Baldwin City’s local government has received state funding to help businesses survive and reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Mayor Casey Simoneau said the Kansas Department of Commerce approved $132,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding for the city to distribute. The funding is intended to help businesses that were forced to close or limit activities because of public health orders intended to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Baldwin City Councilman Cory Venable, who serves on the council’s budget and finance committee, said that a business must have 50 or fewer employees to be eligible for grant funds, and those employees must qualify as low- to moderate-income wage earners under federal guidelines, among other rules. There are also restrictions for small businesses that received funding through the Paycheck Protection Program, which was launched in April as part of a package of federal COVID-19 relief legislation.

Simoneau said the city was still researching the exact details and requirements, and he encouraged business owners to contact City Hall about the funding.

According to the Kansas Department of Commerce’s website, businesses with five or fewer employees could be eligible for up to $30,000 in funding, and those with between six and 50 employees could be eligible for up to $50,000.

The Commerce Department site also states that the grants can be used for employee wages, rent, loan payments, utility bills and inventory needed to reopen a business.