SBA Offers Disaster Assistance to Residents of Madison and Surrounding Counties Affected by Severe Storms and Tornadoes

Kentucky residents and businesses affected by the severe storms and tornadoes that occurred on May 8 can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills announced today.

Administrator Mills made the loans available in response to a request from Governor Steven Beshear on June 12 for a disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Madison County and the adjacent counties of Clark, Estill, Fayette, Garrard, Jackson, Jessamine and Rockcastle in Kentucky.

“The SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist homeowners, renters and businesses of all sizes with federal disaster loans,” said Mills. “Getting our businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA.”

“Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property,” said Frank Skaggs, Director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center in Atlanta. SBA’s customer service representatives will be on hand at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center to issue loan applications, answer questions about the disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their applications.

The Center will be located in the following community and will open as indicated:

Madison County
Madison County Emergency Management
Joint Information Center
558 S. Keeneland Drive
Richmond, Kentucky 40475

Opening:		Friday, June 26 at 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Open:		Saturday, June 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Open:		Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed:		Friday, July 3 ^rd and Saturday, July 4 ^th in observance of Independence Day
Re-opens:		Monday, July 6 at 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closing:		Thursday, July 16 at the close of business

Steven Ayers, SBA Kentucky District Director added, “Businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.”

The SBA also provides mitigation funds to disaster victims based on 20 percent of the verified physical damage. These funds are designed to help borrowers pay for protective measures to minimize damages of the same kind in the future.

For small businesses, and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

Interest rates are as low as 2.437 percent for homeowners and renters, and 4 percent for businesses, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Individuals and businesses unable to visit the Center in person may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8229 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA website at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be returned to the Center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Kentucky residents affected by the storms may apply for disaster loans from SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is August 24, 2009 . The deadline to return economic injury applications is March 24, 2010 .

For more information about the SBA’s Disaster Loan Programs, visit our website at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

Release Number: 09-539, KY 11791/11792