Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist and City Council President Tony Dolce at City Council’s Work Session on August 22, 2022
The City of Jamestown is developing an application process for non-profits who want to request American Rescue Plan funds.
Mayor Eddie Sundquist said his administration and City Council have received a lot of requests, most in the form of presentations, requesting allocations of ARPA funds for organizations that are non-profits.
Organizations that have presented to Council in recent months asking for fund include the Jamestown YMCA, the Jamestown Public Market, the ZONE at the Northwest Arena, and the Chautauqua County Land Bank Corporation.
City Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said the application was developed based on discussions with the Mayor and Council President Tony Dolce and the form is based on business grant applications the city has, “We suggested that $1.5 million be allocated to the program. Grants not exceed $200,000. However, anything that might receive consideration for over $200,000 would be subject to a PILOT agreement with the city. Details to be determined, finalized based on discussion we might have.”
Surdyk said organizations would still need to provide information proving hardship and how the funding would address their organization’s recovery from the pandemic.
Sundquist said recognizing that non-profits do not pay taxes, the draft does include a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes for organizations receiving over $200,000 “Which would mean you’d pay, the organization would pay, a percentage of what their tax burden would be as a not-for-profit. So we initially had some discussion about 2.5% of what your tax bill would normally have been as a not-for-profit.”
Sundquist said non-profits would then have some “skin in the game.”
Councilmember Marie Carrubba requested that organizations who received PPE loans be put in a lower category for approval of funds. Surdyk agreed and that the suggestion made sense.
Sundquist and Surdyk both requested City Council provide additional input on the application so that it can move forward.
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