Apply for a WilCo Forward grant

Volume 061920 | June 19, 2020

Your weekly news & updates

Ground breaking!

Rob Randig (above making introductions) and Lisa Whisenant (digging her job at left) welcomed dignitaries from Eagle Bank, a branch of Round Top State Bank, to Taylor for the ground breaking for the new bank branch.

The new facility is expected to open in the spring of 2021 at 106 Carlos G Parker NW in the HEB shopping center.

We look forward to having this new business in our community!

Happy Freedom Day!

Out of care for the health of all Taylor's citizens, the OL Price Ex-Student Association has cancelled this year's Juneteenth public festivities.

City keeps park facilities closed

After consulting with the Williamson County and Cities Health District about a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Williamson County, City of Taylor officials have decided to continue to keep park facilities closed until further notice and will restrict large gatherings and events at public facilities. Park facilities will continue to be closed until the county sees a 14-day decline in cases, as recommended by the WCCHD. Also, in order to discourage large gatherings over the holiday weekend, open spaces in City Parks will be closed to the public July 4 – 5, with trails and sidewalks remaining open for walking and running purposes.

Click HERE to see the latest local info on Covid-19.

For guidelines to help YOU determine when it is safe to conduct certain activities, see the graphic above or click HERE to see "Considerations for Events and Gatherings."

What's up with the cookoff?

At the Chamber, we are crossing our fingers and wearing our masks in hope that we will be able to have the Taylor International BBQ Cookoff on Aug. 21-22 in Murphy Park. With all the uncertainty, there are a few things we thought you might want to know.

We will hold all registration checks (and cash) until we are 100% cleared by the City to host the cookoff. We will notify you via email five business days prior to sending a check to the bank. We will notify those who pay cash that it is available for pickup within five days of cancelling the event (we truly hope this doesn’t happen)
It MAY be that we can have the cookoff but with a limited number of cookers. We will label each registration with the number indicating when the payment was received and cookers will be admitted first-paid, first-registered.
Likewise, it MAY happen that we have to spread out our campsites to allow for greater social distancing. We will assign spaces on that same first-paid, first-registered basis as well.
All week-of registration payments will be cash only.

Now, with all that said, I hope you are STILL looking forward to it! I sure am!!!!

And, please note, that we are planning to have a mini-cookoff jackpot on Friday night that will include margaritas, desserts and a kid’s grilled cheese. The registration information is on the attached and those contests are open to the public and non-registered cookers as well.

Please call Ronnie Michna at 512-791-1230 or me or Tia at the Chamber 512-352-6364.

Find the rules and sign up forms here .

Look here for sponsor information.

Information & Education

Independence Day fireworks

American Legion Post 39 proudly announces that it will be providing a fireworks show this year and needs donations to make that happen.

Mail to

American Legion Post 39

PO Box 727,Taylor, TX 76574

Or donate on line at taylortxlegion39.org also Facebook.com/grahamdluhn

Bringing the parade to YOU!

Like many events in 2020, the traditional Independence Day Parade in the City of Taylor will have a different flavor this year. The City is working with the American Legion, Graham D Luhn Post 39 to plan a vehicle-only event that will allow participants and observers to practice COVID-19 social distancing and safety protocols consistent with recommendations from the CDC and local health officials. The parade is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 4

While this year’s parade will not include many of the elements that Taylor residents have enjoyed in past years, it will have a longer route (see a map HERE ) so more people can celebrate from the safety of their own yards.

Click HERE to sign up to be a parade participant by 5 p.m. Sunday, June 21

*Note: There are only slots for 30 vehicles from the community, and they are first-come, first-served from qualified entries.*

Respect the Constitution: Complete the Census

The Census is required by the US Constitution every 10 years. If you have not, yet fulfilled your Constitutional duty to complete it, click HERE NOW and fulfill that legal requirement.

Taylor is currently running at a completion rate higher than the State of Texas but lower than most of Williamson County. Don't let them count instead of YOU! Complete the Census TODAY!

You can learn more about how different regions of the county, state and country are doing on the Census by clicking HERE for an interactive map.

Deadline nears for WilCo Forward business grants

Williamson County’s Wilco Forward Small Business Grant Program has issued more than $30.4 million out of the $35 million allocated to assist local small businesses affected by COVID-19.

The Taylor Chamber and Main Street are joining forces to beg you to apply for a WilCo Forward grant NOW. It closes at the end of this month so you have no time to waste! Here’s what you need to have in ELECTRONIC FORM in order to apply…

Know your monthly payroll AND your typical monthly operating expenses. You will be asked to enter both and will receive the higher amount (I think payroll is 1.5x, but it is calculated for you)
Any one of the following: Secretary of State Texas File number; State of Texas License number; DBA, 2018 or 2019 tax return (return only, schedules not required);
Social Security Number, Employer Identification Number, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. For Sole Proprietor Applicants provide 2018 or 2019 Schedule C
Form W-9 (get one here)

Other than that, you need to read and agree to some questions saying that you are honest. It is the easiest application I have seen – THE EASIEST! It took me four minutes to complete the application.

So, after you have all of the documents, go to https://www.wilco.org/forward.

If you don’t have a computer (it might be hard to do on a phone) or need things scanned in , call the Chamber at 512-352-6364 and we will work together to get your application in.

There is no time to waste!

Extension of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

Congress passed a large extension to the

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), giving small businesses across the nation an extended period of time to apply for the PPP Loan and expanding the loan's forgiveness.

An estimated $120 billion is left in the PPP fund .

If your small business received a PPP Loan, here's what the extension means for you:

· Extends the PPP loan forgiveness period to include costs incurred over 24 weeks after a loan is issued or through Dec. 31, whichever comes first. Businesses that received a loan before the measure is enacted could keep the current eight-week period.

· Extends a period in which loans can be forgiven if businesses restore staffing or salary levels that were previously reduced to Dec. 31.

· Maintains forgiveness amounts for companies that document their inability to rehire workers employed as of Feb. 15, and their inability to find similarly qualified workers by the end of the year. Under the modified measure, companies would be covered separately if they show that they couldn’t resume business levels from before Feb. 15 because they were following federal requirements for sanitization or social distancing.

· Extends the deadline to apply for a PPP loan to Dec. 31.

· Requires at least 60% of forgiven loan amounts to come from payroll expenses.

· Repeals a provision from the CARES Act that barred companies with forgiven PPP loans from deferring their payroll tax payments.

· Allows borrowers to defer principal and interest payments on PPP loans until the SBA compensates lenders for any forgiven amounts, instead of the current six-month deferral period. Borrowers that don’t apply for forgiveness would be given at least 10 months after the program expires to start making payments.

Establishes a minimum loan maturity period of five years following an application for loan forgiveness, instead of the current two-year deadline set by the SBA. This provision applies to PPP loans issued after this measure was enacted on 6/05/2020, though borrowers and lenders could agree to extend current loans.

Link to PPP Forgiveness Application

Guides & Resources

from the US Chamber

The U.S. Chamber continues to create, update, and evolve various guides and resources during this difficult time. As a member, the Taylor Chamber offers them to you. Click on the links to learn more.

What we know and what borrowers can do now.

Join TX State SBDC and SBDC COVID Business Recovery Accelerator for an interactive webinar to hear what we’ve learned to assist small business owners in making the right choices as they apply for Forgiveness.

When: June 25, 2020

Time: 10am-11am

Texas State Small Business Development Center offers an array of online workshops for businesses.

CLICK HERE

to see their full schedule and register for them.