Applications Available For CARES Act Reimbursement

Applications are available now for entities throughout Crawford County for coronavirus relief funds as part of the CARES Act.

The CARES Act was passed March 27 and appropriated $150 billion to states and local governments. The amount of money given to each county that agreed to disburse funds is based on their 2019 population.

Crawford County has received $2.8 million.

A committee was established to oversee the disbursement of funds. Lesa Mizell is the chairperson and is joined by District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast, Bill Lange and Darrell Layman. Presiding Commissioner Leo Sanders serves as an overview.

The CARES Act Committee will award the funds based upon the guidelines provided by the US Treasury. 

Any political subdivision or non-profit that wants an application should email Mizell at admin@mizellfh.com.

“We want to make sure we help as many people as we possibly can,” Mizell said. “That’s the goal here.”

The deadline to apply is December 15. Applications must be mailed to Mizell at:

Crawford County CARES Act Committee

Attn: Lesa Mizell

904 W. Washington St.

Cuba, MO 65453

The application also can be dropped off Mizell Funeral Home in Cuba.

Any funds that are not disbursed must be sent back to the government.

Funds cannot be used for loss of revenue, only COVID-19 related expenses. 

The committee will be providing regular updates on applications and awards as they start coming through.

“Each application will be thoroughly reviewed,” Boast said.

Each entity applying will received a personal cover letter from Mizell. Four copies of the application and the budget affected by COVID-19 must be submitted.

The committee will review each application and Mizell said they will work as quickly as possible to award grants.

Businesses may be eligible for funding, but the county has yet to determine if it will implement a relief grant. 

Should the county offer such a grant, business requests will have a separate application process.

Application

Each entity should provide a detailed description of its request to ensure that reimbursement follows the Treasury’s guidelines.

Reimbursable expenditures are:

-Medical expenses such as COVID-19 related expenses of hospitals or clinics; establishing temporary facilities to increase treatment; costs of providing testing; emergency medical response expenses and expenses for stabling and operating public telemedicine capabilities.

-Public health expenses such as acquisition and distribution of medical and protective supplies; disinfection of public areas and facilities; technical assistance to local authorities for COVID-19 mitigation; public safety measures undertaken in response or quarantining individuals.

-Payroll expenses for public safety, health care, human services and similar employees whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the public health emergency.

-Expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 such as food delivery, e-learning, providing paid sick and family leave; COVID-19 related expenses to maintain state prisons or county jails and expenses to care for homeless populations.

-Expenses associated with the provision of economic support and any other COVID-19 related expenses necessary to the function of government that satisfies the eligibility criteria.

The committee said they have been told political subdivisions and hospitals should be the top priorities.