The Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to continue the Kings County American Rescue Program Small Business Assistance Program through its official end date of Feb. 17. January 1, 2023 instead of an early end on December 1. 31 years old this year.
The decision came after Assistant County Administrator Kyria Martinez broke down the funds allocated to each city through the aid program and District 2 Supervisor Richard Valle expressed displeasure with the program.
The county has $6 million in state funding available to help small businesses, providing up to $25,000 in COVID relief funding, with Hanford receiving $2.2 million, Lemoore $1,020,000, Corcoran $840,000 and Avenal $540,000, $1,320,000 allocated to unincorporated areas of the county.
So far, the county has received 398 applications, but approved only 118 of them. The county awarded $9,674 to small businesses in Avenal and $210,000 to Corcoran businesses. Lemoore businesses received $281,000 and the county’s unincorporated communities received $123,000. Businesses in Hanford received the most aid, more than $1.4 million.
Martinez said employees are satisfied with the progress the program has made, and he asked the board to push back the deadline for the program to end until December. 31 instead of having the program run its course on the February 2 end date. 1.
“We’re satisfied with the process we’ve probably completed, we’ve gotten to the point where all applications are being reviewed, and we believe the purpose of the program is being achieved,” Martinez said.
However, the Valle director was baffled by the idea of withdrawing funds early and said the entire district needed funds.
“The program didn’t even reach Lemoore because it wasn’t done right,” Valle said. “Going out now and looking at the numbers for Avenal and Corcoran, it’s disgusting. Nobody’s getting paid in my area … I’m mad at where we are. There’s a need in Avenal, there’s a need in Corcoran. Kettleman has a need. I’m sure Stratford and Armona have a need. Either they don’t know it, or they don’t make an effort to let them know.”
Valle said he could not vote to eliminate the money and suggested that the program be allowed to proceed as planned until Feb. 8. 1. He also said that keeping the deadline in place would allow each executive to connect with their local representatives and chambers of commerce to help spread the word about remaining funding to local businesses and drive more business applications.
The podium agreed to keep the program open until February 2. 1.
In other business, Kings County High School will open a Friday Night Live club for the first time in more than a decade. Supervisors voted to approve a $19,000 budget change to accommodate clubs at Corcoran High School. Once established, the club will work to reduce access to marijuana among young people in the community.
Katie Arnst, deputy director of the Kings County Department of Behavioral Health, said, “It’s all about youth leadership in terms of how they want to address substance use disorders and prevent them in the community. and propelled.”
The board wants to extend the county’s contract with Paragon, a company that helps the county forge federal ties.
“The firm provides professional federal advocacy on behalf of Kings County, which includes representing the county’s interests before Congress and federal agencies,” Martinez said. “Paragon has worked effectively with Kings County over the years to identify legislative and regulatory priorities to assist in strategic planning and advocacy to advance and protect the county’s interests at the federal level.”
The company, which has worked with the county for more than a decade, impressed the board enough to make them question whether they could extend their contract with Paragon from one year to four years. Paragon’s representative, Joe Krahn, enthusiastically agrees that the company’s relationship with the county is strong and Paragon is happy to extend their contract.
The board offered to finalize the contract at a future meeting so county staff can prepare a four-year contract and amendments.
In continuing efforts to prevent the spread of COVID and other infectious diseases, the Board of Directors approved a $1.2 million, 18-month contract with the California Health Collaborative (CHC). CHC will provide the county with preventive services such as self-testing and vaccinations as well as community outreach.
“We’ve been working hard to provide more accessible testing, vaccinations and information,” said CHC Representative Jennifer Acidera. “This is something we intend to continue and intensify in Kings County.”
The next Kings County Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for December 12th. 20 at 9 a.m., oath ceremony scheduled for 12 noon