Disaster Loan Center To Help Businesses Impacted By Red Tide

MANATEE COUNTY, FL -- Normally, businesses along Manatee County's beaches can count on the sound of their cash registers ringing up sales on Labor Day weekend.

That wasn't the case this year. Although the beaches were meticulously raked and clear of any fish ravaged by red tide and winds from Tropical Storm Gordon pushed the red tide blooms out to sea, many end-of-season beach-goers stayed away.

Now, Manatee County hotels, gift shops, restaurants and entertainment venues are struggling to make up the economic loss.

To help these businesses get back on track, Manatee County and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that it is opening an SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center to assist businesses affected by red tide.

The center will open Friday, Sept. 9, at 11 a.m. at the Manatee County Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach.

SBA representatives will be on hand to provide information about disaster loans, answer questions and assist businesses in completing the SBA loan application. The county’s economic development team along with members of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce will also be on hand to help businesses document financial losses through Floridadisaster.biz.

FloridaDisaster.biz is a partnership between the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and the Florida Division of Emergency Management that provides immediate and short-term assistance to businesses affected by a disaster.

The outreach center also will give the state a more accurate estimate on how red tide has affected businesses so it can seek federal assistance.

"Reporting injury to business, no matter how small, assists the state of Florida in requesting disaster declarations from the federal government," said Karen Stewart, of the Manatee County economic development staff. "This information helps government officials determine the impact to the community and helps in determining types of federal assistance that may be offered in the future."

The temporary SBA Center at the Island Branch Library will operate until further notice. No appointments are necessary. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Additionally, last week Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency for Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. The order comes with an additional $3 million to assist the affected counties including $750,000 for Manatee County.

As part of the emergency declaration, Visit Florida has launched two programs to help businesses impacted by red tide -- the Tourism Recovery Grant Program for Red Tide and Red Tide Recovery Marketing Program. Business owners can click here for more information.

On a grassroots level, the community has come together to host several events intended to show tourists that it's safe to visit Manatee County beaches.

Among them, on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce will host Rolling With The Tide, a day-long event to support businesses impacted by red tide on Anna Maria Island.

The event will include a scavenger hunt, poker run, two bike shows and a party on Bridge Street. Contact Laurie Jo Higgins at 941-448-5624 for more information.

To fill out the Business Damage Assessment Survey, click here.

For additional information on the SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center or the Florida SBDC Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, call (941) 749-3029.

For more disaster assistance information, visit SBA’s website.

Image via Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce

To promote the businesses on Anna Maria Island during the red tide crisis, the chamber of commerce posts daily photos on its Facebook page to let tourists know the island is open for business.

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