Nearly 80 area businesses damaged by the Leap Day tornado have applied for U.S. Small Business Administration disaster-recovery loans through April 4, and SBA officials say the application process typically takes seven to 10 days.
In response to a request by Gov. Jay Nixon, the SBA set up three offices in Dallas, Stone and Taney counties to help business owners, homeowners and renters apply for the disaster-recovery loans, usually offering 4 percent interest. Through last week, 131 loan applications were submitted – 78 by businesses – according to Kevin Wynne, public information officer for the SBA Office of Disaster Assistance.
Candlestick Inn owner Jim Cox said he is applying for a disaster-recovery loan.
Cox said he’s seeking SBA assistance because even a month after the EF-2 tornado touched down, insurance adjusters with North Pointe Insurance have yet to decide how much damage his business sustained. He said he’s awaiting an insurance check to get the restaurant up and running.
“Good grief, our roofs were blown off, we had five inches of rain that followed it, all of our windows were broken, the place is saturated – what is it that you don’t understand, and why can’t we move faster?” Cox asked. “We would love to be open yesterday. … We’ve got 26 unemployed people, and that frustrates me to no end.”
Calls to Tim Doocey, a corporate spokesman for Michigan-based North Pointe Insurance, was not returned by press time.
David Arney, CEO and co-owner of Branson-based insurance firm Akers & Arney, said the agency has roughly 80 businesses recover from the storms.
He said the local agency has the advantage of understanding the significance of the city’s tourism season. “The businesses need to get back into operation as quickly as possible to return to their revenue stream,” Arney said.
Within days of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theatre sustaining $5 million in damage, he said Akers & Arney partner agency Cincinnati Insurance Co. cut a check. The theater is now scheduled to open April 13. “You’ll have other theaters in Branson with similar damage that may be closed six months,” Arney added.
Cox said SBA staff members have been helpful, and he is glad he has somewhere to turn to potentially help his business open sooner.
Wynne said the SBA-backed loans are designed to help the uninsured or underinsured individuals and businesses in 14 southwest Missouri counties that experienced storm damage between Feb. 28 and March 1.
The Dallas County office closed March 29, and the Stone County office was closing April 5. He said there is no date set for closing the Branson office, and it could remain open until May 14, the application deadline for disaster-recovery loans. The centers, Wynne said, are there to serve as a resource for those considering a loan or who have questions about the process.
Through the program, SBA offers loans with terms up to 30 years for the uninsured or underinsured. He said the SBA also offers a five-month deferral on the first payment.
“With that five-month deferral, it means they can start getting their business back in order again and begin repairing what was damaged,” Wynne said. “They don’t have another payment over their head.”
Cox, who also owns and operates the 31-year-old Branson Collector Car Auction, said he’s spent an additional $100,000 in marketing to let potential visitors know the auction is still on April 21–22 at the Branson Convention Center. The attached Hilton Hotel was initially closed following the tornado, and officials have said portions of the hotel are expected to remain closed through at least mid-June. “Three out of five calls I receive start with, ‘Well, are you guys having an auction?’” he said.
Cox said he typically spends around $250,000 in targeted marketing in specialty automobile publications.
One business that has been dealt an especially challenging hand due to the Leap Day storms is the Kimberling Inn Resort & Conference Center. The seven-acre lakeside property, which comprises two motels, a time-share resort, 65 rental condos and three restaurants, was “devastated” by the tornado, said Connie Gutting, the hotel’s front desk manager.
“Every building we have has damage,” said Gutting. “We’ve had engineers and insurance adjusters for weeks all over the resort covering every facet of it.”
Gutting is leading a staff of fewer than 20, while resort owners Jim and Melanie Christiansen try to put the pieces back together. The Christiansens did not respond to an interview request by press time.
The summer staff, Gutting said, is typically more than 100 employees. She said it would be at least mid-July before the resort would be fully operational.
She said the debris has been cleaned up, and work has just begun on repairing the time-share property and the rental condos. Gutting, who is working out of a temporary office behind a nearby bowling alley, said she is not sure when work will begin on the motels. Right now, she said it is unclear whether they can be repaired or if they’ll need to be torn down.
“There is just a lot of things that have to be fixed,” she said.[[In-content Ad]]
