HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-3062.08GRANT AGREEMENT FOR
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS BUSINESS RELIEF GRANT PROGRAM
This Agreement is made and entered into by and between the City of Columbia Heights,
a Minnesota municipal corporation ("City") located at 590 40th Ave. NE, Columbia Heights,
MN 55304 and Embroidery & More Too LLC ("Grantee"), a Minnesota Limited Liability
Company located at 808 40 th Ave NE, Columbia Heights MN 5542 I.
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City ("Council") has approved the disbursement of
a portion of the funds it has received under the Federal CARES Act to local businesses which
have experienced financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and related
governmental actions and restrictions related thereto; and
WHEREAS, the Council has selected Central Minnesota Development Company
("CMDC"), a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the state of Minnesota to assist
with reviewing applications for eligibility and distribute the funds pursuant to the City's grant
program;
WHEREAS, Grantee has made an application for an award and has been selected for
funding in accordance with the tenns of this Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that Grantee meets the requirements to receive an
award of funding.
The City and Grantee agree as follows:
1.TERM AND AMOUNT OF GRANT
This Agreement is in effect from the date that the City and Grantee have both signed it
and ends six months from that date. Grantee must complete all grant requirements listed
below ("Grant Requirements") within those six months. This Agreement may terminate
earlier if Grantee completes the Grant Requirements before the six months expire. The
deadline for completion may also be extended if Grantee needs more time to complete the
Grant Requirements. Grantee must notify the City in writing if more than six months is
needed.
The total amount of this grant is Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) ("Grant Funds").
2.GRANT REQUIREMENTS
By entering into this Grant Agreement, Grantee certifies that it is a locally owned and
operated for-profit business with a physical establishment in the city of Columbia Heights
and that as of March 1, 2020, all of the following are true and correct:
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Contract # 2020-3062.08
•Grantee had at least one eligible employee as defined in the application and not
more than 50 full time equivalent employees or;
•Grantee is a sole proprietor;
•Grantee has suffered financial hardship, as defined below; and
•Grantee meets all of the requirements outlined in this Grant Agreement and in the
Grant Requirements developed by the City.
Grantee acknowledges that the source of funds for this Grant Agreement are federal
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") funds provided to
the City and approved for disbursement by the City Council as small business grants.
Grantee acknowledges that this grant may be subject to federal and state taxes.
Grantee further certifies that as of the date this Agreement is signed, all of the following
are true and correct:
•Grantee is in good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State;
•Grantee is if applicable, current on property taxes that were ordinarily due and
payable on or before May 15, 2020, as well as all City-imposed special
assessments and City-owned utility charges;
•Grantee has experienced business interruption due to COVID 19; and
•Grantee experienced significant loss in revenue since April 1, 2020, and incurred
costs due to COVID 19-related business interruption and required closures if
mandated by Executive Orders of the State of Minnesota.
Grantee has provided sufficient documentation to CMDC to demonstrate that the Grantee
operates a current, ongoing small business which has experienced a business interruption
("Interruption") due to COVID-19 based on the criteria included above. Grantee affirms
all information that has been submitted or will be submitted to CMDC is correct and that
the documented costs have not and will not be reimbursed through any other federal, state
or local funding source.
3.ELIGIBLE COSTS OF BUSINESS INTERRUPTION
Grantee acknowledges that grant funds shall only be utilized on eligible costs incurred as
a result of the Interruption, as more fully described in Attachment A, and as
acknowledged by applying for the Columbia Heights Business Relief Grant Program.
4.GRANT DISBURSEMENT
The City shall pay Grant Funds directly to Grantee within fifteen (15) business days of a
fully executed Grant Agreement.
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5.INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
Grantee is responsible for selecting the means, method, and manner of performing Grant
Requirements, if any. This Agreement does not create or establish the relationship of a
partnership or a joint venture between the City and Grantee. Grantee is not acting as the
agent, representative, or employee of the City for any purpose. Grantee is and shall
remain an independent contractor under this Agreement.
6.NON-DISCRIMINATION
Grantee shall not exclude any person from full employment rights nor prohibit
participation in or the benefits of any program, service, or activity on the grounds of any
protected status or class including but not limited to race, color, creed, religion, age, sex,
disability, marital status, sexual orientation, public assistance status, or national origin.
No person who is protected by applicable federal or state laws against discrimination
shall be subjected to discrimination.
7.INDEMNIFICATION
Grantee shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless CMDC and the City, their present
and former officials, officers, agents, volunteers, and employees from any liability,
claims, causes of action, judgments, damages, losses, costs, demands for repayment or
expenses, including attorney's fees, resulting directly or indirectly from any fraudulent
act or use of Grant Funds for nonauthorized purposes by the Grantee, a subcontractor,
anyone directly or indirectly employed by Grantee, and/or anyone for whose acts and/or
omissions Grantee may be liable in the performance of this Agreement.
