Montgomery County Panel Hears Eight Small Business Grant Pitches, Recommends Awards

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board’s Development & Personnel Committee heard presentations from eight Small Biz Grant applicants on Aug. 3, scored the applications, and voted to recommend a slate of awards. The minutes record neither which applicants were selected nor how much money is involved.

Small Biz Grant Key Points:

Eight applicants — including a general store, a storage business, a meat provisioner, a massage therapy practice and a salon developer — presented to the committee.

The committee scored the applications and voted unanimously on a motion by Russ Beason, seconded by Rob Corso, “to make Small Biz Grants as recommended.”

The minutes record no recipients, no dollar amounts, no total, no scoring criteria and no funding source for this item.

The action is a recommendation only; no grant money moves unless and until the full County Board acts.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The Montgomery County Board’s Development & Personnel Committee on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, heard pitches from eight applicants for the county’s Small Biz Grants and voted to recommend a slate of awards, though the meeting minutes record neither which businesses were selected nor how much each would receive.

The committee met at 5 p.m. in the County Board Room on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse, #1 Courthouse Square in Hillsboro. Committee Chair Chad Ruppert led the Pledge of Allegiance. No one spoke during public comments. The meeting adjourned at 7:24 p.m.

Present were Ruppert, Rob Corso, Chris Daniels, Russ Beason and Roy Schieferdecker, who arrived at 5:09 p.m. Committee members Jeremy Jones and Doug Donaldson were listed absent. Also attending were County Board Administrator Mike Plunkett, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Kaitlyn Fath, Sheriff Tyson Holshouser, Animal Control Warden Tricia Papin, County Clerk Sandy Leitheiser and Circuit Clerk Daniel Robbins.

Eight Applicants Presented

According to the minutes, the committee heard from Roy Dunning of Aaron’s; salon developer Samantha McFarlin; Matt Palazzolo of Palazzolo’s Prime Provisions; Jeremy Walk of 413 Rental & Storage; Tammy Flowers of Fillmore General Store; Karen Hemken of Massage Therapy & Bodywork by Karen; Wayne and Tina Jansen of The Awning; and Danell Fogle of Briar Rose.

The minutes do not state where any of the businesses are located, what each applicant proposed to do with grant money, how much any applicant requested, or how long the presentations ran. McFarlin is identified only as a “salon developer,” with no business name recorded.

After the presentations, the minutes record a single line on process — “The committee scored applications” — followed by the motion. Beason moved and Corso seconded “to make Small Biz Grants as recommended.” All members present voted in favor and the motion carried.

What the Record Does Not Say

The minutes do not identify who made the underlying recommendation the committee voted to adopt, do not describe the scoring rubric or the scores awarded, and do not attach a list of recommended recipients or award amounts. No total figure appears anywhere in the document, and this item names no funding source. Readers of the official record cannot determine from it which of the eight applicants received money, or how much.

Because this is a committee action, it is a recommendation rather than an enactment. The recommendation goes to the full Montgomery County Board, and no grant money is committed and no award is final unless and until the full board votes. The minutes do not state the date of the board meeting at which the item is expected to be taken up.

The county has run earlier rounds of small business grants. At the committee’s July 6 meeting, members were told that new applicants would be invited to the August committee meeting — the meeting at which these eight presentations occurred.

The committee took up a separate agenda item later in the meeting on the DCEO Energy Transition Grant, at which County Board Administration reported that DCEO has requested resubmission of several application items lost at that agency’s level. The minutes do not state whether that item relates to the Small Biz Grant awards.