OAR 123-042-0032: Grant Information

(1) The Authority will only Award grants when a loan is not feasible due to the financial need of the Municipality or special circumstances of a Project. (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of these rules, no grant issued from the Fund may exceed $1,000,000 or 85 percent of the allowable Project costs, whichever is less. (3) Grants that fund the acquisition or improvement of real property, may not exceed the fair market value of the real property after the improvements have been made or the value placed on the real property and improvements on the assessment rolls, whichever is less. (4) Job Creation grants are allowable under the following circumstances and subject to the following requirements: (a) The grant funds a Development Project that qualifies as a Firm Business Commitment Project. (b) The grant may not exceed $500,000 per Project or 85% of allowable Project costs, whichever is less. In-kind materials and services cannot be included in allowable Project costs. (c) The grant amount will be based primarily on the number of Eligible Commercial Jobs proposed to be created or retained for four consecutive quarters within two years succeeding the completion of the Project. Each job created or retained may be valued up to a maximum of $5,000; and (d) The Municipality will be required to enter into a First Source Hiring Agreement in accordance with OAR Chapter 123 Division 70. The Authority will not disburse more than 50% of the Grant funds until the Municipality has provided the Authority with a copy of the appropriate First Source Hiring Agreement. (5) Industrial Land Planning grants are allowable under the following circumstances and subject to the following requirements: (a) The grant amount may not exceed $60,000 or 85% of the allowable Project cost, whichever is less. (b) The Project must: (i) Involve land that is zoned as “industrial”; (ii) Meet marketability standards as determined by the department using its adopted policy; and (iii) The land involved in the Project must remain zoned as industrial and not be converted to another use for at least 5 years after completion of the Project. (6) Emergency Project grants are allowable under the following circumstances and subject to the following requirements: (a) The Project must have Federal Disaster Relief assistance funds committed; and (b) The grant cannot exceed $500,000 per Project, or the amount of the federally required local match, whichever is less.