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SBA outlines low-interest disaster loans; county holds public hearing on $2.21 million in road aid
Summary
At the May 13 Hardin County Fiscal Court meeting, the Small Business Administration outlined loan assistance and application deadlines for flood survivors; the court held a public hearing on the use of County Road Aid ($2,214,663) and Local Government Economic Assistance funds ($272,341).
Hardin County officials and residents heard federal recovery options and local funding totals at the fiscal court meeting on May 13 as the county continues to recover from recent flooding.
County Attorney Jenny Oldham opened a public hearing required under Kentucky law and told the court that the county’s upcoming County Road Aid allocation is $2,214,663 and the Local Government Economic Assistance (LGEDA) allocation is $272,341. "The amount, upcoming in county road aid is $2,214,663 and for the local government economic assistant fund, it'll be $272,341," Oldham said on the record. The hearing sought citizens' input on spending those funds for building repair and maintenance of county roads.
Rick Morales, public information officer for the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance, gave an overview of SBA disaster programs for the April floods and described how survivors can use SBA assistance alongside FEMA help. "Survivors — homeowners, renters, nonprofit or a business — had damages because of these past floods, they can apply with the SBA and some of them, of course, they can apply with FEMA too," Morales said. He described SBA’s physical-damage and economic-injury loan programs, mitigation loans and the SBA’s financial terms: a one-year deferment option and fixed interest rates "as low as 2.7%," no fees to apply and no collateral required up to $50,000.
Morales outlined application deadlines: the physical-damage application deadline is in June 2025 (the SBA typically issues a 2-month window but extensions depend on the declaration and caseload) and economic-injury deadlines extend into the following January because business losses can take longer to document. He provided the SBA customer service number (800-659-2955) and said the agency was operating a business recovery center at the Kentucky State Police post in Elizabethtown with hours Monday–Friday and limited Saturday hours. Morales also brought bilingual flyers with application checklists and encouraged local officials to help publicize the centers to residents of hard-hit communities including West Point, Colesburg, Radcliff, Sonora and Glendale.
Judge Keith Tall and county staff told the court that county roads are now open after the flooding and that the county was tracking repair costs to seek public assistance. Tall said the county is awaiting a federal determination on adding public assistance to the disaster declaration.
No public comments were offered during the hearing; the court closed the hearing after the required notices were confirmed as published in the News Enterprise on May 7 and on the county website on May 2.
What the county said it will do next Court staff and officials said they are compiling eligible projects and costs so the county can apply for public assistance when the federal determination is made and will publicize SBA/FEMA recovery-center hours and materials to residents.
