A year after devastating floods, many small Vt. businesses struggle to stay afloat

BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) – As Vermont approaches the anniversary of last summer’s devastating floods, some small business owners are among those still struggling with the aftermath.

While the water levels on the Jail and Steven Branch Rivers in Barre are low right now, David Ayer says that that was not the case last July 11.

“The flood was pretty catastrophic for us. We went from doing multiple millions to something significantly less, employing 14 people down to 7, and then having to be confronted by the cost of rebuilding,” he said. Ayer, the owner of Ayer Auto Body, says he received city, state, and federal financial assistance but was denied a Small Business Administration loan that would have allowed him to rehire his laid-off staff and rebuild the business at a lower interest rate.

“We concluded, you know what, we’re going to retire, we’re gonna sell the business, it isn’t worth struggling with these things, we don’t want to go into any more debt,” Ayer said.

Vermont Chief Recovery Officer Douglas Farnham says very few business hit by the flood were awarded SBA loans. “I talked to the SBA about that and one of the things they pointed to was that they had very strict repayment. They had to prove that the loan had an expectation to be repaid. And for a lot of businesses that were hit really hard, that made it very difficult for them to get a loan,” he said.

As many flooded businesses still struggle to get back on their feet, a series of symposiums organized by the Department of Economic Development are offering help. Small business owners can access advice and resources for their current stage of recovery.

Farnham hopes focus on supporting businesses will have a trickle-down effect to the larger community. “If you keep those communities protected and viable and stable, some of that flows down to the individuals as well,” he said.

Back at Ayer Auto, the team continues to work toward full recovery. After neighbors stepped up to help Ayer rebuild, he wants to repay the Barre community for their service. “We feel obligated to the community. We know that they see that… You can’t buy that,” he said.

Ayer says he hopes to make some of the money back that he lost in the flood by selling the business or some of the property so that he can retire, but so far nobody has placed a bid due to their proximity to the river and flood risk.

Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.