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City-county small-business one-stop reports SBOSS activity; ARPA-funded capital program to start after contract cleanup
Summary
City and county partners reported SBOSS small-business assistance activity and said ARPA-funded capital and forgivable loan programs — administered with Hope Credit Union — will be ready for disbursement after contract language is amended.
City of Montgomery economic development director Frank Robinson and small-business program lead Nicole Thompson briefed the commission on the ARPA-funded Small Business One-Stop Shop (SBOSS) and related capital access efforts.
Thompson said the program has provided substantial outreach and one-on-one technical assistance: as of the January reporting date the team had logged 301 clients served, 36 in-person visits, more than 600 hours of 1:1 support, 1,142 event participants and more than 2,284 engagement hours. She said access to capital is the top need identified by businesses and SBOSS aims to make businesses "bankable" and ready for lending.
Why it matters: ARPA funds are being used to build a pipeline — training, bookkeeping and documentation — so small businesses can qualify for capital. City and county officials said they are working with banks and investors, including Hope Credit Union, to develop lending and forgivable-loan products tied to the program.
Capital timeline and contract adjustments: Robinson and Thompson said the ARPA-funded capital portion requires amended contract language before loans/grants are disbursed. Robinson said the city will send an amendment to city council and the county will then receive the revised language; staff expect to begin issuing capital in March. The presenters said a small November pilot award of $5,000 had been made and that the larger program will include loans with forgivable portions through Hope Credit Union.
Outcome and next steps: Commissioners asked about access to bankers and investors; staff said they are in active discussions with multiple banks and plan to curate bank partnerships and community outreach. No formal county action was taken; the city will proceed with contract amendment and staff will return with implementation details.
Ending: The SBOSS team invited commissioners to visit the Crescent Building program site and said they will continue outreach to ensure the ARPA-funded capital program has pipelines to banks and investor sources once contract language is finalized.
