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MINUTES OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE April 13, 2020 Online Broadcast Meeting Present: Councilmembers Bullock, Litten, &Neff Also Present: Councilmembers Kepple, Rader, & Shachner, Mayor George, Acting Finance Director Rancatore, Law Director Corrigan, City Planner Katelyn Milius, Development Officer Dan Wyman, Program Manager Mary Leigh, Rick Sicha& Marsha Mall (consultants for the city in its consolidated plan to HUD), a couple members of the public, Clerk Bach, & Deputy Clerk Lascu taking minutes Call to Order: 7:00 p.m. AGENDA Communication from Mayor George and Councilman Bullock regarding evaluating additional economic assistance to relieve the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor George provided an overview of city actions taken during the coronavirus pandemic to provide economic assistance to the community. She highlighted the implementation of the small business relief program, which provides funds quickly to small business owners to help them pay their business' rent. The first round of checks was cut last Thursday. Future rounds are anticipated. The program was funded using Community Development Block Grant(CDBG) dollars and allotments from the city's economic development fund. The economic development fund will not be tapped in future rounds, as the fund balance currently hovers around $200,000. Future funding will be provided through additional CDBG monies made available through the CARES Act. The city of Lakewood should be receiving another $1.2 million as a result of that federal legislation. The intent for Phase 2 of funding is to be more inclusive to small business owners who may not have a storefront that he or she occupies. A small business taskforce has been created to get an understanding of what businesses need at this time. Councilmember Bullock serves as the council representative on the taskforce. Councilmember Litten stated his understanding was that the rent relief program funds were being paid equally between the Planning Department and CDBG. He added he also understood that out of the applications received by the city, half would fall into one of the two funding streams. Mayor George stated that those understandings were correct, and that's how the program was planned, however most of the applications received did not qualify for CDBG funding, so the amount coming out of the economic development fund was increased in order to get checks out to owners in a speedy fashion. Councilmember Litten also asked if there was any funding available for residential landlords, as he has received inquiries from his constituents regarding the matter. Mayor George noted that her administration is evaluating providing relief to renters who may be hurting financially during the crisis.