SBA opens disaster loan center after Stevens County flood assessments; officials say homeowners and businesses can apply through Dec. 1

Stevens County and federal representatives told the county board they documented storm damage in July and that the U.S. Small Business Administration has opened a temporary disaster loan outreach center to help residents and businesses apply for low-interest loans.

County emergency staff described a damage assessment completed with SBA and state Homeland Security and Emergency Management that reviewed more than 60 properties and identified both public-infrastructure and private losses. "During that assessment, we found over 1,500,000 in damages, and that's to public infrastructure, both cities, townships, and county infrastructure," a county staff member reported.

The SBA's public affairs specialist, Tori Marin, said the disaster loan outreach center, which the agency calls a DELOC, opened Oct. 3 and will be closed for the federal holiday on Monday, Oct. 13, and permanently close on Friday, Oct. 17. Marin said residents who cannot or prefer not to go to the center can apply online at sba.gov/disaster through Dec. 1. "This center, community members can come in. We have customer service reps that are there that will... fill out all paperwork needed to apply for these loans," Marin said.

County staff said the joint assessment visited 62 county properties and identified 33 homes with major damage, 21 homes with minor damage, one business with major damage and two nonprofits with minor damage. Officials also reported higher public-infrastructure totals in broader declarations: county estimates cited in the meeting ranged from about $1.5 million to $1.8 million in public-infrastructure damages across municipalities and townships.

Marin described who can apply and the loan terms the SBA is offering. The program covers homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits. She said interest rates can be as low as 2.8% for homeowners and about 4% for businesses, and that the agency will help applicants complete paperwork in person at the DELOC. "Even after that, community members can fill out an application by going online to sba.gov/disaster through December 1," Marin said.

County staff asked how late residents can apply and were told that individuals who did not attend early assessments should still contact county emergency staff or the SBA; staff said outreach and follow-up visits were planned when requested. The board did not take formal action on the SBA announcements during the discussion.

Officials said additional outreach and informational materials would appear on the county website, and volunteers were being organized to help with cleanups for homeowners. The SBA representative said more information would be shared at a follow-up session on Oct. 17.

Background: The county presenter referenced a joint state-federal assessment with Homeland Security Emergency Management and an SBA representative; staff asked residents with late claims to contact county emergency personnel for assistance and to use the online SBA portal if they cannot visit the DELOC.