by Eric Bond

Over the summer, the City of Takoma Park began distributing funds to small businesses in the city through its Open for Business grant program. Funded through the City of Takoma Park’s Neighborhood Commercial Corridor fund, part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Grants are capped at $10,000 to a single business and are calculated as follows:

• Ground-floor businesses outside of the Old Town commercial
  district may be funded at up to $6/square foot.
• Old Town businesses, and upper- floor businesses elsewhere in Takoma Park may be funded at up to $4/square foot.

Red Hound Pizza, Well Paid Maids, San Alejo Restaurant, and Richardson School of Music are all current grantees. Red Hound Pizza is a new restaurant that opened on Carroll Avenue in July. Well Paid Maids is an existing Takoma Park business that recently expanded its office space. San Alejo is a popular Salvadoran restaurant in Hyattsville that is adding a new location in Takoma-Langley Crossroads. And Richardson School of Music is located on Carroll Avenue in Takoma Junction.

Charbel Abrache says that the $2,000 grant allowed him to establish outdoor seating for the pizza shop, which specializes in a whole grain crust. Abrache was previously a pastry chef at Seylou Bakery & Mill in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood. Abrache brought a unique approach to pastries, using only whole grains like millet, buckwheat, and eichorn and eschewing all refined sugar. Abrache said that Takoma Park seemed like the right place to apply the same approach to pizza for a slice unlike any other in the area.

Several years ago, Abrache and his wife, Andrea, found themselves in Takoma Park quite a bit, bringing their red hound, Arepa, to the vet.

“We really liked the vibes of the neighborhood,” says Abrache. “You know how it feels how everyone seems to know each other and supports each other. We saw this opportunity and we said ‘Okay let’s give it a shot.’”

“[The Economic Development team] was super amazing and they helped us through process of opening the shop. And the grant gave us a little bit of oxygen to figure things out,” he says.

Aaron Seyedian, a Takoma Park resident, launched Well Paid Maids in 2017 in response to the Fight for $15 movement. Cleaners start at $26 an hour, in keeping with Seyedian’s philosophy. As the business has grown, it has required more office space, and the grant for $7,000 helped it move into the new space more quickly. Seyedian says that he appreciated that Takoma Park has “a long tradition of trying to support its small business community.”

When his business was faced a setback because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Seyedian took advantage of ARPA funding through the City’s Economic Development office. And he is grateful for a little push now that his business is thriving.

“The space that we were in in our building was quite cramped, especially in a job like this with folks are on the phone all the time, says Seyedian. It’s a lot of noise, and we needed a bigger space. Without the grant program, we probably would have waited another year. I think, is just going to make us a more productive firm.”

There is no restriction on use of grant funds—they can be applied where most needed, whether to support capital expenditures and hard costs related to new business fit-out, for existing tenant improvements, or to serve as a one-time subsidy to offset cost of lease.

“The thing that’s special about this grant is the funds are not restricted by us as to what they can be used for,” says Grants Coordinator Patti Mallin. “The owner is the one who knows best where they need the help.”

Mallin says that business owners receive half of the grant upon signing the agreement with the City and the other half at a grand opening or grand re-opening. She says that the City still has $50,000 in funds to award and encourages small businesses to apply online.

Mallin also says that she hopes business owners will take advantage of the newly launched Façade Improvement grant program, which is also funded through ARPA. The City is looking to disburse a total of $75,000 to Takoma Park businesses, with a $10,000 cap per business.

“We would reimburse expenses paid by small businesses to improve or repair their front-facing structures,” says Mallin. “That could be signage and awnings. It could be safety glass. Anything that is storefront, street facing.

“We want to have a vibrant commercial community, and these are ways we can help do it,” says Mallin.

This article appeared in the October Edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. Check out this article and more on the City webpage.

by Sean Gossard

When Takoma Park voters cast their ballots in November’s election, they will be using a ranked-choice voting system for races in Wards 3 and 6, which both have more than two candidates on the ballot.

Takoma Park first began using ranked-choice voting in 2007 after it earned the support of 84% of voters in a November 2005 advisory referendum. Ranked choice voting is now used in over 50 cities and two states (Alaska and Maine).

“Ranked choice voting helps us to ensure that our elected representatives actually represent us,” says Takoma Park Board of Elections member Joe Goldman. “In too many places, leaders get elected with the support of only a fraction of the electorate. Our election system supports candidates who are supported by a majority of voters.”

Ranked-choice voting works by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If a voter’s first choice doesn’t have a chance to win, their ballot counts for their next choice. A candidate needs a majority of votes to be elected. If no candidate receives a majority of first choice votes, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes is eliminated. If those ballots indicate a second choice, the votes are transferred to the voter’s second choice. This continues until a candidate receives a majority.

The advantage of ranked choice voting extends to both voters and candidates. With ranked choice voting, a candidate is incentivized to try to earn a voter’s second choice vote if they see that a voter will rank an opponent as their first choice.

While Takoma Park is the only jurisdiction in Maryland that has ranked choice voting, the tide has been turning on its reception with voters, according to Rob Richie , the former CEO of FairVote, a nonpartisan organization working for better elections, and a Takoma Park resident. In the past 5 years, there have been 27 straight ballot wins for ranked choice voting, including New York City.

“I’m hopeful we’ll see some progress in Maryland,” says Richie. “We have some younger leaders who have supported it. D.C. is voting on it in November, so we’ll see how that goes. Arlington County in Virginia went carefully at it with a one-year pilot and they found that it worked.”

In Takoma Park, non-citizens as well as those 16 and over on Election Day and all otherwise-eligible people with a felony conviction are allowed to vote in City elections.

“Takoma Park makes it easy for everyone to cast their vote by mail or dropping ballots off early at a drop box,” says Goldman. “Personally, I like to fill out my ballot as soon as it arrives and drop it off in person at the drop box. I hope that anyone who waits until the final week before the election will drop their ballot off in person, so that we can ensure that everyone’s vote gets counted. If you are voting by mail, make sure to take into account how long it takes for the postal service to deliver your mail.”

“Voting in local elections gives us a voice on the most important issues facing our community,” he says. “Our city government makes decisions that impact every facet of our lives. I hope everyone will take the time to cast their ballots and make their voices heard.”

Takoma Park elections are non-partisan and there’s no primary. Candidate forums were be held on Monday, Sept. 30, and Monday, Oct. 7.

Takoma Park’s election for city council and mayor will take place the same day as the presidential election on Tuesday, November 5. Most voters in the city election will vote by mail, but the Community Center will be open for City Election voting only. For the presidential election, you can find your local polling location online or on the sample ballot sent out by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

This article appeared in the October Edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. Check out this article and more on the City webpage.