City to cap CARES Act funding, accept more applications

CLOVIS -- Mayor Mike Morris said Monday the city of Clovis will offer a second round of CARES Act applications after the first one attracted only a few businesses, some of which would have been receiving large percentages of the funding.

In order to open another round of applications, the city has decided to cap awards for the first round at $100,000, Morris said in a press conference.

“We went very hard after the $4.2 million (provided by the state) that we’re able to use to create these business grants, and the purpose of that and the hope when we do that is we would help as many businesses in Clovis as absolutely possible,” Morris said.

But the mayor said a second “shelter in place” public health order, issued Nov. 13 by the state, means a second round of applications would be beneficial for the community.

Officials said last week that 81 applications were deemed eligible after the first round and a task force was prepared to provide the city with 29 completed applications requesting a combined $1 million.

Those first-round requests varied between $500 and $490,000, city commissioners were told.

At least one area business owner was upset with Monday’s announcement.

“I imagine that anyone who qualified for over $100,000, they’re all going to be hurt and most of those are hotels and restaurants probably,” said Leal’s Mexican Food Restaurant Owner Laura Leal. “The most of my expense that I qualified for was the labor that we put out into the community. For our labor market there I have 70 employees and we’re all at risk of losing our jobs right now.”

City officials have not announced which businesses will be awarded funds following the first round of applications.

Sandra Taylor Sawyer, director of the Small Business Development Center at Clovis Community College, which is partnered with the city and the Clovis Chamber of Commerce in reviewing applications, advised new applicants to review information provided online before applying.

“The big thing that we definitely want to share with business owners is to please look through the frequently asked questions, read through the instructions, and I would recommend that you would pull down a copy of the paper application even if you plan to do it online,” Sawyer said.

She added that an online application will be easier to fill out if a business has its information together before beginning.

She emphasized that the grants serve to reimburse businesses for losses sustained during the pandemic, so proof of expenses is required.

Information on how to apply can be found at Clovisnm.org/cares

Morris encouraged all small businesses to consider applying. He added that state legislators were meeting this week to discuss additional funding that might go toward another round of grants for small businesses as well.

Applications are being accepted from today until 5 p.m. Dec. 4.