Capital Gazette Covers Launch of Small Business Infrastructure Improvement Pilot Program

December 14, 2021

The Capital Gazette reported that AAEDC and Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman launched the Small Business Infrastructure Improvement Pilot Program (SBIIPP), an initiative to help businesses complete water, sewer, and other kinds of infrastructure improvements, in the following article:

Anne Arundel County pilot program aims to help groups of small businesses improve infrastructure

The article included commentary from AAEDC President and CEO Ben Birge, who explained what makes the SBIIPP a “pilot program:”

“This is a pilot program. I don’t know if we’re going to have one applicant or 30 applicants. So we’re starting small and we’ll gather the information and see if there’s a bigger demand.”

Birge also emphasized that grant money will only go toward the construction part of any project it funds, following an application process that includes obtaining and submitting letters of community support and receiving approval from the Anne Arundel County Department of Inspections and Permits:

“So if you don’t have all your architectural documents, you don’t have your inspections done to make sure everything looks good and you’re ready to go, you have a whole bunch of boxes to check before we’ll award the money. But we will say, ‘This is a good proposal. We’re going to conditionally approve it as long as you do all these things first and then we’ll give you the money later.’”

It concluded with a quote from County Executive Steuart Pittman, who said:

“Investing in our small businesses is an investment in our communities across Anne Arundel County.”

The SBIIPP is being supported by $850,000 in American Rescue Plan funding.

Applications are open from Monday, December 13 to Friday, January 28 and are available online at aaedc.org.

County Executive Pittman, Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation Announce Small Business Infrastructure Improvement Pilot Program »