Disaster came to the Chesterfield Valley last Friday when the levee protecting millions of dollars worth of property gave way to the pounding of the Missouri River.
Now the owners of the 300 or so businesses in this once thriving suburban enclave want to know what their government will do for them.
They jammed into a high school cafeteria Wednesday for answers, dizzied by the array of acronyms and paperwork. The keys to recovery sat at a series of tables before them-representatives of state and federal agencies with programs to aid disaster victims.
“I don’t know the exact amount that President Clinton gave to the Russians but I doubt they had to fill out this set of forms or pay 8 percent interest,” Jack Heinz complained as he waved a set of papers from the Small Business Administration.
Vietnam veteran Brad Reynolds made an impassioned speech about the ability to come back “with or without federal funds,” then demanded help. “We want federal assistance now and not three weeks from now,” he said. “You can send Marines to Somalia and planes to Bosnia. What is the country going to do for us?”
That’s a good question.
A variety of federal services became available July 10 with Clinton’s disaster declaration for St. Louis County, the City of St. Louis and 48 other counties in Missouri. That opened the way for residents to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency by hot line or in person. The brief process plugs them into the system.
As of Aug. 2, 67,260 Midwestern flood victims had registered with FEMA. The majority of them are from Missouri (24,053), Iowa (16,513) and Illinois (8,878).
Some services are provided directly by FEMA, but in most instances the agency’s job is to point people in the right direction.
Programs include funds for alternative housing or emergency repairs for people whose permanent residences were destroyed or damaged beyond use; the Individual and Family Grant Program, which provides grants up to $11,900 to meet serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other sources; food stamps; and low-interest loans to cover uninsured and underinsured property.
But for small business owners the only real options are low-interest loans up to $500,000. For qualified borrowers, SBA offers loans at 4 to 8 percent interest, with repayment due in three to 30 years, depending on ability to repay.
Heinz, whose business is building satellite trucks for television news operations, listened as SBA loan officer James Rivera explained the loan process, then erupted, “I think I’m going to have to move my business to Russia to get some help.”
Consulting engineer Jack Tennill sang a similar tune. “I wish we were in Israel or someplace else because we could get some no-interest money,” he told Rep. Jim Talent, Chesterfield’s congressman, who chaired the meeting.
The business people want something similar to the Individual and Family Grant Program so they could get enough money for rent, payroll and other necessities until insurance claims and loans kick in. Ideally, they’d like all the loans to be grants.
Disaster-hit businesses already are eligible for some relief. For instance, agents from the Internal Revenue Service are at the FEMA centers to explain such tax options as retroactive deductions for losses, which can result in a refund check.
And unemployment benefits are made available to self-employed people, agricultural workers and others not usually covered. Employees of flooded businesses also are eligible for weekly benefits.
