Payment cards usable at some local businesses should arrive in residents’ mailboxes by Saturday, Nov. 21 at the latest, officials said. The distribution of $1 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding in the form of payment cards is hoped to stimulate a local economy damaged by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
City employees spent much of Thursday, Nov. 19 and Friday, Nov. 20 placing about 2,100 “Cordova Cash” cards into about 1,020 envelopes. The project’s financial complexity made it challenging to coordinate, said Harmony Graziano, the city hall clerk who masterminded the logistics of the Cordova Cash program.
“We appreciate people’s patience while we do this new, totally unique to us, thing,” Graziano said.
Graziano said she would use her own $500 Cordova Cash card to finance a shopping spree at Copper River Fleece.
The cards are expected to be delivered to Cordova Post Office Nov. 20 for distribution into mailboxes. Boxholders should be careful not to mistake the light-blue envelopes containing the cards for junk mail, City Manager Helen Howarth said. Cards will be accompanied by a list of businesses participating in the Cordova Cash program.
Graziano said she hoped the Cordova Cash program would not just encourage people to spend money at local businesses, but to open up new relationships between businesses and customers.
