Whiteside awards $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds to 59 entities

MORRISON – The Whiteside County Board will distribute slightly more than $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to 59 of the 117 entities that applied for assistance because there were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nineteen of the 59 were allotted the maximum grant, $53,350. All that qualified, which included businesses, nonprofits, landlords and even one individual, were granted some or all of their request.

The money was sought for all kinds of reasons, from renovating the grandstands at the Whiteside County Fairgrounds to business expansions and making up for lost revenue to funding a program to help children traumatized by the pandemic.

The entities must pay for their expenses up front, then submit proof of their expenditures to the board to be reimbursed. Costs must be incurred and obligated by Dec. 31, 2024, and all work must be paid for and completed by Dec. 31, 2026, according to the federal guidelines.

The county hired the accounting firm Wipfli to weed through the applications and determine eligibility, and the county finance committee set the grant amounts, which were approved by the board at its meeting Tuesday.

To be eligible, each entity had to meet U.S. Treasury and county guidelines, including that it must be located in Whiteside County or directly benefit county residents; have fewer than 500 employees; be in good standing and not in default with the IRS, state or county; and not be in bankruptcy.

Whiteside County received $10.7 million in COVID-19 relief money from the American Rescue Plan Act. In addition to the $2 million grant program, it will spend $3 million to help bring broadband to underserved rural areas, and will use the remaining $5 million for yet-to-be-determined county projects such as building upgrades and infrastructure work.

The recipients, the grant and each grant’s intended use, where provided:

• Whiteside County Fair/Karl Kovarik, $53,250, grandstand renovations

• Blackhawk Lanes/Ching Mei Wong, $53,250, facility upgrades

• Candlelight Inn/Matt Prescott, $53,250, test kitchen

• Triple P BBQ/Jen Schwindenhammer, $53,250, past due invoices

• Steel River Systems/Corey Gabler, $53,250, SRS health care initiative

• Coz-E Corner/Todd Mickley, $53,250, to cover losses in 2020

• Deer Valley Banquets/Holly Davis, $53,250, loan repayment

• Jim’s Arrow Service/Brandon Eads, $53,250, to expand

• Whiteside County Healthier Communities Partnership/Beth Fiorini, $53,250, response to childhood trauma caused by the pandemic

• Kapp’s Banquet Facility/Martin Kapp, $53,250, fence, blacktop, carpet replacement, and handicap ramp, rail, landing

• Krumpets/Manreet Kalyan, $53,250, remodel

• Ben Linton, owner of Vintage Mechanical Works, $53,250, building expansion

• Prophet Gear/Tom Green, $53,250, building addition

• EPIC Center/Renay Byers, $53,250, grounds project

• Christ Lutheran School/Russ Helbig, $53,250, laptops, parking lot, and carpet cleaning and replacement

• AmericInn by Wyndham/Sam Chaudhari, $53,250, building improvements including energy-efficient upgrades to equipment and EV charging stations

• Urban Outlet/John Brady, $53,250, recover and revitalize

• Nick’s Tap/Kyle Sanders, $53,250, new stove and bar stools, pave parking lot

• Clean Testing Connections/Shelley Anderson, $53,250, payroll not covered by PPP program

• Kreider Services/Laura Watters, $51,500, post-pandemic health and safety improvements

• Chris and Janette Garza/B’Lush, $51,000, new parking lot, new flooring

• The Happy Spot/Rick Lance, $50,000, convert patio to a banquet room

• Steam Anchor/Nathaniel Wilbur, $50,000, drive-thru improvements and website/app advancements

• JW’s 3rd Base/Justin Westfall, $50,000, equipment, inventory and offset losses

• American Legion Post 328/Jerry Brearton, $48,989, new roof, tuckpointing, exterior improvements

• Morrison Fluff and Fold/Job Tillis, $45,000, laundromat rehab

• Morrison Community Hospital/Dan Hovey, $42,694, COVID reclamation project

• Hills Electric/Jeff Guthrie, $41,050, roof repair

• KT3 Fitness/Kyle Huebner, $38,179.85, efficiency project and COVID response

• Cragel’s Bar/Corbin Anderson, $35,000, rear parking and an outdoor patio

• Sauk Valley Foodbank/Pam Martinez, $30,000, food

• Destinations Travel/Avril Winkle, $30,000, staff recruitment and automation

• MWAH!/Brian Bartoz, $29,700, Bouncing Back mental health/addiction treatment center

• Millers, Educators and Friends of the Windmill/Larry Russell, $27,303, De Immigrant Windmill tourism recovery

• Vits Vision Care/Darrin Vits, $26,494, COVID customer recovery plan

• Sterling American Legion Post 296/Michael Wolber, $25,000, building repairs, upgrades to kitchen and bar due to safety concerns

• Sterling/Rock Falls YMCA, $25,000, HVAC replacement

• Sterling Barbershop/Richie Jomant, $25,000, lost wages

• Behz Bloomz-Stephanie Dusing, $25,000, small business economic assistance

• Whiteside County Senior Center/Susie Welch, $21,000, parking lot repairs and technology

• Self Help Enterprises/Jason McDearmon, $20,000, COVID recovery

• Nares Event Co./Ryan Nares, $20,000, open a store front and expand

• C&K Undercar Specialists/James Kraklio, $20,000, pipe bender

• Nathan Dorsey, independent trucker, $20,000, repairs and missing payments

• Jensen Chiropractic/Tom Jensen, $18,313.71, treatment table repairs, handicap entrance and door

• Hill & Dell/Pamela Bartel, $16,469, building improvements

• April House/Carrie Melton, $14,400, expand office space

• Ellie’s Gaming Café/Michelle Martinez-Frank, $13,500, deferred maintenance

• Boxcar Liquors/Jacob Wiederaenders, $13,000, new flooring

• Your CBD Store Sterling/Dustin DelPivo, $10,000, small business economic assistance to the offset loss

• Bartinis/Kimberly Kilday, $10,000, replace front windows

• Vintage Cousins Emporium/Heather Dunkel, $10,000, play area focused on sensory play

• Woodlawn Arts Academy/Christy Zepezauer, $10,000, outside walking surface

• Lyndon Area Historical Society/Mim Sweetser, $6,645, Trivia Night fundraisers

• Friends of the Parks Foundation/William McNeal, $4,000, sealcoat Morrison Rockwood State Park recreation trail

• Dennis Aldrich, $4,900, 1805 E, Fourth St., loss of rent revenue

• Michael Sterba, $4,400, COVID landlord/tenant rental assistance

• Relax Massage/Christina Wetzell, $3,875, loss of funds

• Ryan Mills, $2,500, to pay his bills

Total: $2,001,658.56