RIFLE, CO (April 23, 2020) – At a special meeting on Wednesday night, the Rifle City Council approved a request from the Rifle Regional Economic Development Corporation (RREDC) to establish a fund to assist small businesses who are facing economic hardship during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses with up to 50 employees are eligible to apply for a loan of up to $2000 per business. The loans will be 100% forgiven as long as documentation is provided showing that the money was utilized for operating expenses of the business. Applicants must have a brick and mortar building and a non-homebased business located within the city limits of the City of Rifle. To apply for funding, businesses must meet the following criteria:

1.        Applicant has been forced to temporarily close or forced to dramatically limit operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2.        Applicant must have been open as of March 1, 2020 with a physical address within the City limits of Rifle.

3.        Applicant applying for the funding must be a small business with less than 50 full-time employees and have local ownership.

4.        Applicant must be in good standing with the City of Rifle and Colorado Secretary of State.

5.        Applicant must provide a line-item budget of the operating expenses the loan will be used for.

6.        Applicant must not have already received any COVID-19 relief funding (EIDL, PPP, etc…).

7.        Borrowers are strongly encouraged to work with the RREDC and the Northwest SBDC on their business plan and model in order to have a higher likelihood of success.

According to Executive Director of the Rifle Regional EDC Katie Mackley, “We are seeing a significant need for bridge funding for many of our small businesses in Rifle and we see this program as an effective and expeditious way to provide that.  We are hopeful that we will see additional Small Business Administration funding come through and we are poised to help our businesses take advantage of those opportunities if they haven’t.  In the meantime, this loan program will provide some relief and stability for businesses as they navigate the phased reopening of our local economy.”

The program will go live at 8:00am on Wednesday, April 29th. At that time, online applications will be located on the City of Rifle website, Rifleco.org.

For updated information on all City matters, please go to our website, www.rifleco.org or our Facebook and Twitter pages.

RIFLE, CO (March 13, 2020) – Due to the abundance of information regarding the COVID-19 virus, the City of Rifle would like to let our citizens know what steps are being taken locally to help keep you safe and provide you with information regarding local activities and events.

The City is following all guidelines dictated by Garfield County and the Garfield County Health Department. The recent directive from Garfield County banning gatherings of groups over 50 people does affect some City programs, activities and events:

• All events at the Ute Theater have been temporarily suspended.  Please check their website for updates.  fb.com/NewUteEventsCenter/
• The ski bus to Sunlight has been canceled for the remainder of the year. All City organized recreation activities have been temporarily suspended.
• Due to the fact that seniors have been identified as a particularly vulnerable population, all senior activities and events have been canceled. The Rifle Senior Center will remain open for individuals who wish to play cards or shoot pool. See their Facebook page for details.  fb.com/Rifle-Senior-Center-399406133571314/
  • Meals will be delivered to vehicles for pick-up.

All other City offices and facilities are open with normal operations.

The water and wastewater treatment plants are fully functioning and will remain fully operational even if some City offices need to be closed or staff size reduced. There is no need to stock up on bottled water. It is important to note however, that we are starting to see flushable wipes at the wastewater plant.  Even though they say flushable, they are not sewer plant friendly.  If this continues or increases, it may cause problems. Please dispose of all wipes in the trash, not the toilet.

All City parks and facilities will remain open and citizens are encouraged to utilize these resources. The City Council meeting scheduled for March 18^th will take place as usual.  We will be reviewing these policies frequently and will keep you informed of any changes. The most important thing is to follow the CDC and County guidelines. We can all work together to slow the progression of this virus.

 For more information, please refer to these credible sources:

www.garfield-county.com

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/2019-novel-coronavirus

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

For updated information on all City matters, please go to our website, www.rifleco.org or our Facebook and Twitter pages.