2007 The Year in Business, No. 4: Historic ice storm blasts business in the Ozarks

The total economic impact of that historic weather event may never be known.

“You may have a hill that you can’t climb on that one, just because it’s so tough to try and measure the lost business,” said Ryan Mooney, manager of business development for Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Still, plenty of evidence illustrates the storm’s impact.

State and federal government spending for statewide recovery has reached $141 million, according to Susie Stonner, public information officer for the State Emergency Management Agency.

“That number is continuing to grow, because not all the projects have been completed,” she added.

Total storm-related costs to the city of Springfield alone were estimated at $24.5 million, which includes expenses for supplies and employee overtime, in addition to contracts with two out-of-state debris-removal companies. Total costs incurred by Greene County from the ice storm were estimated at $12 million.

City Utilities of Springfield’s recovery costs totaled about $36 million – much of it being paid to more than 1,300 contracted reinforcement personnel from a dozen states who helped in returning power to CU’s 75,000 customers left in the dark.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced in August that it would reimburse CU $21.3 million, or 75 percent, of those costs.

Losses in the private sector were harder to track.

Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration reports that 31,245 private auto and homeowners’ insurance claims were made statewide because of the Jan. 12–14 ice storm.

Those claims have a total estimated value of $81.8 million.

DIFP Public Information Administrator Emily Kampeter said she has no information related to commercial losses.

Stories abound about the impact on and responses by small businesses.

Harter House’s East Sunshine Street store lost power, and all of the store’s stocked perishable items had to be discarded. Springfield Neurological and Spine Institute was without power Jan. 12–17, and its elevator began to fill with ground water because the building’s sump pumps were inoperative. Hotel rooms filled to capacity, which was overall a benefit for that industry, although Clarion Hotel on South Glenstone Avenue reported a $90,000 loss from the storm weekend because it lost power for four days.

And, of course, the ugly side of business reared its head during the storm in the form of price gouging.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon in May ordered seven southwest Missouri businesses to pay a total of $92,754 to settle allegations of price gouging, and in July, he fined five more area businesses a total of $29,931.