As local communities look to tap into COVID-19 Response grants made available by the state, Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch is hopeful that a large proportion will be able to get funding.
The City of Knox was one of just 13 communities to get funding during the first round, out of 108 who had expressed interest. As for why Knox was chosen, Crouch tells WKVI News that a lot of it simply had to do with timing. “This program was a little different than most grant programs that OCRA has because it’s a first-come, first-served basis,” Crouch explains. “So because they were timely and because they expressed and demonstrated the need for the money, they were awarded the full $250,000, and not everyone was awarded the total amount of what they did request.”
The first round of COVID-19 Response grants totaled just under $2 million, and Crouch notes that there’s still more to come. “We always try to serve the need, and we have over two-and-a-half million dollars still available in these repurposed CDBG funds,” she says. “In addition, we are anticipating an additional $18 million through the CARES Act that will come to OCRA for COVID-19 Response.”
Crouch says some adjustments will be made to the program as it heads into future rounds and notes that she can’t guarantee that every community will get funding. “That particular program will be a grant program that’ll have a beginning and an end, a deadline,” she explains. “So it’ll differ from this particular initial program of the repurposed funds, and so we will open it come to other communities, also. So people will be submitting applications for that $18 million that will come in.”
Locally, Pulaski County is considering applying for funding to provide grants to help small businesses get through the pandemic. Starke County is seeking funds for its new mobile food program.
