The Town of Fountain Hills is modifying its requirements for those small businesses eligible for an assistance grant through a COVID-19 relief program.

“Similar to other cities/towns and Maricopa County, the town was previously not allowing businesses that had received assistance from other programs to apply,” Town Economic Development Director James Smith told The Times. “This was originally put in place to maximize the impact that our dollars would have, particularly on those businesses that had not received any assistance.

“However, after receiving some feedback from the business community and further considering this, we are no longer disqualifying those businesses from applying and being considered for a grant.”

In an email notice to local businesses Smith wrote, “If a business received other grant/loan assistance via programs such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) or the Paycheck Protection Program as part of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) response to COVID-19, they are no longer disqualified from applying and being considered for a grant. Businesses that had previously attempted to apply, and believe they weren’t allowed to under that provision, are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.”

Other requirements for the grant application state the business:

*Be located within the municipal boundaries of the Town of Fountain Hills.

*Operate as a for-profit business, not as a non-profit, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6), etc.

*Have an active Town of Fountain Hills Business License.

*Began conducting business operations within the Town of Fountain Hills on or before January 1, 2020 and is still operating as of the date funding is awarded.

*Employ 25 or fewer Full-Time Equivalent (FTEs) employees as of February 15, 2020.

*Have had gross sales/revenues of less than $3 million in Calendar Year 2019.

*Not be affiliated with another business under common ownership/management that has applied or will apply for grant funds.

*Agree to provide the Town with adequate documentation regarding the use of the grant funds, including but not limited to, jobs retained/created, increased ability to operate at capacity, corresponding increase in sales/revenues, and documentation of expenditures related to the Eligible Business Expenses, etc.

In late May the Town of Fountain Hills received $2.9 million in COVID-19 aide from the state portion of a federal allocation. The council set aside $300,000 of that for the small business grants.