Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

MARIES COUNTY—The Maries County Commission has now opened its CARES funding to businesses within the county. Maries County received $1,020,332 in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic (CARES) Act for reimbursable COVID-19 expenses that they have incurred, beginning March 1, 2020. The county can reimburse costs up to Sept. 1. Any funds not spent by Dec. 30, 2020, must be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

In early June, the county kicked off its public entities grant reimbursement program for COVID-19 related expenses, and the county is now offering a business grant program. Per the CARES Act, the county may pay expenditures related to the provision of grants to small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures. 

“Nationwide, some businesses were forced to close, through no fault of their own, to try to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Maries County Presiding Commissioner Vic Stratman said. “In June, these businesses were allowed to resume business. The Maries County Commission realizes that this has been an extreme hardship for these businesses. We greatly value their presence in our communities. This is money that was distributed to counties through the CARES Act. We encourage local businesses negatively affected by the business closures to apply for these funds.”

A separate application has been created for business requests, and businesses must provide documentation to support their requests. Businesses will have to provide a copy of valid business license (city and county), past tax records for 2019, profit/loss statement for 2020 prepared by accountant or tax professional, completed w-9 and other documentation depending on the request. For example, copies of paystubs for employee relief, copies of current utility bills and copies of last rent/mortgage payments should be included if requesting grant funds for those costs. Businesses seeking funding must have been in business prior to Feb. 29, 2020 and have no more than 30 (full-time equivalent) employees. Businesses can submit multiple applications as long as the total of the requested amounts does not exceed $5,000 to any one business. Applications for reimbursement are due to MRPC no later than Sept. 1, 2020. 

MRPC has created a webpage on its website where Maries County application information for both businesses and public entities can be found. That URL is https://www.meramecregion.org/cares-act-funding-opportunity-for-meramec-counties/.

Meramec Regional Planning Commission has been assisting Maries County and the other seven counties in the Meramec Region review the act, develop an application and administrative process that would meet audit requirements. MRPC staff will be handling the grant administration for Maries County.

Each applicant must complete a certification form, where they agree to comply with funding requirements, including repaying the reimbursement grant if the expenditure is deemed ineligible in the future. The application asks for contact information and detailed description of the cost incurred and how they are COVID-19 related. The form also provides a list of eligible expenditures, and applicants are encouraged to review that list before applying.

Maries County reimbursement requests will be directed to Kelly Sink at MRPC, where staff will review the application, make sure the request is eligible for funding and verify that the documentation meets the requirements for a Single Audit. A verified application will then be forwarded to the Maries County Commission for review and approval. Those that are approved will be forwarded to the county treasurer for payment to the applicant. MRPC staff will maintain files for the county and track all requests and expenditures. 

Persons with questions about Maries County grant can contact Kelly Sink at MRPC at 573-265-2993 or by email at Kellysb@meramecregion.org.

Combined, counties in the Meramec Region have been awarded a total of $23,278,689. The state of Missouri passed out a total of $520,925,478 to counties within the state. Funding distribution was based on population. The state of Missouri is also offering reimbursement grants with its CARES Act funds. 

For more information, visit treasurer.mo.gov/COVID. 

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. Gasconade County Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel serves as chairman of the board. A professional staff of 34 offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.

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