The City of Deer Park is providing funds for small Deer Park businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19. The $197,550 grant money is from the Department of Treasury through funding under the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) passed last March. The funds are to be used toward business expenses including, but not limited to, payroll, utilities, and rent/mortgage payments. The deadline to complete a Small Business Stabilization Grant application is November 30th, 2020. This deadline is firm. Late applications cannot be accepted due to federal filing cutoff dates. 

Applying businesses must be located within the City of Deer Park, have a current business license to operate in Deer Park and were open for business before last March, when the first lockdown occurred. Copies of invoices, bills, sales receipts, rental/lease agreements and any other expense/loss being claimed due to COVID-19 events will need to be provided.

At the November 18th Deer Park City Council Meeting, members conversed about the best way to distribute the funds into the business community. Discussed was equitability in disbursement, as different companies have vastly different expenses and losses, and maximizing grant funding, due to the fact any money not spent would need to be returned to the federal government. To assure the widest possible circulation of funds it was decided a cap of $20,000 would be placed on the grant amount per business.  A task force, limited to three persons due to the Governor’s newest COVID restrictions, is being assembled now to finalize the process. Given the fast approaching November 30th deadline, getting the funds out into the business community is a top priority for the City of Deer Park.

For more information and to get an application, contact City Hall at (509) 276-8801. Download the application from: DPGazette.com/dpgrantapp