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Denali Borough to receive $3.8 million in CARES Act funds; launches 'Denali Cares' grants June 5
Summary
Mayor Clay Walker said Thursday the Denali Borough will receive $3,800,000 in CARES Act funding, that the money must be spent by Dec. 30 and cannot backfill the general fund, and that a local grant program, Denali Cares, will open for applications Friday, June 5.
Mayor Clay Walker announced Thursday that the Denali Borough will receive $3,800,000 in federal CARES Act funding and will launch a local grant program, Denali Cares, with applications going live Friday, June 5.
Walker, identifying himself as mayor of the Denali Borough, said the borough has been "deeply impacted" by the coronavirus and noted that "we still have no positive cases" in June. He described a near collapse of the visitor industry and widespread financial losses for local businesses and residents.
"The Denali Borough will receive in total, $3,800,000," Walker said, adding the borough had just received the first installment and that payments "will go through October." He said the CARES Act money "do need to be expended by December 30" and stressed that the funds cannot be used to "backfill the borough general fund," meaning lost overnight-accommodation revenues cannot be replaced with this federal aid.
With approval from the assembly and the finance committee, Walker said the borough had prioritized support for local businesses and nonprofit organizations. "We're gonna go live with new grant applications for these programs" on Friday, and information will be posted on the borough's website, he said. Walker called the local program "Denali Cares," and said the grants are intended to provide additional support that federal Paycheck Protection Program loans or the state Alaska Cares program may not cover.
Walker acknowledged the limits of the local grants, saying the sums available "will not come close" to PPP or state-level assistance but can offer supplemental relief to impacted small businesses and nonprofits.
He also highlighted a poster from the Tri Valley Student Council thanking the Denali Borough Assembly for community support during the pandemic, and closed by urging eligible organizations to apply.
No vote or formal assembly action on the grant program was recorded in the message; Walker said the assembly and finance committee had already approved the program priorities. The next procedural step stated in the message is the launch of online grant applications on Friday, June 5.