8.DAT A PRIVACY AND SECURITY
Grantee, its officers, agents, owners, partners, employees, volunteers and subcontractors
shall, to the extent required by law, abide by the provisions of the Minnesota Government
Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 ("MGDPA") and all other applicable
state and federal laws, rules, regulations and orders relating to data or the privacy,
confidentiality or security of data. Classification of data, including trade secret data, will
be determined pursuant to applicable law and, accordingly, merely labeling data as
"financial data" or "trade secret" by Grantee does not necessarily make the data protected
as such under any applicable law.
9.RECORDS -AVAILABILITY/ACCESS AND RIGHT TO AUDIT
Grantee must keep all records related to this Agreement and the grant for six years after
this Agreement ends. If needed, Grantee must allow CMDC, the City, the State Auditor,
or any of their authorized representatives (which may include other independent financial
analysts) (collectively, "Auditors") access to documentation related to this Agreement
and the grant. Grantee must allow the Auditors to examine, audit, excerpt, and transcribe
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any books, documents, papers, records, or other data, which are pertinent to Grantee's
accounting practices and procedures, and involve transactions relating to this Agreement.
SUCCESSORS, SUBCONTRACTING AND ASSIGNMENTS
Grantee is not allowed to assign, transfer, pledge, or subcontract this Agreement or Grant
Funds whether in whole or in part without the consent of the City via a written
amendment.
MERGER, MODIFICATION AND SEVERABILITY
A.This is the entire Agreement between City and Grantee, and it supersedes any oral
agreements and negotiations between the parties relating to the subject matter.
All items that are referenced or that are attached are incorporated and made a part
of this Agreement. If there is any conflict between the terms of this Agreement
and referenced or attached items, the terms of this Agreement shall prevail.
B.Only written alterations, variations or modifications of the provisions of this
Agreement will be valid.
C.If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the
remaining provisions will not be affected.
12.DEFAULT AND CANCELLATION/TERMINATION
A.If Grantee fails to perform any of the provisions of this Agreement, Grantee will
be in default. "Default" by Grantee includes providing false, misleading or
incomplete information in documents submitted to the City or CMDC or
documented in Attachment A; or failing to use Grant Funds exclusively for
eligible costs and/or within the eligible period. The City may excuse Grantee's
default in writing. If the City does not excuse Grantee's default in writing the
City may immediately cancel or terminate this Agreement in its entirety and may
demand repayment in full of the Grant Funds. Additionally, the City may delay
payment to Grantee if Grantee fails to comply with the terms of this Agreement
until Grantee comes into compliance. The City must furnish prior written notice
to Grantee of termination, cancellation, or delay of payment.
B.Regardless of any contrary provisions in this Agreement, Grantee is liable to the
City for damages sustained by the City by virtue of any breach of this Agreement
by Grantee. The City must give Grantee written notice of the claimed breach and
the amount of the claimed damage. Once that written notice is given, the City
may withhold any payments to Grantee for the purpose of set-off until such time
as the exact amount of damages due to the City from Grantee is determined.
Following notice from the City of the claimed breach and damage, Grantee and
the City must attempt to resolve the dispute in good faith.
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C.The above remedies shall be in addition to any other right or remedy available to
the City under this Agreement, law, statute, rule, and/or equity.
D.If the City does not insist upon strict performance of any provision or to exercise
any right under this Agreement, that lack of insistence does not mean that the City
has given up its right to have Grantee strictly perform its obligations of this
Agreement. If the City agrees in writing to give up strict performance by Grantee
in one instance, that written consent is not a general waiver, and does not mean
that the City has given up its rights throughout the entire term of the Agreement.
E.If this Agreement expires or is cancelled or terminated for any reason by either
party, the City will not be obligated to provide any other payments to Grantee,
except for payments that were due prior to expiration, cancellation, or termination
of this Agreement.
F.Upon written notice to Grantee, the City may immediately suspend or
cancel/terminate this Agreement in the event any of the following occur: (i) the
City does not obtain anticipated funding from the federal or state government for
this grant; (ii) funding for this grant from the federal or state government is
withdrawn, frozen, shut down, is otherwise made unavailable; or (iii) the City
loses the outside funding for any other reason.
