New Vermont Strong license plates will soon be available. Governor Phil Scott explained during his weekly briefing this morning that proceeds will go toward flood recovery.
Scott announced on August 1st that the Vermont Strong license plate, first issued following Tropical Storm Irene, would return. The Republican says people will be able to place online orders for the revised plates by Monday.
“There will be two license plate options: the We Are Vermont Strong and the other with Tough Too added. Each plate will be $35. You can buy as many as you want and businesses will be able to buy in bulk, but the price remains the same. This is a fundraising opportunity. All funds raised will help support flood victims. Half of the money will be directed to BEGAP, our Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program. The other half will go to the Vermont Community Foundation who have done incredible work supporting impacted Vermonters.”
Vermont Community Foundation President and CEO Dan Smith says they are excited to help coordinate distribution of funds from the program.
“Today we’re announcing a $1 million commitment from the Flood Response and Relief Fund into a farmer grant program that’s going to support affected farms. That’s $1 million that will go out in $10,000 increments really to support farms that have lost crops, that have lost infrastructure, lost barns, lost equipment. It’s intended to keep them in production and help them survive the winter months as they think about what the growing season looks like and is intended to sustain our food systema as we think about what the coming year looks like. So the Vermont Strong license plate resources will go into the fund and really help advance the work we’re doing to support individuals and families who have been affected and disrupted by the disaster we’ve experienced.”
Applications for the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program, or BEGAP, opened on August 3rd, two weeks after the governor announced that $20 million had been allocated to launch the program. Agency of Commerce and Community Development Secretary Lindsay Kurrle said 505 applications have been received so far and checks are being distributed. But there is a concern about some submissions.
“We are seeing around 30 percent of applications submitted incomplete, meaning staff is sending them back to the applicant looking for more information. Whether it’s due to missing critical documentation of damages or estimates for replacement materials or inventory. This is slowing down the review process. So we’re encouraging all applicants to please ensure their application is as complete as possible. As of yesterday, 70 percent of the applications are currently in review or in the queue to be reviewed. Thirty percent are completed and approved for a BEGAP grant and moved to payment.”
So far $397,136 has been paid out to business assistance applicants with an average award of about $14,000.
