Overland Park small businesses get new shot of COVID-19 relief

Several small local businesses in Overland Park are set to receive a new round of federal pandemic relief money.

On Monday, the Overland Park City Council voted to increase its Small Business Grant Program by $250,000 in order to help an additional set of nine small businesses that have faced difficulties over the past three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The program first rolled out last year

Throughout 2022, the city administered some $3 million in federal relief funds for small businesses through the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA.
That money went to 111 small businesses, aimed at helping them recover from economic losses caused by the pandemic.
Qualifying businesses included those in the local tourism, travel and hospitality industries, the city says, though specific businesses were not named Monday.
The city is expected to issue a report next month on its pandemic-era Small Business Grant Program when more details may become available.

New funds will help nine local businesses

With Monday’s authorization, a total of $237,000 is set to be divided among the companies.
The remaining $13,000 allocated Monday will cover administrative costs, according to the city.
The businesses that qualified in this latest round of funding were all waitlisted last year due to improperly filling out their application, said Phyllis Hardwick, executive director of the Kansas City-based Community Capital Fund, which administers the program for the city.
“The fair way to handle it was to put them on a waitlist and to be funded if more funds become available,” she said.

Johnson County mask order — Businesses, especially restaurants and bars, across the Kansas City metro took an economic hit during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. File photo.

Council voted 9-3 to support the increase

Councilmembers Melissa Cheatham, Jeff Cox and Sam Passer voted against allocating the new round of funds for the Small Business Grant Program.
In explaining her vote, Cheatham said she’d rather see the $250,000 go towards other ARPA-approved expenses, such as funding infrastructure, which could help fulfill the city’s strategic goals approved late last year.
On the other hand, Councilmember Fred Spears voted for the new allocation, saying “this could be a life-support system that causes [these nine businesses] to succeed.”
From what has been budgeted, approved and allocated already, Overland Park has approximately $1.1 million of federal ARPA funds remaining.

Go Deeper: Overland Park small businesses could soon have access to $3M round of federal COVID-19 relief