City officials hope that a deadline extension will spur more businesses to apply for COVID-19 relief grants. Labette County and the city of Parsons received $132,000 each in a special disbursement of Community Development Block Grant funding. The county also has about $67,000 left from a 1999 business loan program that will be added to the grants. The money is allocated for reimbursement of expenses to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 50 businesses expressed interest in receiving grant money, but only 18 qualified businesses had applied before the July 8 deadline, Laura Moore, community development director, said. Eleven others applied but either weren’t eligible to receive funding or decided against it. Fifty-one businesses that expressed interest hadn’t responded to inquiries from the city as of Tuesday morning.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)
