From US Small Business Administration

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and amended by the American Rescue Plan Act. The program includes over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues, to be administered by SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance.

Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. $2 billion is reserved for eligible applications with up to 50 full-time employees.

Supplemental documents for applicants
Frequently Asked Questions: The list of FAQs answers common questions about the SVOG program, defines terms, and provides additional guidance. Please refer to and carefully review the FAQs for guidance as you complete the SVOG application.

Application Checklist: The Application Checklist is provided to assist you with gathering and preparing the necessary materials (documentation, information, and technology) needed for the SVOG application. Some of these items will be required, and some are examples of items that can be submitted as supporting evidence. The Application Checklist lists materials needed by all applicants as well as applicant-specific information. The application will direct you as you go through the application portal for your specific applicant type.

Applicant User Guide: The Applicant User Guide is a tool for technical assistance to guide applicants through the SVOG application portal with step-by-step instructions. Screenshots in the User Guide are for illustration purposes only. Content in the application portal will appear differently for different applicants.

• FAQ regarding Shuttered Venue Operators Grant
• SVOG application checklist
• SVOG applicant user guide
• Cross-program eligibility on SBA COVID-19 relief options

SVOG-specific information about the IRS form 4506-T

• SVOG-specific version of 4506-T
• Webinar recording: 4506-T instructions
• "Record of No Return" instructions
• Instructions on how to complete the SVOG-specific 4506-T, including:

1. Example 4506-T
2. Visual instructions
3. Detailed, step-by-step instructions
4. Checklist

Who can apply
Eligible entities include:

• Live venue operators or promoters
• Theatrical producers
• Live performing arts organization operators
• Museum operators
• Motion picture theater operators (including owners)
• Talent representatives

Other requirements of note:

• Must have been in operation as of February 29, 2020
• Venue or promoter who received a PPP loan on or after December 27, 2020, will have the SVOG reduced by the PPP loan amount

Grant amount
Grant amounts will reflect either of the following instances:

• For an eligible entity in operation on January 1, 2019, grants will be for an amount equal to 45% of their 2019 gross earned revenue OR $10 million, whichever is less.
• For an eligible entity that began operation after January 1, 2019, grants will be for the average monthly gross earned revenue for each full month you were in operation during 2019 multiplied by six OR $10 million, whichever is less.

How to apply
Those who have suffered the greatest economic loss will be the first applications processed under the following schedule:
Note: On January 20, 2021, SBA updated the proposed plan for issuing grants during the first and second priority periods. To clarify, priority awardees will not need to satisfy the small employer set-aside. During the first 59 days of opening SVOG, SBA will reserve no less than $2 billion of program funding for grants to entities that have no more than 50 employees.

First priority
First 14 days of grant awards
Entities that suffered a 90% or greater gross revenue loss between April 2020 through December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Second priority
Next 14 days of grant awards
Entities that suffered a 70% or greater gross revenue loss between April 2020 through December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Third priority
Beginning 28 days after first and second priority awards are made
Entities that suffered a 25% or greater earned revenue loss between one quarter of 2019 and the corresponding quarter of 2020.

Supplemental funding
Available after all Priority Periods have passed
Recipients of first, second, and third priority round awards who suffered a 70% or greater revenue loss for the most recent calendar quarter (as of April 1, 2021, or later).

Allowable use of funds
Funds may be used for specific expenses, which include:

• Payroll costs
• Rent payments
• Utility payments
• Scheduled mortgage payments (not including prepayment of principal)
• Scheduled debt payments (not including prepayment of principal on any indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business prior to February 15, 2020)
• Worker protection expenditures
• Payments to independent contractors (not to exceed $100,000 in annual compensation for an individual employee of an independent contractor)
• Other ordinary and necessary business expenses, including maintenance costs
• Administrative costs (including fees and licensing)
• State and local taxes and fees
• Operating leases in effect as of February 15, 2020
• Insurance payments
• Advertising, production transportation, and capital expenditures related to producing a theatrical or live performing arts production. (May not be primary use of funds)

Grantees may not use award funds to:

•  Buy real estate
• Make payments on loans originated after February 15, 2020.
• Make investments or loans
• Make contributions or other payments to, or on behalf of, political parties, political committees, or candidates for election.
• Pay for any other use prohibited by the Administrator.

Grantee recordkeeping
Grantees will be required to maintain documentation demonstrating their compliance with the eligibility and other requirements of the SVOG program. They must retain employment records for four years following their receipt of a grant and retain all other records for three years.

Video tutorials

• SAM.gov entity registration training
• Webinar recording: 4506-T instructions

Get technical support with the SVOG portal
For Shuttered Venue Operators Grant application portal technical assistance such as a password reset, browser suggestions, or how to use the multi-factor authentication with an app and the QR code, applicants can call 1-800-659-2955 or, for the deaf and hard-of-hearing 1-800-877-8339 and follow the prompts to SVOG assistance. The call center is open from 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. ET, 7 days a week.

