Two of Seven Small Biz Grant Recipients Will Never Open; One Repaid, One Died

Montgomery County Board Development & Personnel Committee Meeting | July 6, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board Development & Personnel Committee on Monday, July 6, 2026, reviewed the status of seven Small Biz Grant recipients who have yet to open their doors: one will not open and has repaid the grant funds, one is deceased, and five continue to make progress toward opening.

Small Biz Grant Key Points:

• Of seven recipients who have yet to open, one will not open and has repaid grant funds, one is deceased, and five continue to make progress.
• The committee reviewed new applicants and will invite them to the August committee meeting.
• With the award of the final Small Biz Grants, the county will close out Phase 1 of the DCEO Energy Transition Grant.
• Phase 2 is 73 percent complete, and a grant agreement for Phase 3 is anticipated in the next few weeks.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Seven businesses in Montgomery County have received a Small Biz Grant and have not yet opened. On Monday, July 6, 2026, the County Board Development & Personnel Committee went through them one by one.

One will not open and has repaid the grant funds. One is deceased. Five continue to make progress toward opening.

That accounting, recorded in a single line of the committee’s minutes, is the most complete public picture the county has offered of how its grant money has fared. It is also almost the only one: the minutes name no recipient, no business, no amount and no community. They do not say how much was repaid, or what happens to a grant when the person who received it dies.

This newspaper does not identify the deceased recipient, who is not named in the record and whose circumstances are a private matter.

The committee also reviewed new applicants and will invite them to the August committee meeting.

The Grant Behind the Grants

The Small Biz Grant program is funded through the DCEO Energy Transition Grant, and the two items sit next to each other on the county’s July 6 agenda for a reason the minutes state directly: with the award of the final Small Biz Grants, the county will close out Phase 1.

Phase 2 is 73 percent complete. A grant agreement for Phase 3 is anticipated in the next few weeks.

The minutes do not say what any phase consists of, what each is worth, what “complete” is measured against, or when Phase 2 is expected to finish. Nor do they say what the final Small Biz Grants were, to whom, or for how much — which means the sentence closing out Phase 1 rests on an award the public record does not describe.

DCEO is never spelled out in any county document.

What Happens Next

Neither item drew a motion. Both were titled “Update/Approval.”

The committee is a recommending body. Grant awards, agreements and any decision about repayment or recovery of funds would go to the full County Board.