BELFAST - The City Council last week approved a slate of 14 small businesses to receive grants for improvements under the state-funded Micro-Enterprise Assistance Program.

The $150,000 received by the city earlier this year was initially heralded as a welcome boost for small businesses, but as the real details of the awards came forward, some councilors expressed mixed feelings and misgivings.

“I was very happy for the people who got the grants and façade improvements,” said Councilor Mike Hurley after looking over the list of recipients. “Full disclosure. I wish it was me getting one of these.” 

Hurley said his own business, the Colonial Theatre, recently underwent work that might have qualified for funding through the grant program. 

“It’s like being at a place where they hand out six or eight or 12 Christmas presents and you don’t get one but somebody got one,” he said. “And you’ve got to be happy for the people who got one.”

Individual awards approved by the Council, Nov. 6, ranged from $3,300 to $15,000 depending upon the proposal. The business names and amounts were not immediately made public, but have since been released. A full list appears below. 

Grants fell into two categories: building façade improvements, and micro-enterprise assistance — a catch-all category under which businesses can buy equipment or inventory, make repairs, and pay for promotions, among other things.

Belfast officials capped the awards at $15,000 in order to spread the money among more businesses.

Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge said the city received eight applications for façade improvements and 21 for the micro-enterprise assistance grants. 

“Certainly more than we had money for in this round,” he said.

Façade improvements require a 1:3 match (or $1 spent by the business for every three received from the grant), while micro-enterprise assistance grants require a 1:1 match and are reserved for businesses with five or fewer employees in which the owner meets federal low-to-moderate income guidelines. Eligibility in Belfast tops off at $29,900 for a single person and $42,700 for a family of four.

In addition to deciding how to divvy up the money, the city was allowed to choose whether it was given as grants or loans.

Councilor Nancy Hamilton said she went along with the Council’s eventual preference for grants but felt differently when she saw what the money was actually going toward.

“I really just cannot support giving money to these individuals and it not coming back,” she said. “Because this money has been taken from taxpayers and is being given to these businesses.”

Hamilton acknowledged that the MEA grant could contribute to a better business environment and bring an overall benefit to the community, but said she is philosophically opposed to it.

“And now that I see the details it drives home why I am philosophically opposed to it,” she said.

She applauded people for starting businesses but noted that business is inherently risky. The money for the grant will ultimately come from taxpayers who might not be able to afford it, she said.

According to Kittredge, the MEA grant is one of the few economic development grants available to municipalities, in which money can go directly to businesses.

Just over a year ago, the city worked with Front Street Shipyard to get a similar grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The $200,000 award was earmarked for a marine spray painting booth, a 30-ton crane for stepping masts and some structural improvements, all within the Shipyard property.

Awards from the Micro-Enterprise Assistance Program approved on Nov. 6 include:

Business Façade Grants – Total: $62,350

$15,000 - Church/Beaver Streets (Opera House) - Replacement of doors and windows; installation of dome awnings. 

$15,000 - 2 Cross Street (former Winston York building) - New doors and windows; new roof; new siding; new porch and painting.

$6,750 - 71 High Street (MTA Accounting) - Removal of deteriorated siding; installation of new sidewall insulation; replacement of three windows; installation of awning, standing seam metal roof and gutter with downspouts. 

$15,000 - 132 High Street (High Street Market/La Vida building) - Finish fourth exterior wall to be consistent with other three; installation of new roofing membrane and cap flashing; installation of one exterior door and one new window. 

$7,300 - 69 Main Street (Brambles) - Repair to existing roof; installation of new flashing and ice build-up protection; repair and replacement of rotted carpentry; re-roofing with slate building tiles.

$3,300 - 74 Main Street (Vinolio) - Repointing of brick; rebuilding of chimney; acid wash; and installation of exterior lighting. 

Micro-Enterprise Assistance Grants - Total: $87,650

$15,000 - Belfast Barge - Rigging of existing barge for “heavy” duty: boom with rigging hardware, Spud anchoring system, hydraulic system; skiff; pick-up truck.

$10,785 - Belfast Bay CrossFit - Exercise equipment of various types.

$7,875 - Bellabooks - Fixtures, equipment and supplies for coffee shop/bakery; inventory.

$3,975 - Coastal Marine Canvas - Purchase of sewing machine.

$8,925 - Eat More Cheese - Split air conditioning system for new retail space, larger display case; counters, shelving and product display; inventory expansion; custom-printed T-shirts and staff uniforms; commercial meat slicers. 

$15,000 - Heiwa Say Beanery - Kettle; set of pressing boxes; grain hopper; three flat-bottomed tanks; new press; cutting jig; capper; packaging and material handling equipment; temperature verification studies and shelf life testing; new condensing unit.

$11,090 - The Juice Cellar - Cambro containers; signage; logo redesign; rebranding of products; inventory; alkaline water filter; shelving; packaging.

$15,000 - The Purple Baboon - Insulation of attic and floor; new hardwood floors; inventory. 

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com