GUYTON — The City of Guyton gushed with good news in the form of economic aid Wednesday morning.

City officials announced that $1,000 grants are available for Guyton businesses that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“There are not a lot of strings attached (to obtain the grant),” Mayor Russ Deen said. “We are only asking that you fill out the application and justify that you were affected by COVID, and be a for-profit business (in operation as of July 1).”

Fifty grants, made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act, are expected to be awarded. There is no repayment requirement.

“After we write the check, it’s a grant.” Deen said. “There’s basically no strings attached about how you spend it or what you use it on.”

Recipients must have a current City of Guyton business license and be in compliance with city billing, inspections and ordinances, plus all applicable state and federal laws. The business structure may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability corporation or corporation.

“There is a lot of detail about what (the City of Guyton) can do with the money but (the distribution of grants) falls under that — helping your  local business community, helping local citizens,” Deen said. 

Deen said Guyton has about two dozen businesses located downtown and another 30 or so that operate in homes. 

“We’ve planned to take care of 50 businesses which doesn’t even account for half of our CARES Act funding,” the mayor said. “(The council) is still in talks about what we want to do with the rest of it.”

Deen operates a Guyton business but will not apply for the grant. Neither will Marshall Reiser, the Post 1 city council member.

“We want to make sure there are no misconceptions,” Reiser said. “We declined to participate in this because of our role in city government. This will not benefit my business or his business.”

Applications for the Small Business Economic Recovery Grant will be accepted until Sept. 18. They can be emailed to City Clerk Tina Chadwick at tina.chadwick@cityofguyton.com or deposited into the drop box at City Hall, 310 Central Blvd.

Find the application here: https://clients.municipalimpact.com/documents/305/Small_Business_Grant_and_Application.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0gxOpSTTU-xF3UanxMQd0x7X9_SAUcIfcdp80fTWR9G_NIfVGYpfTUj-A.