This week’s edition of the Office of Recovery Newsletter features an update on the COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief Program, which will provide financial assistance to eligible Kansas small businesses to help in the recovery from the pandemic. Small businesses can prepare to apply for the program by ensuring that they are registered with SAM.gov and have federal Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number.

Also highlighted is the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) awarding $51 million to Wichita State University (WSU) in support of developing smart manufacturing in Kansas. The funding will be used to provide training, tools, resources for small to mid-sized businesses in South Kansas.

For the latest Treasury updates and information about resources available to Kansans, see the “Updates to Services and Support” section of this newsletter. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the Office of Recovery website at: COVID.ks.gov . 

Program Spotlight

Small Businesses Can Prepare for Upcoming COVID-19 Property Tax Relief Program

It was recently announced that the application process for the COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief program will launch in October. The program is a result of bipartisan House Bill 2136 which invested $50 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to help Kansas small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because the COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief Program is funded through federal relief funds, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) registration is required to be completed for a business to be eligible to receive assistance. UEI registration ensures the accuracy of information and the security of funding being used for this program. Eligible Kansas small business owners should verify they are registered for a federal UEI ahead of the application process opening.

The UEI is a unique 12-character identifier assigned to all entities and is used as the primary means of entity identification for Federal awards and for those doing business with the federal government. The UEI is issued at no cost through the federal System for Award Management website (SAM.gov).

If a business is already registered in SAM.gov, no additional action is needed to obtain a UEI. UEI registration can be confirmed by logging into SAM.gov and verifying that the business’ Entity Status states “Active Registration.”

Please note that due to recent increases in the number of entities registering with SAM.gov it may take up to 25 business days for new registrations to be processed. For any issues related to registering with SAM.gov or obtaining a UEI the Federal Service Desk can be reached at 866-606-8220.

Information detailing the application process and dates for the COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief Program is forthcoming from the Kansas Department of Revenue. The application will provide definitions, explain the assistance process in detail, and will specify exactly what information must be submitted in support of the application.

Claimants will have until April 15, 2023, to file an application for this financial assistance.

ARPA Impacts Across Kansas

EDA Awards WSU $51M in ARPA Funding to Aid in Economic Development

On September 2 the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced an award of $51.4 million to Wichita State University to support a program to aid in the development and adoption of emerging smart manufacturing technologies in Kansas. The funding is provided through the American Rescue Plan Build Back Better Regional Challenge.

The program, led by WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research, is referred to as “Driving Adoption: Smart Manufacturing Technologies.” The program focuses on advancing regional efforts in the effective implementation of sustainable, smart and additive manufacturing technologies, increasing competitiveness and profitability for small and mid-sized businesses, and increasing the region’s global market share.

The grant amount is broken up and allocated to four separate priorities within the program:

$9 million is allocated to expand and modernize training and research capacity
$14 million, is to provide business with the tools needed to successfully implement additive manufacturing into their supply chains and create qualified factories that deliver repeatable, robust parts
$26 million is allocated to expand training capacity through the construction of a new facility on campus to enable the delivery of high-tech, high-wage, high-demand career guidance for students and workers
The remaining funding is allocated to administrative costs for the South Kansas Coalition which will provide governance and evaluation to the program. The South Kansas Coalition is comprised of industry, government and economic development leaders representing 27 counties in South Kansas

The South Kansas Coalition is one of 21 winners chosen from 60 finalists in a Phase 1 applicant pool of 529 applications. To learn more about the program and funding, visit www.wichita.edu/.

Updates to Services and Support

Resources to Assist Local Governments Apply for Federal Funding

Bloomberg Philanthropies recently released a brand-new resource for local governments to learn more about how to apply for federal funding. The Local Infrastructure Hub: Support for U.S. Cities and Towns to Put Federal Funding to Work for Residents aims to connect city leaders to experts to help bring clarity and direction to the complicated application process.

Submitting strong applications for federal infrastructure money can be challenging for small and mid-sized cities, towns, and villages. To assist underserved local governments with populations of approximately 150,000 or less, the Local Infrastructure Hub is offering a series of bootcamps. The bootcamps are designed to help small and mid-sized local governments take advantage of the grant opportunities available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Over the next two years, there will be at least 30 bootcamps, each tied to a specific category of funding available as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The first five offerings that will be available in the fall of 2022. The next five bootcamp offerings will commence in January 2023. More information about these bootcamps will be available in the coming weeks, and registration will open in October.

To receive updates on exclusive programs, master classes, and other supports available through Local Infrastructure Hub partners and experts, sign up here.

Stay Informed on the SPARK Process

The four SPARK Advisory Panels (Connectivity, Economic Revitalization, Efficiency and Modernization, and Health and Education) spent several months assembling recommendations for the distribution of discretionary American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. All four Advisory Panels presented their investment recommendations to the SPARK Executive Committee during meetings on April 15 and April 18.

The Executive Committee will consider these panel recommendations before finalizing its own recommendations and presenting them to the State Finance Council, which has final authority on investment decisions. The committee has not yet met to finalize its recommendations but is working to schedule a meeting to do so. The Office of Recovery will notify newsletter recipients once the meeting is scheduled and the meeting will be available to livestream on the Kansas Legislature YouTube Page.

All previous Advisory Panel meeting materials and recordings can be found on our website: Advisory Panels Materials. SPARK Executive Committee meeting recordings and materials, including the recommendation materials presented by the Advisory Panels, are available at: SPARK Materials.