level through the CARES Act and you see how it trickles

[10:22] down through again, a federal department, Housing and Urban Development, also known

[10:26] as HUD, and then that made its way over to the California Department of Housing and Community

[10:30] Development, also known as HCD.

[10:33] The city applied for this grant.

[10:35] That's where you see the City of Scotts Valley coming in and the checks to all the grant

[10:39] awardees will be cut by the City of Scotts Valley.

[10:41] So that's where I come in.

[10:42] Me and my team will be cutting checks directly to Scotts Valley business owners.

[10:45] So you see where it started at the federal level, pay attention to kind of Congress actions

[10:50] there and how it ends up in small business owners pockets at the very end.

[10:55] What are the requirements?

[10:56] So here's just a high level summary and we encourage everyone to visit the city's website

[11:00] to look at the full exhaustive program guidelines.

[11:04] But in summary, here are some of the general requirements.

[11:06] One you have to be a for-profit business.

[11:10] Next you have to be a brick and mortar store with a physical location within the Scotts

[11:13] Valley city limits.

[11:15] Unfortunately for this type of grant, home-based businesses are not eligible.

[11:19] There are potentially other opportunities where a home-based business may be eligible,

[11:23] but unfortunately not for the CDBG grant.

[11:27] You must be legally operating with all required government permits, which includes a business

[11:31] license, must not have any tax liens and no code violations, et cetera.

[11:36] So in general, legally compliant with all government rules.

[11:40] The business must be in operation prior to March 2020, which coincides with the beginning

[11:45] of the pandemic.

[11:47] And you must be a small business and that's defined by 25 or fewer, what's considered

[11:51] an FTE.

[11:52] And there's a formula in the application that explains how to calculate an FTE that includes

[11:56] both employees and any business owners as well.

[12:00] And the last bullet point shown on the screen here is that grant funds must be used to benefit

[12:05] low to moderate income individuals, which includes both employees or business owners,

[12:09] which quite frankly means that jobs are retained for those low to moderate income individuals.

[12:15] And again, this is not a full list.

[12:16] Please review the program guidelines for all the details.

[12:21] What are eligible activities?

[12:22] How can you use the funds?

[12:24] So the first bullet point is one of the highlights of this presentation that a business can apply

[12:28] for up to $50,000 to cover the following costs.

[12:33] That's a significant amount and I know the need is there.

[12:35] So hopefully that'll help with these qualifying events, which will include rent and or mortgage

[12:41] and or utility costs.

[12:44] You will be able to provide actual costs either through a lease agreement or some record of

[12:48] payment, et cetera, for those utility costs or rental mortgage costs.

[12:52] The second bullet point shows that these costs must have been incurred through the bulk of

[12:57] a pandemic.

[12:59] So it's starting in April 2020 with those costs up through the most recent December

[13:03] 31st of 2021.

[13:06] So again, rent, mortgage or utility costs and those costs would have been incurred from

[13:10] April 2020 through December of 2021.

[13:16] How do you apply?

[13:17] So your first stop will be the city's website and it's linked here.

[13:20] Again, you don't need to take notes because this will be available online.

[13:24] So it's a website there and you'll contact our Santa Cruz SBDC where you input details

[13:30] about your business, your business name, your contact information, and then that's where

[13:33] Alex Peterson comes in and he and his team will reach out to you to start the application

[13:38] process.

[13:39] And that's where you see step two there.

[13:40] SBDC will answer all of your unique and personal questions about your business.

[13:45] So we asked tonight that we'd not get into too much detail about any one individual business

[13:49] and any unique circumstance, but that's where SBDC, the small business experts can ask,

[13:55] understand your questions, answer them, point you in the right direction.

[13:58] However, an important note is that it is the business owner's responsibility to submit

[14:02] the application.

[14:03] So we have a few weeks here until the application window closes.

[14:07] And that final point there, business must submit their application directly to SBDC

[14:13] no later than Friday, January 28th, 2022 at 5 p.m.

[14:20] How are the grants going to be awarded?

