KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The city of Kissimmee is investigating its Business Boost 2.0 grant program after the arrest of suspended Mayor Jackie Espinosa, who is accused of approving the program and using her position to apply for and receive $50,000 from it.
City records requested by Spectrum News show 74 applicants were approved, 37 were denied and 12 were listed as “application under review” following the distribution of grant program funds.
The city’s economic development department was responsible for approving applications for the program. According to records requested from the city, Kissimmee granted $855,000 to businesses through the Business Boost program and has $2,000 in remaining ARPA funds set aside for the program that were not allocated.
Spectrum News spoke with a few of the businesses that are listed as “application under review,” including Dave Anderson, owner of Kaieteur Tropical Mist. He said the pandemic forced his Kissimmee restaurant to close its doors for several months.
“Well, COVID-19, as we know, was a disaster everywhere,” Anderson said. “We had no choice. We had to close the door.”
Anderson and his son, Randy Anderson, said the restaurant has survived other challenges, including the 2008 recession and 2022 flooding in Kissimmee. They applied for the Business Boost 2.0 grant program to provide some relief, but their application remains under review.
“Anything the grant requires, we submitted,” Randy Anderson said. “I don’t think there’s anything missing from my last check. Or last, I remember it was pending under review.”
Randy Anderson, who handles the restaurant’s financial operations, said the application process required payroll documents, bank statements and other records. He and Dave Anderson said they did not hear back from the city after applying.
“They should have done their part to keep us going because the businesses are very essential here,” Dave Anderson said. “They’re very important because, you know, downtown, when we started here, there was no businesses, and we are here for 20 years. I think we deserve more.”
The program was designed to use leftover American Rescue Plan Act funding to help qualifying Kissimmee businesses that suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To qualify for the funding, businesses had to meet guidelines including being located within city limits, be established before March 11, 2021, and have fewer than 500 employees, along with other guidelines.
Sandra Jaramillo, owner of a spa named Colombian Esthetic, was also listed among the applicants under review. Jaramillo said she never received updates on whether her application was approved or denied.
Jaramillo said in an interview in Spanish that she has not seen a politician or someone from the city come to her and ask how her business is doing financially or whether it needs support.
She said she applied online because it was difficult to make ends meet after COVID-19.
Jaramillo said that it later appeared the city needed more information, and the business submitted everything it believed was required, but nothing happened with her application.
According to records provided by the city, a review had started for the 12 applications listed as under review but was “not completed because of incomplete documentation or pending information.”
Jaramillo and the Andersons said they were not told what additional information was needed or why they did not receive funding.
Suspended Mayor Espinosa received $50,000 for three of her family’s Kissimmee businesses, according to city records.
Espinosa faces fraud and theft charges in connection with the program. She was arrested Oct. 21 and had her first appearance the next day, where she later bonded out of Osceola County Corrections.
Gov. Ron DeSantis then suspended Espinosa on Oct. 30 in connection with the Business Boost program.
Spectrum News reached out to Espinosa, City Manager Mike Steigerwald, Economic Development Director David Rodriguez and the city for comment related to the program after Espinosa’s arrest. Requests for comment were denied.
Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said that the purpose of the program appeared helpful for any struggling business.
“I think the idea behind the program was probably noble, but just maybe the way it was carried out has had a few shortfalls, perhaps,” Jewett said.
According to Espinosa’s FDLE arrest affidavit, former City Attorney Olga Sanchez De Fuentes advised Espinosa about an ethical concern involving the Business Boost grant funds. The affidavit says that during a meeting with Sanchez De Fuentes, Espinosa “did not care about the ethics complaint” and said she would fight it.
“This was perceived as a scandal by a lot of folks down in Osceola and Kissimmee when it first broke, when the news came out,” Jewett said. “Of course, the former mayor was even advised that she should not take this money, but she did anyway.”
The Business Boost 2.0 grant program remains under investigation by the city. The city said it would not comment because of the investigation, including through the economic development department.