[OMS_MANAGERS] FW: Update on Additional Business Funding through Business Oregon

Thu Nov 19 19:19:26 PST 2020

In the past couple of weeks I’ve been working specifically with one of our Restaurant owners in an attempt to help him with some of the recent funding applications.  We were fortunate to work with a great person at MESO that went above and beyond in helping this business owner.  He speaks Burmese, which is not as common as some of the other languages that applications and other resources have been made available in. Between the representative at MESO and myself we were able to get his applications entered.

After looking for language resources on my own with no luck, I spoke to my Board President who is also a member of our City’s EDC about the issue.  She has added the issue of language barrier resources to their next agenda to discuss.  The hope is that through them, they can reach out to the County and possibly the State for future assistance.  It would be nice if there were resources available for different types of barriers such as language, vision or technology that were available for a number of business related issues that could be drawn on as a resource when needed.  If those resources already existed, possibly at Business Oregon or on a contract basis, when things like these applications came up there would be a definite avenue already in place that we could direct our community partners to.  Maybe this is something each of us could try to raise awareness to in our own communities.

Rebecca Hollenbeck
Executive Director
HISTORIC WILLAMETTE MAIN STREET
503-607-8033

HistoricWillamette.com  | 1153 11th Street, West Linn, OR  97068

[cid:image004.png at 01D6BEA8.E4530EC0]

Historic Willamette Main Street's mission is to celebrate and preserve the rich history and natural beauty of the area, invest in the heart of our downtown by promoting our local businesses. Our purpose is to foster an inclusive, diverse community where local residents and visitors feel welcome to dine, shop, connect and socialize with others.

From: OMS_MANAGERS <oms_managers-bounces at omls.oregon.gov> On Behalf Of Director, Executive
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 7:02 PM
To: Oregon Main Street program managers <oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov>
Subject: Re: [OMS_MANAGERS] FW: Update on Additional Business Funding through Business Oregon

Thank you Janet - please know this email discussion is in no way meant to slight the valiant effort Business Oregon puts into this. M sorry if it appeared that way.

What if people had time to enter the data and get it right so when an application came in it was not incomplete? It seems one of the most useful things we in Main Street could do for our cities is assist in getting you properly filled out applications. Limiting the number of applications does not limit the need - so let’s get the need out there where we can see it. As money comes available applications can be updated as those who have not received assistance can be in the front of the line. We want to help not criticize!

On Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 6:53 PM Janel Ruehl <jruehl at coic.org<mailto:jruehl at coic.org>> wrote:
Hello All,

If I may, I'd like to add another perspective on the challenges of these grant programs. I've served as a project manager for 3 rounds of Business Oregon Grants in Central Oregon now, and one thing that I haven't heard mentioned yet is the incredible amount of time and staff capacity it takes to review applications. In our region, roughly 40% of all applications were submitted incomplete. This necessitates dozens of hours of follow-up and technical assistance to help walk applicants through the process to completion. After this stage, Business Oregon requires a second round of follow up paperwork to certify the application and collect required tax documents. This also requires a lot of follow-up with business owners, and extra paperwork for them!

I think this may be one major motivator behind the first-come, first-serve model: a desire to save business owners from doing a lot of extra paperwork and staff from spending 3-4x the hours to follow up with applicants and review applications. Clearly, there are inequities baked into this model that could be solved with some upfront time and effort. In Central Oregon, we took the time to translate everything and hire Spanish-speaking staff to help with technical assistance, but this also resulted in less overall money for our region, because it took us longer to launch our program. However, leaving the application open for weeks or longer could result in hundreds of additional applications which will all need to be reviewed while only a small subset will receive funding. As I'm sure almost everyone here is aware, Business Oregon disallowed any administrative costs for the first 3 rounds of the grant program, so administrators were literally doing all of this as volunteers, or dipping into other resources, programs, or reserves to provide these grants. We all did it anyway because we care deeply about our businesses!

Just some food for thought, that I hope might contribute to this discussion in a positive way.

Thanks,

Janel

On Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 4:49 PM Dan Fleishman <dfleishman at ci.stayton.or.us<mailto:dfleishman at ci.stayton.or.us>> wrote:
Following up on the post from Sheri regarding the funding going to the counties to distribute, here an email I just fired off to Marion Co’s economic development director.  (I’ve stripped out the addresses of the recipients) You may wish to send a similar one to your counties’ folks…

Dan Fleishman
Planning and Development Director
City of Stayton
362 N Third Avenue<https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g>
Stayton, OR 97383<https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g>
 <https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g>
Ph <https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g> 503<https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g>-769-2998

www.staytonoregon.gov<http://www.staytonoregon.gov/>

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am working from home for the foreseeable future.  You may reach me by phone at 541-207-2558.

From: Dan Fleishman
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 4:45 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: FW: [OMS_MANAGERS] Update on Additional Business Funding through Business Oregon

Jason,

To follow up on your email Tuesday, that was not a draft but I had copied you on the email I sent bcc to all of the businesses in Stayton for whom I have an email address.

