Really good news has been hard to find since the COVID-19 pandemic shut most things down in New Castle more than a month ago. But that changed somewhat Friday when Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced the city will receive $250,000 from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
The money will come from a new COVID-19 Response Program and assist New Castle’s hardest-hit manufacturers and retail businesses.
“That’s awesome news,” Mayor Greg York. “It’s going to be huge for our community.”
“This is fantastic news and I applaud Mayor (Greg) York for pursuing this funding,” New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corp. President Corey Murphy said. “The EDC is pleased to assist with the implementation of this grant.”
Murphy explained this funding is separate from the Main Street Resiliency Fund.
“To the extent possible, we will work to have all the local business-assistance programs coordinate with one another and be aware of others’ activities. This will provide an efficient yet collaborative response.
“The OCRA funding for business assistance grants is federal,” Murphy continued. “Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding must meet a CDBG national objective. The national objective for the program is to benefit low-to-moderate-income people (LMI). This will be through job retention. A total of 51% of the jobs retained should be held by low-to-moderate-income individuals. LMI data is supplied by the state on a county-by-county basis.”
Murphy said grant recipients will also need to submit a letter stating: “but for these CDBG funds these jobs would have been lost.”
York said the announcement was a true lifeline for some local businesses.
“With this grant, you can borrow up to $25,000 to help your business,” York said. “It will be the difference-maker for some businesses to either not make it or stay in business.”
Murphy said the timeline on implementation remains unclear other than OCRA desires to have the funding drawn down and in the community within the next 60 days.
“We will work as quickly as possible to begin the application process for city businesses,” Murphy said. “Stay tuned for program details.”
In addition to New Castle, other communities receiving the grant included Fayette County and the city of Rushville.
© Copyright 2024, The Courier-Times, New Castle, IN.