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SBA outreach continues; federal disaster assistance remains available for Milton and Helene survivors
Summary
An SBA disaster-assistance representative updated the board on continued outreach locations, phone numbers and the large volume of applicants under the Milton and Helene declarations; he said millions have been approved and that programs included mitigation and state–federal coordination.
A representative from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance briefed the board during public comment on April 9 about ongoing outreach for survivors of Hurricanes Milton and Helene.
Rick Morales identified himself as working with the SBA Office of Disaster Assistance and said SBA had physical centers open in Pinellas County (including St. Petersburg College in Clearwater) Monday through Friday from morning to 5 p.m. He provided a contact phone number reported in the public comment: 806‑592‑9555 (as spoken in the meeting record). Morales said more than 60,000 constituents applied under the Milton declaration and more than 30,000 under Helene; between the two declarations “we have approved more than 1,000,000. Like 800 million for Milton, like, 700,000,000 for Helene,” in his remarks.
Morales described program flexibility, including mitigation and combined use of state Elevate Florida funds with FEMA and other programs; he highlighted a one‑year deferment with 0% interest as a benefit and encouraged affected homeowners, renters, nonprofits and businesses to apply for both physical-damage and economic-injury assistance where eligible.
Ending note Mr. Morales left contact information and said SBA continues outreach; no county action was taken in response to his remarks during the public-comment period.
