First relief grant approved

A Portland business will likely receive a grant through the city’s coronavirus relief program.

That would leave $148,750 in the $150,000 available pot to fund grants through the city’s Small Business Resilience Grant program.

The Portland Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) Advisory Committee met Thursday to preliminary approve a $1,250 grant for Adams Physical Therapy Services Inc. to cover some of the $1,414.41 the business reported spending on personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and other things it would not have bought had it not been for the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

Those expenses were not covered by the $276,500 the business reported receiving in coronavirus related grants from the Small Business Administration.

“I think they hit the nail on the head with the program here,” committee chairman Travis Richards said, referring to the business providing accurate and thorough documents of expenses with their application.

The grant will go to the Adams Physical Therapy Services pending a review of the provided tax forms and expense sheets by Portland clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips. 

 The therapy operation is one of six businesses that have applied for the grant, which was established by Portland Mayor John Boggs in an executive order in July and funded by the general EDIT fund.

Other businesses that applied were the Triple Taxi Service, P&B United Enterprise, Greazy Pickle LLC, Flower Nook and Renegade Custom Cycles. Each of those businesses have yet to provide the needed tax forms and profit margin sheets to be eligible for the grant.

Richards was directed to contact those businesses and inform them they need to provide materials in order to be eligible for a grant.

Committee members Kent McClung, Mike Aker, Richards, Phillips and Boggs, absent Janet Powers,  discussed the less-than-expected number of businesses that have applied for the grant, chalking up the low turnout as a lack of awareness of the program by businesses or a disregard of the relatively small funds of the program compared to other relief grants.

The committee is scheduled to meet every Thursday in September to review grant applications.

Any Portland business is eligible for the grant so long as they provide requested documents and list an expense caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications are available online at bit.ly/2EbHMcC.