GONDBA monthly meeting
June 26, 2019

Today’s important meeting was held at Amber Rose Restaurant. Thankfully the restaurant was able to get up and running relatively quickly from the storm despite the damage to their structure and the surrounding area. Many local business representatives attended the meeting along with representatives from FEMA, SBA, State of Ohio Treasurer’s office, Congressman Turner’s office, CountyCorp as well as City of Dayton and our local OND/McCook Field business and neighborhood representatives.

Barry Hall, interim president, opened the meeting welcoming everyone and asking Randy Chestnut to start with a prayer. Barry stressed the importance of getting the businesses in OND up and running, with around 1000 workers displaced by the significant damage from the tornadoes. Barry was instrumental in bringing representatives to this meeting in hopes of letting local businesses and support services know what resources are available, where to go and how to access these resources.

FEMA

Our first speaker was Leo Skinner from FEMA. He discussed the resources available through FEMA, primarily related to individual assistance. The Public Assistance Program is open to those whose primary residence in a county covered by the declaration and affected by the damage on May 27, 28, 29. The end of the registration period is August 19, 2019. There is housing assistance available for individuals including rental assistance, lodging reimbursement, home repair assistance and home replacement assistance. The process starts with registration, which can be done in person at one of the recently opened Disaster Recovery Centers or on-line at www.disasterassistance.gov

At the Disaster Recovery Center, representatives from FEMA, U.S. Small Business Administration, Ohio Emergency Management Agency and other Ohio agencies are available to explain disaster assistance programs, answer questions about written correspondence and provide literature about repairs and rebuilding to make homes more disaster resistant.

FEMA and the Small Business Administration have also opened a Business Recovery Center at the Harrison Township Community Center, 5945 North Dixie Drive Dayton, OH 45414, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Businesses, nonprofits, and homeowners are eligible for disaster loans through the Small Business Administration. These loans can be used to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory, and other building assets. SBA representatives will be at the Business Recovery Center to provide information about disaster loans, answer questions and assist businesses in completing the SBA application. You can get additional information by contacting the SBA Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Aug. 19, 2019. The deadline to return economic injury applications is March 18, 2020.

Disaster Recovery Center Locations (Open Mon-Sun, 7 am - 7 pm)

Trotwood-Madison High School
444 N. Union Road
Trotwood, OH 45426

Dayton Children’s Hospital
Child Health Pavilion
1010 Valley Street
Dayton, OH 45404

Shaw Elementary School
3560 Kemp Road
Beavercreek, OH 45431

Celina Central Services Building
220 W. Livingston St.
Celina, OH 45822

Before visiting a recovery center, survivors should register for federal assistance one of the following ways: • Online at DisasterAssistance.gov; • Using the FEMA App; or • Call 800-621-3362 (including 711 or Video Relay). TTY users can call 800-462-7585. The toll free numbers are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

Once registration is accomplished, an inspector can come out, assess the damage and what the person qualifies for. The individual must also fill out the SBA application to get things like vehicle/house repair/replacement. The individual must also file for their insurance coverage, then unmet needs can go through FEMA/SBA. There is also a disaster unemployment program available through the State of Ohio.

SBA

Doris Evans, public affairs specialist from the SBA spoke to the group about what is available through the SBA. Loans are available to homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profits for physical (structural, equipment) and economic needs (working capital). Suppliers of affected businesses can also apply even if they are in or contiguous to an affected county. Refinancing of existing loans is available. Rental property owners can get loans for physical and economic loss such as loss of income due to damage of rental property. Those who are underinsured, uninsured or with high deductibles are able to apply for loans. Loans are also available to hold the business or homeowner over if/while the insurance claim is going through mitigation. When asked about approval turnover time, Doris explained that each case if different and it’s hard to give a specific time frame, but to expect at least 3 weeks to get everything to the loan officer and then the rest of the process follows from there.

The Public Assistance Program assessments were going on today. More information will be announced after the official declaration has been made.

Disaster assistance teams are in the neighborhoods affected, going door to door to get the information out.

CountyCorp

Steve Nass from County Corp spoke to the group about their organization’s goals of working on developing affordable housing in the wake of the storm damage, helping families find affordable options and working with small businesses recovering from this disaster. They are in the process of setting up a meeting to develop short term and long term strategies for the area to identify housing opportunities. They don’t have resources available to address business damage/recovery, but may have loan options available down the road. Here is some good information that is available on their website: https://countycorp.com/news/

Assistance for Affected Individuals and Families Can Include as Required:

· Rental payments for temporary housing for those whose homes are unlivable. Initial assistance may be provided for up to three months for homeowners and at least one

month for renters. Assistance may be extended if requested after the initial period based on a review of individual applicant requirements. (Source: FEMA funded and administered.)

· Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance to make damaged dwellings safe, sanitary and functional. (Source: FEMA funded and administered)

· Grants to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, state and charitable aid programs. (Source: FEMA funded at 75 percent of total eligible costs; 25 percent funded by the state)

· Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and who do not qualify for state benefits, such as self-employed individuals. (Source: FEMA funded; state administered)

· Low-interest loans to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance. Loans available up to $200,000 for primary residence; $40,000 for personal property, including renter losses. Loans available up to $2 million for business property losses not fully compensated by insurance. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration)

· Loans up to $2 million for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes that have suffered disaster-related cash flow problems and need funds for working capital to recover from the disaster’s adverse economic impact. This loan in combination with a property loss loan cannot exceed a total of $2 million. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration)

· Loans up to $500,000 for farmers, ranchers and aquaculture operators to cover production and property losses, excluding primary residence. (Source: Farm Service Agency, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)

· Other relief programs: Crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster; income tax assistance for filing casualty losses; advisory assistance for legal, veterans’ benefits and social security matters.

CityWide Development is working towards getting the word out on available assistance. The storms affected 1000 affordable housing units.

Ohio Treasurer’s office

Marcie Longenecker, SW Ohio Regional Liaison at Ohio Treasurer of State, spoke to the group about the economic development programs available through the state, low interest loans through the ReEngergize Ohio and EcoLink programs.

· ReEnergize Ohio is designed specifically for small businesses. The program helps businesses renovate existing buildings, expand their business, upgrade equipment, install energy saving products and systems. ReEnergize Ohio offers up to a 3% interest rate reduction on new or existing small business loans. Small Businesses may apply the interest rate reduction on loans up to $550,000.00 for a term of four years. For more information on the application process and program requirements, please call (614) 466-6546.

· The ECO-Link program is a partnership between the Office of the Ohio Treasurer of State and local banks that is designed to help Ohio homeowners reduce the cost of their home improvement projects up to $50,000 or reconstruction up to $400,000 and receive

up to a 3% interest rate reduction. More information is available on their website: http://treasurer.ohio.gov/ECOLINK

Matt Tepper, president OND Neighborhood Association said they are making up a flyer to hand out to residents to let them know about available resources and reminded the group of their next meeting on July 9th. Also, Taste of OND/National Night Out is slated for August 6th at Stuart Patterson Park.

Connie Nisonger, City of Dayton, let the group know that the city is waiving permit fees for those impacted by the tornadoes and anyone who already paid can get reimbursed.

Kervin Valez, Dayton Police: Grand theft auto is up, (of course, 6 of the 8 offenses happened with keys in the car), so please, take the keys out and lock your car. Aside from 2 incidents at Groceryland, looting really hasn’t been an issue in OND. Some workers had equipment stolen when they went further down the street to assess damage or assist others. so please be aware and don’t leave anything unattended.Thanks for keeping our businesses strong!

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