U.S. Small Business Administration offering Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Marble Hill, Lutesville Ford general manager shares flooding experience

MARBLE HILL, Mo. (KBSI) – There is a marking on the side of the Lutesville Ford dealership in Marble Hill that indicates the water level in the very early morning of August 14, when Bollinger County experienced substantial flooding. 

The dealership’s General Manager Nick Underwood said what happened in three hours typically happens over the span of eight hours or more.  

“We just got such a volume of rain in just the wrong spot, and the creek just rose extremely quickly, and it led to some property loss to us because it happened in the night, and we didn’t have the warning that we typically do,” he said.

The dealership lost some cars in the process, and Underwood said there were up to 18 inches of standing water in parts of the building. 

But in a strange twist of fate, at the time of the flood, construction of a new building had already begun, a building which will sit about two feet higher than the current one. 

“It was time we needed more space anyway, but with the more space, it just made sense to build something new, to build it up higher,” Underwood said.

And just down the street at Lutesville Presbyterian Church, the U.S. Small Business Administration has set up a Disaster Loan Outreach Center to help businesses, nonprofits, homeowners, and renters recover from this year’s severe weather events in Bollinger County. 

SBA Public Information Officer Javier Caltenco has this message to those considering seeking assistance. 

“Especially if they’re in doubt, if they’re not sure, they can come in here, they can ask questions,” he said. “They’re not obligated to fill out the application if they don’t want to, or even once they fill out the application and they’ve been approved, they still have six months to decide whether they want the loan or not.” 

The center will be open on Monday, Nov.6, from 9 am to 6 pm.