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Lewis County Microenterprise Grant Program Awards
$170,000 to Local Businesses for New Business and Expansion Projects
Published: June 02, 2021 at
10:30 a.m.
By: Press Release from Naturally Lewis
Lewis County presents check to Osceola
Ski & Sport Resort, from left to right: Larry Dolhof
(Lewis County Chairman of Legislators), Eric Virkler
(Lewis County Treasurer), Jenna Kraeger (Lewis
County IDA Economic Development Specialist), Brittany Davis (Lewis County
IDA Executive Director), Dustin Hite (Owner of Osceola Ski & Sport
Resort), Christina Hite and Family.
Lewis County Grants $170,000 to Local Businesses for
New Business & Expansion Projects
LEWIS COUNTY, NY
–
The Lewis County Microenterprise Grant Program, administered by Lewis
County Economic Development, awarded $170,000 in grant funding to
microenterprises in Lewis County for equipment purchases that helped lead
to the creation of new jobs, retention of existing jobs, and expansion of
products and services. Assistance was offered to income eligible businesses
through the New York State Office Community Renewal (NYSOCR) Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG).
According to
NYSOCR, "the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Economic
Development program provides grants to communities that wish to sponsor
economic development activities that create or retain jobs for low- and
moderate-income persons. The goal of the program is to fund
projects that result in high quality, full-time jobs that are well paying
and provide benefits and training to low- and moderate-income
persons."
The Lewis County
Microenterprise Grant Program funded the following projects:
- The Bateman Draft House (Lowville, NY) is a new downtown
restaurant and bar in Lowville, featuring a variety of New York State
craft draft beers, wines, ciders and liquors.
The grant funded $6,698.77 to assist with miscellaneous bar and
kitchen equipment.
- Black River Valley Natural (Lyons Falls, NY) produces wholesome
high quality dairy products including a variety of flavored milk,
butter, cheeses. The grant funded $34,650.00, assisting with the
purchase of bulk storage tanks and a cream separator to allow for
expansion into bottled skim, 1% and 2% milk.
- Bodhi Kombucha (Lowville, NY), sister company to
Skewed Brewing, produces craft kombucha. The grant funded $34,000,
assisting with the purchase of a canning line allowing both Bodhi
Kombucha, and sister companies, to can products onsite.
- Cummings Farms Cream Line Milk (Turin, NY) produces white, chocolate,
strawberry, coffee and maple cream line milk.
The grant funded $35,000, assisting with the purchase of pasteurizing and bottling equipment that allowed
them to bring bottling facility onto the farm.
- Osceola Ski & Sport Resort (Osceola, NY) is a new destination for
cross country skiing and snowshoeing, complete with ski lodge to warm
up and grab a drink and bite to eat. The grant funded $34,448.03 to
assist with the purchase of kitchen equipment and furniture for the
new Ski Lodge in Osceola, NY.
- Tug Hill Artisan Roasters (New Bremen, NY) is a small batch
coffee roaster that offers specialty coffees roasted locally. The
grant funded 26,008.20 to assist with the purchase of additional
roastery equipment that will allow them to expand their business into
a larger location in the future. It also funded the creation of a
cell-phone app that will allow ease of ordering for retail &
wholesale.
“2020 was an
incredibly difficult year for small businesses in Lewis County,” said Lewis
County Manager, Ryan Piche. “Programs like the Microenterprise Grant
Program are essential to keeping our economic momentum, even during times
of extreme difficulty. The team at the IDA did a wonderful job getting
these funds into the hands of entrepreneurs and small business owners who
continue to move our community forward.”
Brittany Davis,
Executive Director of Lewis County Economic Development added “Small
businesses and entrepreneurs often have a difficult time accessing capital
in small amounts to purchase the equipment they need. Our
partnership with Lewis County to administer this program has allowed small
businesses and entrepreneurs to start and expand products and services,
which in turn creates and retains jobs, creates unique experiences for
residents and tourists, and ultimately enhances the tax base of Lewis
County.”
In
order to qualify for the Lewis County Microenterprise Grant Program,
businesses must:
- Be involved in food or value-added production,
relocation to a downtown, or a tourism-based business
- Must be a microenterprise comprised of 5 or
fewer employees, including the owner
- Be located within Lewis County
- Create new jobs to be made available to
low-to-moderate income individuals as defined by NYSOCR
guidelines. In the case of the microenterprise, the owner
can also qualify by those same income guidelines.
- Funding must be used to purchase equipment,
machinery, furniture, or fixtures.
Lewis County
recently submitted another grant application for $200,000 in funding,
through NYSOCR, for a second round of funding. Award
announcements are expected to be made Summer 2021.
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