(Photo via Unsplash).
At least four businesses in Cortland County could be designated by the county legislature as recipients of the microenterprise grant.
Applicants to the microenterprise program can get up to $35,000 from the county through a program funded by the New York State Office of Community Renewal (OCR). The program seeks to provide economic opportunity for low-to-moderate income (LMI) people either through assistance to LMI business owners, or projects that create jobs for LMI residents.
The county started taking applications back in August and four projects are now in the running to receive funding.
The four projects were presented during a special county finance and administration committee meeting on Tuesday. The committee voted to recommend the projects to the entire county legislature.
The legislature can vote to suspend the rules at its meeting Thursday and vote on granting funds to the prospective businesses. If legislators do not come to an agreement to suspend the rules, the legislature may have to wait until December to vote on granting the funds.
The four projects are listed below:
- Champs Baseball, LLC – doing business as Game Knows Sports Training Facility in the town of Cortlandville, the business promises a state-of-the-art indoor facility dedicated mainly to comprehensive baseball and softball training services and skills analysis. Services can be provided to youth athletes of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to advanced players. This is a new project led by SUNY Cortland baseball coach Joe Brown. The application requested $30,384.
- Z’s Nutty Ridge, LLC in the town of Truxton: This project is an existing nursery that sells and cultivates nut trees, yielding primarily hazelnuts and chestnuts. The funding would expand the business’ ability to grow more clone nut trees and be able to take advantage of federal government incentives to grow nut trees. The application requested $25,405.
- Play D8, LLC in the Village of McGraw: The business is a pay-to-play child center with a space for small vendors. The “play place” style project will have age-appropriate toys, and as the project grows, there are plans to expand and include activities for parents and children to engage in together. The application requested $25,005.
- Crown City Media in Cortland: This is a visual production company that will focus on “providing concert lighting, state-of-the-art video production of live music events and studio projects in Cortland County, and broadcasting services via live streaming events and performances online.” Crown City also aims to offer similar services to musical artists, community events, and small businesses in the region. The application requested $35,000.
Linda Armstrong -- a program manager at Thoma Development Consultants, the firm the county contracted to oversee the grant program -- said the county received $170,000 from OCR.
Armstrong told legislators that OCR strongly recommends that at least half of that funding go to new businesses, which includes “true start-ups,” and/or businesses that have not been operating for more than six months.
OCR also calls for the applicant to provide 10% equity in their own funds.
If these four projects are approved, the county would be left with close to $55,000 in funds. Armstrong said there are some business owners who have expressed interest in the grant but have not fully completed the application process.
