Noble County Economic Mitigation and Recovery Resources Provided
By OSU Noble CD Educator Gwynn Stewart
The Ohio State University Extension – Noble County Community Development program hosted a virtual session on COVID-19-related Noble County Economic Mitigation and Recovery Resources. The online session was for businesses, nonprofits or community organizations. It was recorded and available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/484802865033619/videos/929928450797209/
Noble County specific updates were presented in the online meeting by the Noble County Health Commissioner, Shawn E. Ray, RS, MPH and the Noble County Emergency Management Director, Chasity Schmelzenbach, OCEM, NEMPP-EA. They shared on-the-ground details related to Noble support and mobilization efforts and information pertinent to operations of essential businesses.
Amy Stollar, Assistant Deputy Director for the Ohio Office of Unemployment Insurance, shared updates on unemployment programs. Claims are up 33.8 percent and are the highest in 75 years; this is obviously putting a great demand on the system and staff. Every effort is being made to process applications and answer questions as quickly as possible. There are frequently-asked question documents available to help applicants with details at https://unemployment.ohio.gov and may save calls to customer service. Ohio also offers online chat help options. There will also be additional support through COVID-related pandemic extensions and the state is working to implement system changes needed to process those.
Brad Blair, COO/EVP of the Appalachian Growth Capital, provided details on the CARES Act which established a new $349B Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The Paycheck Protection Program provides small businesses with funds to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. Fully forgiven funds are provided in the form of loans that will be fully forgiven when used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities (due to likely high subscription, at least 75 percent of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll).Loan payments will also be deferred for six months. No collateral or personal guarantees are required. Neither the government nor lenders will charge small businesses any fees.
SBA disaster loans are available to businesses, regardless of size, and nonprofits including charitable organizations such as churches and private universities. Details on these programs are compiled at https://appcap.org. Noble County also has a small business loan program administered through OSU Extension; details at https://noble.osu.edu/program-areas/community-development/usda-revolving-loan-fund.
The Ohio State University Extension Noble County Community Development, the Noble County Chamber of Commerce and staff from Ohio Workforce Development and the Noble County JFS One Stop are coordinating efforts to provide resources through the COVID-19 page at www.noblecountyohio.gov and on www.noble.osu.edu. The Ohio State University also have a Knowledge Exchange COVID-19 resource available at http://kx.osu.edu/covid-19. Please contact OSU Noble CD Educator, Gwynn Stewart at stewart.1818@osu.edu or 740-305-3177 with questions.
