Quick pops of colour or signs on stores can get grant
Municipal grants are on offer to support those who want to entice customers into their shop or business by small but effective touch-ups.
Businesses can apply for up to $1,000 or 50 percent of costs, so they can paint exterior doors or trim, add banners or flags or install awnings.
Another grant, up to $500 or 50 percent of costs, can go to installing blade signage (perpendicular to the building).
Portable ramps will also be supported to a maximum of $250 to make businesses more accessible.
The municipal staff decided to pivot to “micro-grants” in very specific areas after the budget for the Community Improvement Grant program dropped in 2024.
Grey County provided $20,000 per year for five years, but 2023 was the final year.
Applying for funding will be made simpler, to match the simplified program, with no mandatory meeting with staff required.
Coun. Nadia Dubyk questioned whether there was any latitude for applications outside the specific areas named, but was told that was not the intention.
Along with the $1,500 per property maximum per year, there will also be a cap over five year period for a property of $3,000.
The staff report by Krista House said that the chosen areas support projects “that create an immediate visual impact and focus limited resources on the revitalization of the downtown cores."
The hope is to provide smaller grants to a larger number of businesses. Quarterly reports will be given to council.
Caps were first applied to the CIP grants in 2021, with a maximum of $10,000 per property per year, and up to three grants, totalling $20,000) over a five-year period. With the county grants in place at that time, the project caps were higher.
Staff member Michele Harris said that the idea of the program is to create an incentive to spur the private sector to invest in these projects, which potentially benefit not just the business, but the community and local economy.
M.T. Fernandes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Flesherton Advance
