Council approves aid for businesses affected by Wilcox Tunnel closure
Small business owners affected by the closing of the Wilcox Tunnel are a step closer to getting some help from the city of Chattanooga.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a program awarding grants to qualifying firms whose business has suffered because of a city construction project.
While the impetus for the grant program was the Wilcox Tunnel project, the grants will be available in the future to other businesses affected by city projects, according to Lacie Stone, spokeswoman for Mayor Andy Berke.
The Wilcox Tunnel was closed last August for a $2 million renovation, with completion set for February. But city officials announced last week work would not be completed until April 11, drawing groans from business owners on either side of the 84-yearold tunnel affected by the closure.
City officials met with about 100 local residents and business owners last week to discuss the grant program.
Grants of $1,000 will be available to qualifying small businesses, defined as those with 50 employees or less. City spokeswoman Stone said the city also will help with advertising, signs to remind motorists that businesses near the tunnel are still open, and events such as block parties with neighborhood groups to draw community support for local firms.
The City Council is authorizing $25,000 initially for the grants, to be administered by the city’s Industrial Development Board.
In the future, city officials will evaluate all construction projects lasting more than 90 days to determine if they have a negative impact on neighboring businesses. If traffic declines by 25 percent or more due to the construction, the businesses would be eligible to apply for grant money, although the council would be required to review the project and vote to provide the funds.
Councilman Chip Henderson pressed city officials Tuesday on whether a business would have to prove it actually had lost money because of the project in order to be eligible for the funds. City Director of Economic and Community Development Donna Williams said they would have to make some showing of injury, although she said she did not want businesses “to be forced to pay $5,000 to hire a CPA in order to get a $1,000 grant.”
Williams told the council she had personally walked from business to business on a recent Friday.
“Everyone we spoke to said they had experienced a 25 percent to 50 percent decline in business,” she said.
Tuesday’s vote was on the first reading of the ordinance authorizing the grant program. It must be approved a second time next week before taking effect, but that approval should be routine, considering this week’s unanimous vote.
Contact staff writer Steve Johnson at sjohnson@timesfreepress.com, 423757-6673, on Twitter, stevejohnson@tfp, or on Facebook, facebook.com/noogahealth.