Shoppers will have an extra month to take advantage of Kenai’s “Shop Here All Year in Kenai” program following a unanimous vote in favor of the extension by the Kenai City Council during their Wednesday night meeting.
The program, which went live on Feb. 1, aims to spur shopping locally by rewarding people who spend money on discretionary purchases at businesses located in the City of Kenai with vouchers to spend at participating businesses.
As of March 3, more than $55,000 in vouchers had already been distributed and more than 50 businesses were signed up to participate, according to Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center Executive Director Brittany Brown. The city partnered with the chamber to administer the program.
Under the program, eligible purchases can be made at any business in the city of Kenai, but vouchers can only be spent at businesses that have signed up to participate.
The chamber also partnered with the city to administer a groceries matching program, which awarded vouchers in $100 increments up to $200 to people who spent the same amount of money on groceries or necessary household goods at qualifying businesses.
The Kenai City Council approved $215,000 for that program, which went live on March 1, during their Feb. 17 meeting. On March 10, the chamber announced via Facebook that all of the program funds had been exhausted. As of Thursday, there were no plans to extend or revive the program by the city.
Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander said during Wednesday’s meeting that the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center expressed concern about helping administer two concurrent programs in the future due to the workload.
More information about the “Shop Here All Year in Kenai” program can be found on the chamber’s website at kenaichamber.org.
Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
