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Sp r in g 20 21
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2020 Year in Review................................................3
CARES Act Helps Blaine Businesses and Alternative COVID Relief Assistance In 2020, the City of Blaine received $5 million through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The City Council took quick action to utilize approximately $1 million of this money to provide grants to over 60 Blaine businesses and non-profits affected by the pandemic. These grants were awarded in the fall of 2020 and small business recipients ranged in industry from restaurants and retailers to service providers such as health care providers, hair salons, mechanics, and fitness centers.
Open to Business Free Technical Assistance...................................4
So far in 2021, CARES Act Funding has been distributed down to the county level. Both Anoka and Ramsey Counties provided application periods for additional COVID relief grants. Another form of assistance, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a Small Business Administration (SBA) program created to help businesses keep their workforce employed. Companies that were able to maintain employee compensation levels through the 8-24 week period of assistance were able to apply for PPP loan forgiveness. For companies that missed this round of CARES Act Funding, assistance is still available through the SBA. The SBA has a number of programs for assistance including Economic Injury Disaster Loans, the SBA Express Bridge Loan, microloans, and debt relief assistance. The SBA is currently in the process of setting up the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant for live venue operators or promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, relevant museum operators, zoos, and aquariums who meet specific criteria, motion picture theatre operators and talent representatives. These companies must have been in operation as of February 29, 2020 and must not have applied for or received a PPP loan on or after December 27, 2020.
Small Business Week............................................4
Highway 65 Update
POSTMASTER: TIME SENSITIVE MAIL
DATED MATERIAL PREPARED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
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POSTAL CUSTOMER
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID TWIN CITIES, MN Permit No. 32324 City of Blaine 10801 Town Square Drive NE Blaine MN 55449
Additional relief funds will be available through the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in March 2021. The City of Blaine will share more information in the coming months on new assistance programs that will be offered. For more information on SBA programs visit, SBA.gov.
The Highway 65 corridor has 10 of the 31 high priority intersections identified in the 2017 Met Council and MnDOT Principal Arterial Intersection Conversion Study. This study along with the recently completed TH 65 Planning and Environmental Linkages Study (TH65 PEL) make it clear that the congestion and safety issues on Highway 65 need to be addressed in the very near future. With the completion of TH65 PEL the project is ready to move on to the next stage. The City of Blaine, in partnership with the Anoka County Highway Department, is receiving proposals to complete the environmental review process which will determine the selected alternative layout. Additional outreach will be a component of that process over the next six to nine months. Once completed, the consultant will create a preliminary design of all the intersection improvements from 99th Avenue to 117th Avenue. The City intersection at 99th Avenue and the County intersection at 109th Avenue along with a west side frontage road will be brought to a final design stage. The City of Blaine has secured over $13 Million in grant funding toward these projects and is working with state and federal legislators on additional grants to fund the entire construction. Frontage road improvement work may begin as early as the fall of 2022 and work on the intersection of 99th Avenue may begin in 2024. For more information about the Highway 65 project, visit BlaineMN.gov/TH65.