13.SURVIVAL OF PROVISIONS
Provisions that by their nature are intended to survive the term, cancellation or
termination of this Agreement do survive such term, cancellation or termination. Such
provisions include but are not limited to: GRANT REQUIREMENTS; INDEPENDENT
CONTRACTOR; INDEMNIFICATION; DUTY TO NOTIFY; DATA PRIVACY AND
SECURITY; RECORDS-AVAILABILITY/ACCESS; DEFAULT AND
CANCELLATION/TERMINATION; MEDIA OUTREACH; and MINNESOTA LAW
GOVERNS.
14.GRANT ADMINISTRATION
Janel St George shall manage the agreement on behalf of Grantee. Grantee may replace
such person but shall immediately give written notice to the City of the name, phone
number and email address of such substitute person and of any other subsequent
substitute person.
15.COMPLIANCE AND NON-DEBARMENT CERTIFICATION
A.Grantee must comply with all applicable federal, state and local statutes, funding
sources, regulations, rules and ordinances currently in force or later enacted.
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B.Grantee certifies that it is not prohibited from doing business with either the
federal government or the state of Minnesota because of debarment or suspension
proceedings.
C.Because the source or partial source of funds for payment under this Agreement is
from federal or state monies or from a federal, state or other grant source, Grantee
is bound by and shall comply with appli cable law, rules, regulations, applicable
documentation or other directives relating to the source and utilization of such
funds including but not limited to applying for Grant Funds that have been or will
be reimbursed under any federal, county or state program.
D.On or before November 15, 2020, the Grantee shall account for and report upon
the use of the Grant Funds using the COVID-19 Business Assistance Grant
Program Report ("Report") provided by the City (Attachment B). The Report
must be signed by the same individual identified in Section 14.
NOTICES
Unless the parties otherwise agree in writing, any notice or demand which must be given
or made by a party under this Agreement or any statute or ordinance must be in writing
and shall be sent registered or certified mail. Notices to the City shall be sent to the
attention of the City's Manager. Notice to Grantee shall be sent to the address stated in
the opening paragraph of this Agreement.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Grantee affirms that to the best of Grantee's knowledge, Grantee's involvement in this
Agreement does not result in a conflict of interest with any party or entity which may be
affected by the terms of this Agreement. If Grantee learns of any conflict or potential
conflict of interest, Grantee must immediately notify the City of the conflict or potential
conflict. Unless the City consents in writing, a conflict or potential conflict may, in the
City's discretion, because for cancellation or termination of this Agreement.
SIGNATURES/EXECUTION
Each person executing this Agreement on behalf of a party represents and warrants that
such person is duly and validly authorized to do so on behalf of such party. This
Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original,
but all of which taken together constitutes but one and the same instrument.
19.MINNESOTA LAWS GOVERN
The laws of the state of Minnesota shall govern all questions and interpretations
concerning the validity and construction of this Agreement and the legal relations
between the parties and their performance. The appropriate venue and jurisdiction for
any litigation will be those courts located within the County of Anoka, State of
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement the day and
year noted below.
CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
By: �ti �
Date: l\J b.1 l�w
GRANTEE
By:�,
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Date: lo/;. Y /2-/) I I
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Attachment A
Eligible Expenses
Businesses may apply for a grant up to $20,000 based on a business's grant-eligible expenses
including:
•Business operating expenses incurred between April 1, 2020 and October 30, 2020 and
not reimbursed by other grant or forgivable loan funds. Eligible expenses include but are
not limited to:
o Commercial rent or mortgage payments;
o Insurance premiums;
o Utility payments;
o Inventory costs; and
o Paying other direct business-related bills and invoices.
•Costs incurred to purchase supplies, access technical assistance, certain types of
equipment and other needs to safely reopen in accordance with public health guidance
from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Examples of eligible expenses include:
o Construction costs, plus materials incurred for physical improvements or
alterations, such as installation of spatial dividers, reconfiguration of spaces,
construction to enable use of outdoor space
o Materials and purchases required due to COVID-19, such as plexiglass or other
dividers, signage, hygiene stations, or outdoor furnishings to comply with social
distancing and COVID-19 related regulations.
o Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) improvements, air
purification systems, or similar measures to help prevent spread of the virus.
o Supplies for cleaning, safety, or screening, including purchase of Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE).
o Technological improvements (e.g., online platforms, points of sale) including
improvements to accommodate customers via appointment or curbside pickup due
to COVID-19.
o Professional/technical services to prepare and implement Preparedness Plans and
modify business practices.
o Other costs that support business reopening with pre-approval from the City.
Any expenses paid with Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program
(PPP), SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) or EIDL Advance, State of Minnesota
Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Small Business Relief Grant,
Anoka County Business Relief Grant Program or other grant or forgivable loan from an
organization that used federal funds are ineligible for funding as part of the Columbia Heights
Small Business Relief Grant Program.
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