Also on Tuesday, the state announced an additional $20 million in business assistance funds that is going to be distributed directly by Business Oregon.  The application period for those funds opened at 3:00 pm this afternoon, was available on a first come, first granted basis and was snapped up in 22 minutes.

I know that Marion Co has not yet determined how the funds you will be receiving will be distributed.  I’m estimating that Marion County will receive a bit under $4 million of the $55 million allocated by the state.   My purpose in writing is to urge you to not use a first come, first serve basis.  As you can see from the emails below (on the statewide Main Street list serve) doing so means only those who can log on and fill out their form in the first couple of minutes will be able to take advantage of the opportunity, leaving those who are actively working, don’t check their email on their phone, or are otherwise in need but two minutes late out of luck.

As you figure out the method of distributing the funds to Marion Co businesses, please provide an application window of at least 24 hours.  Rather than cutting off the applications when the allocation has been asked, as the state did, allow additional applications during the application period and provide a selection methodology (even a random selection is more fair than first come first serve).

I rarely (don’t think I ever have) include the Commissioners in this type of correspondence.  I have done so this afternoon, feeling the importance of this issue.  Hope you don’t mind my “going over your head.”

Best -

Dan Fleishman
Planning and Development Director
City of Stayton
362 N Third Avenue<https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g>
Stayton, OR 97383<https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g>
 <https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g>
Ph <https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g> 503<https://www.google.com/maps/search/362+N+Third+Avenue+%0D%0A+Stayton,+OR+97383+%0D%0A+%C2%A0+%0D%0A+Ph%0D%0A+503?entry=gmail&source=g>-769-2998

www.staytonoregon.gov<http://www.staytonoregon.gov/>

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am working from home for the foreseeable future.  You may reach me by phone at 541-207-2558.

From: OMS_MANAGERS [mailto:oms_managers-bounces at omls.oregon.gov] On Behalf Of Kevin Teater
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 3:44 PM
To: Oregon Main Street program managers <oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov>>
Subject: Re: [OMS_MANAGERS] Update on Additional Business Funding through Business Oregon

The link was not posted before 3pm, at least not that I noticed. The page has definitely updated since I saw it around 2:30pm.

It's so frustrating to me because we have so many businesses who struggle with technology or who speak English as their non-primary language.

I don't know how a grant like this can be released and have it be a first-come, first-serve basis without. That automatically excludes a huge portion of our community from even being eligible. The inequity is infuriating. It feels like a lack of foresight.

Kevin Teater (he/him)
Executive Director
Beaverton Downtown Association
www.downtownbeaverton.org<http://www.downtownbeaverton.org>
PO Box 311
Beaverton, OR 97005
(503) 332-5419
________________________________
From: OMS_MANAGERS <oms_managers-bounces at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:oms_managers-bounces at omls.oregon.gov>> on behalf of Todd Carpenter <toddecarpenter at gmail.com<mailto:toddecarpenter at gmail.com>>
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 3:29 PM
To: Oregon Main Street program managers <oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov>>
Subject: Re: [OMS_MANAGERS] Update on Additional Business Funding through Business Oregon

yeah that was totally frustrating.  we didn't get in.  going to have to close if it gets extended longer than the two weeks

On Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 3:28 PM Emily Bradley <Emily at scdcinc.org<mailto:Emily at scdcinc.org>> wrote:

From Business Oregon South Coast RDO:

“The portal is already been closed. $25M in asks in 22 minutes.”

--

Emily Bradley

Economic Development Specialist | South Coast Development Council, Inc.<https://www.scdcinc.org/>

2110 Newmark Ave.<https://www.google.com/maps/search/2110+Newmark+Ave.+%0D%0A+Coos+Bay,+OR+97420?entry=gmail&source=g>

Coos Bay, OR 97420<https://www.google.com/maps/search/2110+Newmark+Ave.+%0D%0A+Coos+Bay,+OR+97420?entry=gmail&source=g>

541-888-7003 | emily at scdcinc.org<http://emily@scdcinc.org>

https://www.scdcinc.org/

[cid:image003.png at 01D6BEA8.0D4299A0]

From: OMS_MANAGERS <oms_managers-bounces at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:oms_managers-bounces at omls.oregon.gov>> On Behalf Of Todd Carpenter
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 3:26 PM
To: STUART Sheri * OPRD <Sheri.Stuart at oregon.gov<mailto:Sheri.Stuart at oregon.gov>>; Oregon Main Street program managers <oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov>>
Subject: Re: [OMS_MANAGERS] Update on Additional Business Funding through Business Oregon

wow...  it says it's closed already :(  22 minutes?  or did it even open?

--
Janel Ruehl
she/her/hers
Program Administrator
Community & Economic Development
Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC)
 Office: (541) 548-9527
Cell: (503) 740.8625
jruehl at coic.org<mailto:jruehl at coic.org>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/oms_managers/attachments/20201120/59a9b88a/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.png
Type: image/png
Size: 10152 bytes
Desc: image003.png
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/oms_managers/attachments/20201120/59a9b88a/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.png
Type: image/png
Size: 31995 bytes
Desc: image004.png
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/oms_managers/attachments/20201120/59a9b88a/attachment-0001.png>