[14:22] So you'll see SBDC helps you understand if you are eligible in that respect.

[14:28] And then we will use our subcommittee here to make a recommendation to the full city

[14:32] council to award the grants.

[14:34] And they will be scored on this matrix that you see here, which has also been posted on

[14:37] our website.

[14:40] will be made ideally in February, but it may happen in March at the latest is our plan

[14:45] right now.

[14:46] And quite frankly, our goal, the third goal point as a city is to make the awards with

[14:50] many businesses as possible.

[14:52] So you see the matrix here based on the number of employees, the impact, where they're located

[14:58] geographically in the community, how they meet general economic development needs.

[15:03] So those are some of the main categories of that scoring matrix, which again posted on

[15:06] the city's website.

[15:10] And finally, where to get more information and again, where to apply, you can go to the

[15:14] city's website and you can go to the main page, there's a spotlight splash.

[15:17] So once you're on the home page, you can scroll down just a bit and you can click directly

[15:21] on the CDBG website, or as you're on the main page, you can search for CDBG and it'll take

[15:26] you directly to the link.

[15:27] So consider the city of Scotts Valley's website as the main stop for questions about CDBG

[15:34] for general information and then for your connection over to Santa Cruz SBDC to start

[15:38] the application process.

[15:41] And with that, that concludes our presentation.

[15:44] So I will stop sharing my screen.

[15:50] And then open for any questions.

[15:56] So.

[15:57] So it looks like Jen has entered a question into the chat about recently locating into

[16:11] the community, and I think we'll have to work with SBDC to answer that specific question

[16:17] for you.

[16:18] Yeah, reiterating hers, Casey, she's a she had a brick and mortar location.

[16:22] She's a longtime Scotts Valley business owner, and I think her question is because of the

[16:26] pandemic, she she had to relocate in the middle of it to a to working from home.

[16:32] And could she still qualify?

[16:33] But I'm guessing your answer is the same to check with the SBDC on that.

[16:38] I think so. I hate to commit to something right now being correct.

[16:42] So I think we can follow up one on one with her.

[16:47] We got another question in the chat from Randy.

[16:49] Is tomorrow too soon to start the application process?

[16:51] Absolutely not. So the application process is live on the city's website.

[16:56] So you can click the link to connect with SBDC and you can start the application process

[17:00] tonight, quite frankly.

[17:02] So you can get started now.

[17:03] SBDC is ready.

[17:05] Alex specifically will reach out and answer your questions.

[17:08] So, yes, you can start now.

[17:15] Again, you can either use the chat function or you can raise your hand if you'd like to

[17:19] verbally speak or ask a question.

[17:26] That means you did a good job with your presentation, Casey.

[17:30] I appreciate that. I know this was general high level information tonight.

[17:34] And again, if there are any specific questions, SBDC as a small business experts are going

[17:38] to be your first point of contact.

[17:41] I don't see any further questions in the chat and I don't see any hands raised.

[17:45] So with that, I will conclude tonight's webinar.

[17:47] Again, visit the city's website for more information and then click that link to connect

[17:51] with SBDC and you can start your application process there.

[17:54] And final reminder, applications are due to SBDC by

[17:58] January 28th at 5 p.m.

[18:00] So with that.

[18:01] And gosh, Casey, if I can add one thing, because I've had a lot of questions is I know

[18:05] that I had a dozen or so people say they couldn't make it tonight and there will be a

[18:08] recording of tonight's meeting that that has that people can watch.

[18:12] You told me will be available tomorrow, correct?

[18:14] Yes, absolutely. So our intention is to download tonight's webinar in its entirety and

[18:19] then post it again on that same city website as early as tomorrow.

[18:22] That's our goal.

[18:24] So one more question I see popped up from Ryan.

[18:31] Is it first come, first serve or based on the matrix?

[18:34] It is not first come, first serve.

[18:36] It is based on the scoring matrix.

[18:44] Gosh, hey, while we're waiting for more questions to come into, I just wanted to give a

[18:47] shout out and thanks to this group for all the hard work done.

