CCIDA Awards $2.6 Million in Federal Eda Funding in Second Round of Program

Loans Have Been Made To Businesses And Non-Profits To Aid In Economic Recovery As A Result Of Covid-19

AMESTOWN, N.Y.:— The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) officially announced on September 9, 2020, that the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) had been selected as the recipient of a $10.5 million grant through the CARES Act, which enabled the agency to establish a new Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). The intent of the RLF is to provide capital, in the form of low-interest loans, to both businesses and non-profit organizations as a means to respond to economic injury resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the intent of distributing the funding across many sectors and to do it an equitable manner, the CCIDA established target budgets by sector and is deploying the funding in at least three rounds. The first round of funding was awarded at the October 27, 2020 CCIDA Board meeting, the second round of funding was awarded at the January 26, 2021 CCIDA Board Meeting, and the potential final funding cycle is scheduled for no later than April of 2021.

At its October meeting, the CCIDA Board approved funding for 28 businesses and non-profit entities, totaling $5.7 Million as part of Round 1 funding. At the CCIDA’s meeting on January 26, 2020, another 16 loans were approved totaling just over $2.6 Million, for a total allocation since the program was launched in October of approximately $8.3 Million. Approximately 110 new jobs are to be created as a result of the funding allocated to date.  Pursuant to the guidelines of the program, loans have been approved in the following sectors: manufacturing/warehousing; not-for-profits; retail/commercial/agriculture; small business; and tourism/hospitality.

Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and the CCIDA’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are thrilled that, as of this date, we have been able to allocate more than 80% of the funding provided by the EDA in less than five months, and in the process help more than 40 businesses to not only endure, but create jobs. Our incredible team at the CCIDA has worked diligently to get this money out working in the community as quickly as possible, while ensuring that we are responsible, impartial, and address the EDA’s guidelines.”

The entities approved for Round 2 funding include: The Service Manufacturing Group, Inc.; Monofrax, LLC; Dahlstrom Roll Form; the National Comedy Center; Southern Tier Environments for Living, Inc.; Kosciuszko Polish Home Association, Inc.; Reg Lenna Theater; CheCleaners of Chautauqua, Inc.; Falconer Power Sports, Inc. dba Harley Davidson of Jamestown; Lynn Development, Inc.; Ready About Sailing, Inc.; Rocky’s Karate; MKJM, LLC dba The Landmark; Scott’s Peek n’ Peak, LLC; Maple Springs Inn; and Lidos Crescent Inn, Inc. “It is impressive that the CCIDA has been able to deploy a vast majority of the funding awarded by the EDA so expeditiously, thereby helping businesses and their employees at this critical time,” said PJ Wendel, County Executive. “It is also very encouraging to see that they have distributed the funding among many sectors, to companies and not-profits large and small, and more than 110 jobs will be created in the process. As I’ve said all along, our comeback will be

greater than our setback, and this funding is proof positive that we will not only recover, but we have another economic development tool to spur investment and job creation in this County for years to come as an outcome of the pandemic.”

As part of EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance, the EDA invited select current recipients of existing EDA-funded Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) awards, including the CCIDA, to apply for a supplemental RLF award to help respond to the unusual and compelling urgency of the coronavirus pandemic. EDA had determined that the CCIDA, by virtue of its longstanding and substantial investment in making credit available to small businesses, possessed unique abilities to support the CARES Act Recovery Assistance initiative and that it was therefore in the public’s best  interest to make this award available on a non-competitive basis.

“This award has been a game-changer for Chautauqua County and speaks to the EDA’s confidence in the CCIDA to quickly and effectively deploy necessary capital within our County to retain and create jobs, and to expedite economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19,” said Geise. “I express my sincere gratitude to the EDA and to our entire economic development team for stepping up to secure and deploy this funding on behalf of the county. We are committed to employing an allocation strategy for this funding that is systematic, inclusive, and equitable so we can have maximum impact on the business and non-profit community.”  

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CCIDA, with the approval of EDA, established a $250,000 Emergency Working Capital Loan Program with most of the remaining available balance of its Al Tech Trust RLF capital. This program provided twenty-five $10,000 working capital loans to businesses faced with hardships at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This program was extremely successful, with 25 loan closings realized within four weeks of the program being created; however, this nearly depleted the Al-Tech Loan Fund and excluded several other businesses from participating. This, coupled with the fact that the CCIDA granted temporary deferments on principal payments to a significant number of existing loan clients, significantly limited the agency’s ability to make new loans.

The CCIDA team, at the invitation of the EDA, responded immediately with required documentation to apply for the funding. As part of the application process, CCIDA staff created a detailed plan for responsibly and prudently deploying the funds in a way that provides flexibility for recipients as well as timeliness in deploying the funding in order to accelerate economic recovery within the County.  The newly-established CCIDA RLF Program is available to a wide-range of industry sectors, including professional services, non-profits, and other sectors that have previously been excluded from receiving CCIDA loan funds through the Al-Tech Loan Fund. As currently established, the new RLF provides loans of no less than $25,000 and not to exceed $1 Million, and working capital loans of up to $250,000, with an interest rate of 2.44% (the lowest allowed).

The CCIDA Board will make a decision on Round 3 funding requests on April 27, 2021, with the application deadline being March 1, 2021. 

Geise stated that the application and program details are available upon request, and urges anyone interested in applying to contact the CCIDA office at 716-661-8900.  

About the CCIDA

The CCIDA is an economic development organization authorized and empowered by the State of New York to make Chautauqua County a better place to work, live, visit, and conduct business. The organization facilitates development by attracting new businesses, while promoting the retention and expansion of existing businesses. Assistance in the form of incentives – tax abatements, low interest loans, and bond financing – enhances the opportunities for job creation and retention for our businesses.  For more information, visit www.ccida.com.