Swamped: 150 Kendall County small businesses file applications seeking federal COVID relief funds

Kendall County officials prepare for a meeting in the county board meeting room on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Lucas Robinson - lrobinson@shawmedia.com)

YORKVILLE – Small business owners are swamping Kendall County officials with applications for federal COVID-19 relief grants.

By mid-afternoon Monday Jan. 10 about 150 applications had been submitted online, Kendall County Finance and Budget Analyst Jennifer Karales said.

County Board member Dan Koukol, the economic development committee chairman, said a block of applications are expected to be reviewed by his committee on Jan. 13 and then approved by the full county board on Jan. 18.

The county is distributing $2 million in federal American Rescue Act Fund monies this year to small business owners in two phases.

Koukol and Karales were meeting with small business owners at the Historic Kendall County Courthouse Monday afternoon to answer questions and to explain the online application process.

“We tried to make it as user-friendly as possible,” Karales said.

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees and that meet statutory requirements under Section 3 of the Small Business Act may apply for the grant money.

The key qualifications for receiving a grant are that the business must be physically located within Kendall County, have operated during 2019 and 2020, have filed tax returns for those years and are currently open.

The businesses must demonstrate that they lost revenue, as shown through tax filings, because of the pandemic.

Grants covering 25% of lost revenues between 2019 and 2020, or a maximum of $25,000, will be awarded to qualifying businesses completing the application process.

A variety of business owners showed up for the application workshop at the old courthouse.

Lynn Dollman has operated Bella Tressa Hair Studio in Yorkville for 30 years, but found her business shut down for 10 weeks at the start of the pandemic.

Martha Conover of Oswego, who runs a boutique travel business from her home, has been unable to take tour groups to foreign destinations.

“My business has been gravely impacted,” said Conover, who recently was forced to cancel a tour she was going to lead to Italy.

Cutline:
Travel guide Martha Conover of Oswego is one of many Kendall County small business owners applying for COVID-19 relief grants. She was learning about the application process during a workshop with county officials Jan. 10 at the Historic Kendall County Courthouse in Yorkville. (Mark Foster mfoster@shawmedia.com)

The pandemic took a big chunk out of the bottom line for Steve Heubel of Steven’s Silk Screening and Embroidery in Yorkville.

“COVID took us down about 50%” Heubel said. “It was pretty devastating.”

The focus was to avoid employee layoffs.

“That was my main goal; to keep them all working” Heubel said.

Restaurant owner Bob Dearborn of Dearborn’s Cafe in Sandwich was forced to close his business for more than three months at the start of the pandemic and then again for 16 days last fall because an employee had tested positive for the virus.

He stepped up the carry-out portion of his business and delayed some planned improvements.

“It’s a juggling act,” Dearborn said.

Jessica Anderson of S&K Excavation and Trucking in Newark said the pandemic made people reluctant to put money into new construction and believes the industry is being hit even harder now.

Koukol told the business owners that the key to obtaining a grant is to document their revenues for 2019 and 2020.

“The main thing is you have to be able to show the loss,” Koukol said.

Karales said the business owners can easily upload the tax information onto their online applications.

The application page may be reached at https://kendallcounty.smapply.io/

The grant money must be spent within six months, Karales said, and can be used for rent, salaries, utilities and other business expenses.

Businesses are not eligible if there are outstanding judgments or liens against the business or owners, of if they are the debtor in a pending bankruptcy.

In addition, the businesses must be up to date on property taxes, court fees, permit fees or any other fees issued by the county government.

Businesses may not seek a grant for expenses that have already been reimbursed through another assistance program.

No Kendall County elected or appointed officeholder may have a direct or indirect financial interest in the business.

Kendall County Deputy Director of Information and Communication Technology Meagan Briganti said business owners will receive email confirmations as applications make their way through the approval process.