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Lyon Co. weighs options for CARES funding

MARSHALL — Earlier this summer, Lyon County learned it would receive more than $3 million in federal funding for COVID-19 relief. The big question facing county commissioners on Tuesday was how to allocate it.

Commissioners were united in thinking the county’s CARES Act funding should be used to help area businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But there were details that needed to be worked out, including what the county’s priorities should be, and how grant payments would be approved.

“I think we have to have some direction,” said Commissioner Rick Anderson.

After talking over what they thought the county’s priorities should be, commissioners voted to retain financial advisers Ehlers and Associates to help with a proposal for a grant program.

In June, area cities and counties got the news that a total $841 million in COVID-19 aid funding would be distributed across Minnesota as part of the CARES Act. Lyon County received $3.1 million in funding, and the city of Marshall received about $1 million.

Last week the Marshall City Council approved using half of its CARES funding for a local EDA grant program, aimed at Marshall businesses impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns. The other $500,000 would be used for city expenses for COVID-19 response.

Lyon County had a similar range of options in deciding how to use its $3.1 million, county staff said. The CARES funding could be used to reimburse the county for COVID-19 related expenses, for business and nonprofit grants, or for reimbursement to schools for unfunded COVID-19 mitigation or prevention costs.

Of the total $3.1 million, “I’d like to see $2 million go back out for grants,” Anderson said. Commissioners did have some further discussion on who should be able to apply for the grants. For example, they asked, should nonprofit organizations be as big a priority as businesses?

“That money needs to go to the business community in this county,” said Commissioner Steve Ritter.

Commissioners also talked about how grant applications should be handled. Commissioner Charlie Sanow said he thought applicants should need to prove their business had some kind of loss or impact from COVID-19. But commissioners were also uncertain about the idea of making businesses share lots of detailed financial information in order to qualify for a grant.

Ritter and Anderson said they thought the application should be a simple form, while still meeting auditing standards.

Ritter said he thought the county should work with a financial adviser like Ehlers and Associates to form a plan to move forward with a grant program.

“We need to put guidelines out there for these businesspeople, and see how many of them want to apply for it,” Ritter said.

The proposal passed, and commissioners directed county staff to bring a proposal back as soon as possible. Depending on how things go, it could come back before the county board in two weeks, or at the board’s first September meeting.

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