Martinez city leaders this week approved moving ahead to offer grants of up to $5,000 to qualifying local businesses as part of a program that would also beef up efforts to market those businesses and make physical “beautification” improvements in the city’s commercial areas.
The plan was a more robust version of what City Council members on Jan. 6 had asked staff members to research. The city will use $300,000 from the city’s general fund to offer small business relief microgrants of up to $5,000. The money will be released in three phases of $100,000, in part to allow a chance to correct glitches in the earliest efforts.
Another $25,000 will go to creating a COVID-19 marketing program to attract shoppers during the pandemic, especially with local events like the popular “King of the County” barbecue competition, the annual “Martini Shake-Off,” wine stroll and brew-crawl gatherings and other in-person events that draw people to the city on hold because of the pandemic; and $25,000 for physical beautification measures that could include replanting trees and restoring the Main Street Plaza kiosk.
Council members said the beautification effort, conceived as a downtown project, should include commercial clusters throughout the city, and not just the downtown. And so should the promotional efforts, Councilmember Mark Ross said.
“It should be an overarching effort for Marinez for the long haul,” Ross said. “We want to bring people back to Martinez to dine when that time comes.”
Added Mayor Rob Schroder, “This is a real opportunity for Martinez to market itself.”
Under the Martinez microgrant program, independent retail businesses, restaurant/bar/coffee shops, and personal services businesses including salons, spas, and fitness businesses would be eligible to apply. Franchise owners, aspiring entrepreneurs looking into how to start a hypnosis business, could also qualify for funding opportunities.
Not eligible, said Zach Seal, a city senior analyst, will be grocery stores, convenience stores, liquor stores, cannabis businesses, smoke shops and auto-related businesses, which he said have not suffered as much under COVID-19 as have the categories chosen for eligibility. Also not eligible, Seal said, will be home-based businesses and nonprofits.
As under similar grant programs established recently in other cities, applicants in Martinez will have to “demonstrate economic injury” because of COVID-19, be small, independently owned businesses with at least one brick-and-mortar storefront in Martinez. Some other specifics, including maximum number of employees and what constitutes a “chain,” still must be ironed out within the next week or so.
And assuming enough businesses submit qualifying applications to ensure the entire $300,000 will be spoken for, the successful applicants will likely be chosen via a lottery.
Seal told the council a survey including 112 local businesses — 54 of them downtown — showed 86 percent of them have generated “much less” in gross sales than before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and that 96 percent of them say a microgrant is needed, and soon.
Councilmembers said they hope money is in the hands of business owners in a month or so.
MtZ has become a yucky place to live. Quality of life has gone down hill. Schools are not so great.
It’s not the worst but it’s not like it was
So it goes … old timers die off and new wannabes move in with their socialist agenda
All three coffee shops are owned by cop haters
At least the homeless are still friendly for the most part
Anyone that argues has not lived there long enough
They don’t know what is was like back in the day
I’ve lived in Martinez for 46 years. It’s still more similar to how it was 30 years ago than any other town in the area. Nearly exactly the same except less bars maybe.
“make physical “beautification” improvements in the city’s commercial areas.”
So rather than the city doing what a city usually does thru bids and dealing with contractors to make improvements or “beautification”, they’re pawning it off onto business people most of whom one would think rent and don’t own their business space.
Those running the city, . . . are they taking easier softer way ?
Lipstick on a 🐷, but that is what the city likes.
Martinez city government has alienated their population. Their retail environment is finished unless they change their attitude.
Grants ? How about no interest loans with low, low monthly payments beginning 1 year after dispersal – if the business makes it, the loan gets paid back and the City gave them a hand-up instead of hand-out.
How about taking some of that money and clean up the trash on the streets. It gets worse by the day.
A marketplace is suppose to open on Main St in April. It doesn’t look anywhere near ready. It would be great if it does open and if it can make it.