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Issue: 1254 Date: 9/4/2014
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Banks, economic groups team to offer loans to Ferguson businesses
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| Rodney Crim, president of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership |
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Officials on Thursday announced a public-private partnership that will provide up to $1 million in interest-free loans for small businesses affected by the unrest in Ferguson.
The state of Missouri, St. Louis Regional Chamber, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and a coalition of three banks will contribute $250,000 each to the "Small Business Relief Program." The banks involved are Enterprise Bank and Trust, Pulaski Bank and Commerce Bank. North County Inc. is also part of the partnership.
The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership could begin administering loans for the program in two weeks, Rodney Crim, president of the partnership, said in an interview.
But Varun Madaksira, owner of Red's Barbecue, 9300 W. Florissant Ave., and Pulkit Patel, of Ferguson Market, 9101 W. Florissant Ave., said they need immediate assistance.
"I think it's your traditional pawn shop approach," Madaksira said of the program. "It has to be more specific. North County is not affected. A strip of West Florissant is affected."
Patel's shop was the site of Michael Brown's alleged robbery that preceded his police shooting death Aug. 9.
"Everybody's suffering," Madaksira said. "People aren't coming out... What kills a business? Lack of operating income, lack of operating cash flow. That's going to kill me."
Gov. Jay Nixon, who announced the Small Business Relief Program at St. Louis Community College in Florissant Valley, addressed community members who called for a special prosecutor in the case in which Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Brown. But Nixon said St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch "has a job to do."
Treasurer Clint Zweifel, who organized the state's effort for the Small Business Relief Program, said in an interview that businesses that are underinsured or that are waiting for payments from insurance companies could be helped by the program.
Although details are still being worked out, he said loans could be paid back in up to five years, with deferred payments available.
Many businesses were vandalized and looted on West Florissant Avenue during the unrest, which has subsided in recent days.
"Not one (business) has said, 'We don't think we can make it,'" Zweifel said.
Zweifel, who grew up in North County, told press that St. Louis Regional Chamber President Joe Reagan has reached out to QT officials regarding the company's convenience store on West Florissant that was destroyed during the first night of rioting. Zweifel said he was not yet sure if QT would rebuild at the site.
In addition to the Small Business Relief Program, Nixon said he would prepare a formal request for a Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster declaration, which will allow affected businesses to qualify for low-interest SBA loans.
During a question session, Nixon was asked about "angry" young people who are unemployed. He said his administration would "focus on a solid set of strategies" to address the problem, but offered no specifics. Young black males in the St. Louis area have a higher unemployment rate than their white counterparts.
Nixon called those individuals "frustrated," but some in the crowd corrected him, saying, "they're angry."
"I'm just frustrated," Nixon said.
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