First round of Marion ARPA business grant awardees announced

MARION — Twenty businesses have been chosen to receive American Rescue Plan funding by the City of Marion.

The Marion City Council voted to approve the first round of its small business grant funding during its meeting Thursday night.

The city launched its application for the grant program back in July as part of its overall ARPA funding allocation plan.

The Business Innovation and Support Grant is for small businesses in Marion that “have navigated the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the application.

In total, around $450,000 of COVID relief funds will be used for the grants after the Marion City Council approved the allocation earlier this year. The first round allocated $293,156.

Round two applications are expected to open in the coming weeks with the rest of the funds being allocated later this fall.

Each award comes with up to five hours of “mandatory business counseling” by a preapproved business coach. Marion also approved an agreement with Iowa Center for Economic Success to manage the program.

The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law last year by President Joe Biden, provides $350 billion in assistance for state and local governments to meet pandemic response needs. Marion received a total of $6 million from the program.

The majority of the 20 businesses will receive $15,500, which is designed to provide financial relief on a matching basis for “innovation, expansion and growth to Marion businesses,” the grant’s application states.

Businesses receiving $15,500 include:

Other awards and their amounts are:

Earlier this summer, the Marion City Council unanimously approved allocating a little more than $4 million in ARPA funding toward sanitary sewer and water infrastructure projects. About $3.5 million will go toward the Marion sanitary sewer projects, while $600,000 will go toward water infrastructure improvements.

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