Local businesses get big money from feds

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By Matthew Saari

Many of the region’s leading employers were the leading recipients of federal coronavirus stimulus money.

The U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) released data Monday highlighting how much employers across the nation received as a part of the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

In Granville, the top recipient was Telescope Casual Furniture, which received between $2 million and $5 million in PPP money.

The next largest recipients are located in Whitehall, with Adirondack Natural Stone LLC and Commonwealth Plywood Inc. both receiving between $350,000 and $1 million.

The Clifton Park-based Capital Region Independent Media, the parent company of Manchester Media which publishes the Granville Sentinel, Whitehall Times, Lakes Region FreePress and North Country FreePress received between $150,00-$350,000.

The money provided through PPP is technically a loan but most of it can be forgiven if the recipient business uses it for payroll costs, if all employee retention criteria are met and the funds are used for eligible expenses.

“The loan will be fully forgiven if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities (due to likely high subscription, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll),” the SBA website explains.

The loan program is also specifically designed for small businesses with less than 500 employees the SBA website states.

All told, 15 businesses in the Granville-Whitehall area received PPP loans in excess of $150,000 totaling between $4.5 million and $11,200,000 in funding. Those companies with the biggest loan amounts are expecting to retain 716 local jobs with those funds.

Numerous other local business in the area received loans of less than $150,000, however that data sheet does not indicate which specific business received which loan amount.

The federal government recently began accepting applications for PPP loans again on July 6 after President Donald Trump signed an extension into effect. The new deadline to apply is Aug. 8.