[18:51] I know you touched on on some of the things that was only part of it, what's been done

[18:55] these last two years, but not just COVID.

[18:56] Gosh, we had the fire in the middle of it.

[18:58] The whole city got evacuated, all these things.

[19:00] And this has been a hard working group from the beginning.

[19:03] And I've heard the gratitude from our business, but I just want to want to relay it on

[19:08] behalf of the chamber. I mean, a lot of our surrounding community spent their time

[19:11] writing efforts, trying to explain their needs and convince their local officials of

[19:16] what they needed. And early on we were meeting and you guys had a seat right there at

[19:20] the table, hearing it right from the horse's mouth.

[19:22] So instead of having to waste time convincing folks, you were already on board and we

[19:27] were just getting stuff done. And I know I know we've already saved a lot of businesses

[19:31] that wouldn't be here without this group's efforts.

[19:34] And, you know, that that effort's ongoing, too.

[19:36] So just reminding people, you know, like you mentioned, there could be further opportunities.

[19:40] And I've reached out to a lot of people already via email and phone.

[19:44] But if you haven't contacted me and you're not already on our list, make sure you also

[19:48] contact me at the Scotts Valley Chamber.

[19:50] So if there's any any other future opportunities like this that come along, that we can make

[19:56] sure we keep you on that ongoing list.

[19:58] Hey, Danny, you know, over 20 years ago when the chamber had its

[20:04] award ceremony, the theme was Renaissance.

[20:08] And if you think about it, that's kind of what we're trying to do here is have a

[20:13] renaissance of our businesses, our community, our city, our constituents and really our

[20:19] whole central coast. And so I think we're pointed in that direction.

[20:23] And I think, you know, programs like this and all again, I'll use the word teamwork,

[20:30] kind of lends itself for us to move in that direction.

[20:33] So thanks a lot.

[20:35] Yeah, same here.

[20:36] Those are a couple of great reminders.

[20:37] And again, this is just one opportunity, so there will be more and I know this subcommittee

[20:41] will keep its eye out for new funding sources or other other ways to support the business

[20:45] community. So we we know our work is not done, so we appreciate everyone who attended

[20:50] tonight. And again, this will be published on the city's website.

[20:52] That website has been entered into the chat.

[20:55] But seeing no further questions from the community.

[20:57] Again, thank you all for attending tonight.

[21:00] Then keep an eye out on the city's website.

[21:02] Thank you very much. Have a good night.

[21:03] Last one, Jaycee, just came in.

[21:04] Oh, I'm sorry, Derek. Yes, there's a, will the grants be solely based on, is that just come in?

[21:10] No, just a thank you.

[21:11] Yes, here it is from Ken.

[21:12] Will the grants solely, will the grants be solely based on the points chart?

[21:16] If so, does that mean grants are more likely for a higher number of employees?

[21:21] Yes, that is correct.

[21:22] So if you look at the scoring matrix, as you can see, we have a little bit of a gap here.

[21:26] Yes, that is correct.

[21:29] So if you look at the scoring matrix, a business will receive a higher number of points

[21:34] on that scoring matrix based on the higher number of FTEs or employees that they have.

[21:39] And part of the city's goal in that was to make sure we could help as many people in

[21:43] Scotts Valley as we could, business owners as well as their employees, because we want these

[21:47] funds to get stretched out and reach the people who need it most.

[21:50] So, yeah.

[21:53] And then I do see one additional question.

[21:55] I became a brick and mortar in June 2021, would I qualify?

[22:00] I think the short answer is yes, but we'd like to chat with you one on one to clarify

[22:04] what you would qualify for, if it would be that full period or potentially only a portion

[22:09] of that eligible period as well.

[22:11] So please reach out to SBDC and we'll talk you through that specific question.

[22:14] Taking a look for any last questions here.

[22:36] I don't think I see any further.

[22:41] OK, thanks again, everyone.

[22:43] Have a great night.

[22:43] Thank you.

CDBG Town Hall Webinar 1-12-2022

Transcript