SBA representative outlines disaster loan deadlines, programs during public comment

Arly Screan, a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Recovery, used public comment time at the Cocke County Board of Commissioners meeting to outline low-interest disaster loan programs and application deadlines.

Screan said homeowners, renters, landlords, business owners and nonprofit organizations that suffered damage from Hurricane Halloween may be eligible for low-interest physical-damage disaster loans and that the deadline for physical-damage applications "will be April" (deadline date not otherwise specified in the record). She provided a web address, sba.gov/disaster, and a customer-service phone number, +1 806-592-955 (as stated during the meeting), for applicants.

Screan also described the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, which she said is for businesses and nonprofits that experienced loss of revenue even if they had no physical damage. "A lot of business feel that, oh, I didn't suffer any damages. 6 months to a year, they realize that their revenue is not what it was the year before," she said, and added that the program can help pay down high-interest credit cards and short-term loans incurred during recovery. She repeated the application options of sba.gov/disaster and the same phone number.

The remarks occurred during the meeting's public-comment period and were informational; no county action on SBA programs was recorded during the session.

The county did not provide a specific calendar date beyond Screan's reference of "April" for the physical-damage deadline, nor did the meeting transcript supply written materials from the SBA representative.