Businesses urged to report flood damage
By Brian D. Bridgeford
After dealing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more paperwork may seem a hassle. But a new survey can help promote recovery for Sauk County businesses socked by this summer's flooding, says a local economic development advocate. The Sauk County Development Corporation is asking area businesses damaged by the June floods to complete a simple three-page survey describing their losses and general situation, said Karna Hanna, SCDC executive director. The organization has sent out 200 copies of the survey so far, but privacy laws prevent FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration from releasing the names of businesses which have contacted them. "We don't believe we have names and addresses for all businesses which have been impacted by the floods, so we are asking businesses which did not receive a survey to contact SCDC to get a copy mailed to them," Hanna said. The survey asks business owners to describe what, if any, physical damage they sustained and estimate its costs. It also asks about economic damages, such as employee layoffs, production disruptions and loss of orders. Hannah said she believes the survey results will convince state Department of Commerce officials that Sauk County businesses should receive additional help recovering from the flooding. SCDC and others are also working to provide resources such as business counseling to help flooded business owners get back on their feet. One of the projects she hopes the state will support is a Sauk County Flood Relief Revolving Loan Fund, which is already being established with the help of Sauk County officials. This would take money provided by the Department of Commerce, then loan it out to flood-damaged businesses. As businesses repay their loans, the money could be re-loaned to other afflicted businesses, Hanna said. SCDC is sending out the survey at the request of Commerce Department officials and in cooperation with local governments, she said. "The state has asked SCDC to work with the county and three communities in Sauk County, which include Reedsburg, Baraboo and Wisconsin Dells," Hanna said. "They anticipate (the municipalities' funds) that will not be enough to fulfill the needs, so therefore we're doing a survey to justify requesting additional dollars." Hanna said she hopes the Small Business Administration will eventually be able to provide an estimate of the amount of flood damage done to businesses in the county. That estimate has not yet been released. "We know they have 355 businesses that have registered in some way with them," she said. "I don't know how many of those have gone ahead and applied for SBA loans, or how many have been approved or turned down." Hanna said she hopes to get as many flood damaged businesses to fill out the survey as possible. How to get involved n n n About SCDC n