Phase 3 for Pajaro residents affected by the 2023 floods available in October

PAJARO, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The County of Monterey announce a final distribution of state disaster funds for Pajaro residents planned for October.

They said that the money is coming from Assembly Bill 102, which earmarked $20 million for Pajaro Recovery.

The County of Monterey said they are also proving a mid-year update on overall state recovery fund spending. 

Pajaro Unmet Needs Disaster Assistance

The Pajaro Individuals and Households Disaster Assistance Program has allocated $5.4 million for flood-impacted Pajaro residents.

Of which, Phase 1 focused on direct payments to all impacted by the floods, while Phase 2 delivered financial assistance for flood recovery expenses.

The County of Monterey says that Phase 2 is almost complete with just six pending cases.

They said that Phase 1 Evacuation Assistance, Round 1 totaled $469,773 687, which Evacuation Assistance, Round 2 came to $473,015 664. This money was distributed through Community Bridges.

During Phase 2, the county gave out $2,093 to one household through Community Bridges, and $27,096 to 12 other households through Catholic Charities.

Also during Phase 2, the county says they provided a Personal Property Assistance amount of $848,765 to 116 households (Community Bridges) and $1,983,330 to 188 households (Catholic Charities).

According to the county, Community Bridges' Vehicle Assistance program helped 24 households by giving out $33,519, while Catholic Charities distributed $229,779 to 36 households.

Finally, Home Repair Assistance given to 37 households totaled $618,018 (Catholic Charities).

The overall total, according to the county, came to $1,827,165 through Community Bridges and $2,858,223 through Catholic Charities.

Phase 3 Funding

Phase 3, Community Resilience funding, will launch in October and be managed by Community Bridges, according to the county.

"Phase 3 will focus on providing additional direct assistance to those affected by flooding, while ensuring all funding allocated to the community goes directly to the community," said the County of Monterey.

The size of Phase 3 payments will depend on household size. Those who received assistance in Phases 1 and 2 are eligible for these additional funds.

Important information about the Phase 3 distribution for Pajaro residents:

• Families who previously received assistance in Phases 1 or 2 do not need to apply again.
• Residents will be contacted by Community Bridges staff regarding Phase 3 assistance.
• If your contact information has changed since last receiving aid, please contact
  Community Bridges directly at 831-724-2997.

“Two years after the devastating floods, Pajaro families are still rebuilding their lives. This final phase ensures that residents who were impacted receive every last available dollar afforded to them through AB 102,” says Community Bridges CEO Raymon Cancino.

The county says that during Phase 3, the Workforce Development Board will be using contingency funds to ensure that businesses who had delays completing their applications for disaster assistance are funded, along with additional monies for local business beautification work.

More information about AB 102 Pajaro Recovery Funds can be found below:

Second round of beautification funding opens for Pajaro businesses

PAJARO, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The second round of beautification grants will open up for Pajaro businesses on Friday.

Businesses affected by the Pajaro flood in 2023 can apply to get funds for interior and exterior painting, landscaping, and signage.

Up to $500,000 is available in this round and is open to new applicants and those approved for funding in the last round.

The money from this second round is left over money from the first round, where businesses received recovery funds.

While the flood may feel like a distant memory to some, for businesses here, the recovery continues.

Businesses will have to hire their contractors to receive these grant funds.

Frustration and anguish were just some of the words Elena Maria Martinez used to describe the process of rebuilding her business.

For many like herself, it's an uphill battle navigating the system to obtain the money.

I'm so tired and frustrated because we have so much work to do, so much cleaning to do, so many payments to make, business has been so slow," said Martinez.

Maria says she has recently received 33 thousand dollars from the county.

She says she was expecting more and was upset to hear that a few of her applications were not deemed qualified.

"Well, it has helped me, but. Well, no, not enough, because I was already behind with a lot of things to pay, which is over $300,000," said Martinez.

On Friday, the county of Monterey launched its online application form for a second round of the Pajaro Small Business Beautification Grant Program. Up to $500,000 in funding is available.

Each business can get up to 15k

"From a licensed contractor, our team goes out just to inspect and see what work is going to be done. We check in with them periodically and then once the work is completed, you know, they're essentially good to go," said Vanessa Kor, Management Analyst from Monterey County.

Starting Friday, small businesses in Pajaro can go to this website, fill out the questions, and answer what they plan to use the money for.

As you can see, eligible beautification projects include lighting, painting, signage, and security cameras.

"Well, I need to replace my security system, which is not working well. And we also need to replace some of the doors on the beer cooler and the meat cooler," said Martinez.

While the money is an application away, small businesses here say true recovery is still out of reach.

And are upset they are paying for damages caused by the county's neglect towards the levee that flooded their lives with stress.

"It's been going on for over two years now, and we're still not solving all the problems. It's frustrating," says Martinez.

Vanessa says she recognizes the application process has been slow, but it is intentional to make sure the money gets distributed fairly and correctly.

Now, businesses will get the first half of the money when the quote is approved and the other half when the work is done.

The application just opened this morning and will stay open until Friday, May 16th.