Grants program aims to attract businesses to Lowellville

June 29, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

By SARAH LEHR

LOWELLVILLE

Village council hopes a new program will encourage businesses to come and stay in Lowellville.

Council passed legislation last week authorizing the creation of the Job Creation Incentive Grant Program, which will receive funding from nontax-revenue sources, such as permit fees, activity fees, service charges and interest income.

According to a draft of guidelines, the size of the grant will be determined by the projected size of the business’s initial payroll.

Businesses that relocate to Lowellville may receive grants, provided those businesses can demonstrate job creation and investment in the village.

Downtown businesses will receive proportionally larger grants, according to the guidelines, since council wants to “revitalize the downtown district” and since downtown buildings “are older and potentially more costly to improve.”

Businesses not downtown with payrolls of $200,000 or more are eligible for grants, and downtown businesses with payrolls of $20,000 or more are eligible for grants.

According to the guidelines, the terms of the grant can range from one to 10 years, depending on the size of the business’s investment in property and equipment.

Mayor Jim Iudiciani and several council members called by The Vindicator were unavailable to comment on the program.