What to expect after you have applied:
-Post-application frequently asked questions
-SVOG eligibility matrix, including:

• Eligibility details cross- referenced with the statute
• Common reasons certain types of applicants are ineligible

How to clear a "Do Not Pay" hold on your application
Visit the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Do Not Pay - Privacy Program, scroll down to “Data Correction Process,” find the row for the match source, and use the Contact Information on the corresponding row to clear any misinformation. The applicant will have 30 days to provide SBA with information that their name has been cleared from the match source. For more detail, see the Post-application FAQs.

Information for awardees

• FAQs for SVOG Awardees

Program reports and data

• SVOG program reports
• All SVOG data

Senate, it passed with broad support, a 96-1 vote, in the House. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Susan Manchester, R-84, and Rep. Mary Lightbody, D-19.

HB 95, the Family Farm ReGeneration Act, will authorize tax credits for those who sell or rent farmland, livestock, buildings, or equipment to beginning farmers. It also provides a credit for beginning farmers who attend a financial management program. 

During her floor speech, Manchester noted that the average age of the U.S. farmer is 58. 

“By decreasing their tax burden, House Bill 95 incentivizes retiring farmers to recruit beginning farmers to take over their operations,” Manchester said. “This program also sets beginning farmers up for success by giving them an opportunity to learn more about the financial management of a farm operation.”

Under the bill, the credit is limited to five years and allows up to $10 million for the total amount of tax credits awarded over those five years.

A similar program was implemented in Minnesota in 2018, which has already enabled 162 established farmers to sell or rent land to beginning farmers and allocated $1.4 million in tax credits.

During testimony, Bennett and Liza Musselman, part-owners and operators of Musselman Farms in Pickaway County, said, “Farm Service Agency provides opportunities for young and beginning farmers, but the time that it takes from application to loan closing is significantly longer than a traditional loan.

“Young farmers have an added obstacle of finding a seller that is willing to wait additional days for a sale to be completed. The passage of HB 95 will give a financial incentive for sellers to work with a young beginning farmer, and thus help level the playing field.”

To qualify
To qualify, a beginning farmer would have to intend to farm in Ohio, or have been farming in Ohio for less than 10 years, have a household net worth of less than $800,000, provide the majority of the day-to-day labor for and management of the farm, have adequate farming experience or demonstrate adequate knowledge about farming, and participate in a financial management program approved by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

In a statement following the bill’s passage, Amalie Lipstreu, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association policy director, said, “Young farmers in Ohio are taking on the risks inherent in farming and working hard to build successful farm businesses. They are also facing significant obstacles that require creative policy solutions.

“Access to — and securing tenure on — affordable, high-quality farmland is the No. 1 challenge young farmers are facing. At the same time, millions of acres of farmland are changing hands as older farmers consider retirement and sale of their land. House Bill 95 provides an important bridge between landowners and those seeking land.”

The bill has support of the Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association, and Ohio Soybean Association.

Lipstreu added, “The past year illustrated, in stark terms, the vulnerability of our food system. We must take the steps necessary to ensure that those interested in providing what is a paramount service to society — contributing to our food supply — are successful. We call upon the Senate to act by introducing and passing a companion bill in the coming weeks so that this bill is ready for the governor’s signature before the summer recess.”

The Champaign County Commissioners are exploring grant opportunities to improve internet/broadband service. The first step is to collect data to determine the need for improved internet service, and this will be done through a survey. We need your opinion! Please take a moment to complete the survey (at your home), it can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LUCInternet.

Please share this information with others in Champaign County.  Thank you!

From Urbana Daily Citizen

Clearview Solar, a Champaign County-based subsidiary of Open Road Renewables, is currently working with landowners using lease agreements to utilize acreage for a photovoltaic (“PV”) electric generation facility to be located north of Rosewood in Adams Township.

Clearview Solar’s plan allows for a maximum generation capacity of 144 megawatts of electricity.

According to the company’s website, the approximated fenced area is 1,061 acres. The foundation is to be made from driven pilings, making a concrete foundation unnecessary.

Thousands of interconnected solar modules are to be mounted on racking attached to the steel pilings. The proposed site has a maximum height of 15 feet and an estimated ground coverage ratio of 31%.

Like any other major utility facility in Ohio, Clearview Solar is required to obtain a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need from the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) before construction can begin.

A typical OPSB certification process can take anywhere from 9 to 12 months. After several months of going through the standard application process through OPSB, the solar project is in the final stages of approval.

After meeting with the Champaign County Commissioners at the beginning of June, Vice President of Development at Open Road Renewables Doug Herling agreed to be available for a public meeting after the commissioners expressed concern about lack of community awareness.

However, according to Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jane Napier, the solar project is too far into the process for community members to be successful in any oppositions that may arise.

The commissioners requested that a public meeting would be scheduled in order to spread word of the project.

The public meeting will be Tuesday, June 22 at 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the Champaign County Community Center.

Herling will be there in person to give a presentation. There will be a question-and-answer session where the public will have the opportunity to ask questions concerning the proposed solar project.