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To request that the Mayor introduce such budget amendments and propose other such legislation as may be necessary to establish a grant program to be administered by the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond for restaurants within the city of Richmond affected by the spread of COVID-19.
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WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, the Governor of Virginia issued Executive Order No. 53 (2020), which ordered that “[e]ffective 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, March 24, 2020 until 11:59 p.m., Thursday, April 23, 2020, all public and private in person [sic] gatherings of 10 [sic] or more individuals are prohibited;” and
WHEREAS, on March 30, 2020, the Governor of Virginia issued Executive Order No. 55 (2020), which imposed criminal penalties for violation of the prohibition on “[a]ll public and private in-person gatherings of more than ten individuals,” among other prohibitions; and
WHEREAS, these executive orders effectively have closed all restaurants in the city to dine-in patrons and relegated restaurants to take-out sales only, resulting in drastic reductions in employment by and income to those restaurants; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that, as citizens adhere to the prohibitions set forth in Executive Order No. 55, business communities within the city of Richmond are particularly affected by the decrease in business activity and the reduction in business income, which the Council anticipates will reduce the City’s meals tax revenue estimates for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2020, and the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2020, and ending June 30, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that the City must act immediately, to the extent permitted by law, to mitigate the effects of the spread of COVID-19 on the owners, operators, employees, and patrons of restaurants within the city of Richmond; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the city of Richmond, including those who own, operate, work at, and patron restaurants in the city, that the Council request that the Mayor introduce such budget amendments and propose other such legislation as may be necessary to establish a grant program to be administered by the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond for restaurants within the city of Richmond affected by the spread of COVID-19;
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND:
That the Council hereby requests that the Mayor introduce such ordinances, effective upon adoption, providing for appropriation and a cooperation agreement as may be necessary to establish a grant program, to the extent permitted by law, for restaurants within the city of Richmond affected by the spread of COVID-19 to be administered by the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond (the “Authority”) with the cooperation of the Department of Finance and the Department of Economic Development subject to the following parameters:
1. An ordinance, effective upon adoption, authorizing the Chief Administrative Officer to enter into, on behalf of the City, a cooperation agreement between the City and the Authority for the purpose of providing for the operation of a grant program for restaurants located within the corporate limits of the city of Richmond economically affected by COVID-19; designating the Authority as the administrator of the program, with the assistance of the Department of Finance and the Department of Economic Development; and authorizing the Authority, with the assistance of the Department of Finance and the Department of Economic Development, to develop such rules, regulations, policies, and procedures as may be necessary to implement and operate the grant program.
2. The Authority, with the cooperation of the Department of Finance and the Department of Economic Development, shall develop such rules, regulations, policies, and procedures as it deems necessary for implementation and operation of the emergency grant program for the support of city of Richmond restaurants.
3. All grants made to restaurants within the city of Richmond shall be funded, to the extent permitted by law, from such funds as may be received from the United States Government or the Commonwealth of Virginia for the relief of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or from the City’s General Fund.
4. An ordinance, effective upon adoption, transferring and appropriating funds in an amount equal to the grants to the Authority for the purpose of funding a grant program for restaurants within the city of Richmond affected by COVID-19, pursuant to such parameters as may be prescribed by a cooperation agreement between City and the Authority concerning such grant program.
5. A requirement that the Director of Economic Development provide the Council and the Mayor with weekly progress reports on the operation of the grant program.