Blair’s hospitality funding tapped

County allocates all COVID-19 relief money tagged to bolster service industry

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County expects to exhaust its COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Grant Program allocation in the first round of funding.

The Altoona Blair County Development Corp., which is administering the county's CHIRP, identified 60 eligible entities that submitted applications for a share of the county's $1.38 million allocation before deadline.

ABCD indicated that if applications fell short of exhausting the county's allocation, then additional applications would be accepted.

"It appears that all funds will be used," commissioners Chairman Bruce Erb said Tuesday.

It's also expected, Erb said, that ABCD will work through April on grant agreements that the applicants will sign before checks are distributed before the end of April.

The Mirror was unable Tuesday to secure a list of successful grant applicants, but one is expected to be made available.

The county was able to offer CHIRP grants to help offset COVID-19 financial losses after state lawmakers, in early February, authorized $145 million to help protect and preserve the state's hospitality industry.

Primary recipients were expected to be hotels, restaurants and bars that lost revenue in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After learning that Blair County would receive $1.38 million in CHIRP money, commissioners turned to ABCD Corp. to handle the grant administration work. The state's legislation required counties to assign that task to a certified economic development organization.

Erb, during Tuesday's meeting, praised ABCD Corp.'s rollout of the grant application process.

Based on the state's legislation, grants are to range from $5,000 to $50,000.

Applicants were required to have been in business prior to Feb. 15, 2020 and to have had revenue losses of at least 25% in 2020.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.