{"id":64993,"date":"2020-04-18T01:07:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-18T07:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ppp-provides-relief-for-some-small-businesses-until-the-money-ran-dry\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:40:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:40:35","slug":"ppp-provides-relief-for-some-small-businesses-until-the-money-ran-dry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ppp-provides-relief-for-some-small-businesses-until-the-money-ran-dry\/","title":{"rendered":"PPP provides relief for some small businesses, until the money ran dry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Slade
Slade Boyher, left, service manager, and Jim Kent, a technician, both with the Durango Harley-Davidson dealership, look over a 2011 Ultra Limited on Thursday that they are adding a sidecar to. Trevor Bird, owner of the dealership, was able to secure funding through the Paycheck Protection Program, which allowed him to keep his employees on the payroll without missing a check during the coronavirus pandemic response.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt was a godsend.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was Durango Harley-Davidson<\/a> owner Trevor Bird\u2019s reaction to being funded through the Paycheck Protection Program, the $349 billion loan program put in place by the federal government to help small businesses weather COVID-19 closures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this loan did is it allowed everybody we employed, well, they didn\u2019t miss a single paycheck,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bird is not alone in getting relief through PPP. On Thursday, the Small Business Administration announced that all $349 billion in PPP funding provided by Congress in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act had been exhausted.<\/p>\n

Small-business owners, the nation\u2019s chambers of commerce and other economic leaders are pressuring Washington for a second round of funding for the vast majority of small-business owners unable to apply for funds in the first round.<\/p>\n

Three weeks ago, after Gov. Jared Polis issued his stay-at-home order, Bird said he had the sorrowful duty of furloughing his employees.<\/p>\n

In a high-expense town like Durango, Bird was concerned about his employees\u2019 ability to meet rent, to buy groceries, to feed their children and to pay utilities.<\/p>\n

From a business perspective, he was worried his well-trained team members would have to flee Durango, and that would translate to a rocky time just getting the doors back open.<\/p>\n

All those fears were eased when he was approved for a PPP loan Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019ve got 12 full-time employees. And I thought, we all thought, they were basically unemployed three weeks ago. I informed them to apply for unemployment,\u201d he said. \u201cBut (Friday), every one of my employees is going to get their full paycheck for whatever their salaries are, the equivalent full-time hours even though they weren\u2019t working, right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Bennett\"
Bennett<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Doug Bennett, CEO of Ballantine Communications Inc., publisher of The Durango Herald<\/em> and The Journal<\/em>, said the process of obtaining a PPP loan took two weeks and is providing relief during a period when advertising revenues fell 50%.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took so much pressure off us over the next two months to try and figure out how to diversify our business and how to find revenues elsewhere, while not having to lay people off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The program is working as designed for BCI, he said, relieving pressure in the business-constrained COVID-19 environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s given us a little breathing room to get past the virus hopefully, but then to also work on additional revenue initiatives that can help us coming out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

PPP loans are typically for 2\u00bd times the average monthly payroll. They will be forgiven if 75% of the loan is used on payroll and the remainder for rent, mortgage interest or utilities. Money must be used within two months. Money from the loan not used according to guidelines will have to be paid back.<\/p>\n

\"Brandon
Brandon Shubert, owner of Stonefish Sushi & More in Cortez, said he\u2019s lost 90% of his revenue since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. He \u201cbasically had no choice\u201d in applying for a Paycheck Protection Program that could be completely forgiven.<\/span>Patrick Armijo\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Brandon Shubert, owner of Stonefish Sushi & More in Cortez, was awarded a PPP last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, we took a huge hit, a 90% hit in revenue. At the time, we had to lay off our employees. Right now, it\u2019s just me and my wife. We went from gangbusters to damn near nothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Shubert expects to receive his funding this week, and he\u2019ll use a good portion to rehire some employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor almost a month, it\u2019s just been me and my wife every day, and we\u2019d like to take a break,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Schubert said he has 60 days to use the money for the loan to be forgiven, and his one worry is that he\u2019ll not be able to make the deadline because business is slow.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like we\u2019re going to open back up full-on again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He estimated it might be months before he has the business to warrant rehiring the 16 employees he laid off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s going to be feasible, but we will try. We can clean the restaurant up, paint some walls, but right now, there\u2019s not a whole lot of business walking in the front door.\u201d<\/p>\n

If businesses don\u2019t meet criteria for loan forgiveness, any portion not forgiven must be repaid over two years \u2013 after a six-month deferral \u2013 at an interest rate of 1%.<\/p>\n

For the 13 days PPP issued loans, 41,635 loans were approved in Colorado for a total of $7.39 billion, said Stephen Collier, spokesman for the SBA\u2019s Colorado District Office. Numbers of loans for individual counties were not available.<\/p>\n

Business remains tepid at Durango Harley-Davidson, but Bird said he\u2019ll use his newly rehired staff to work remotely \u2013 using Google Hangouts and other online tools to manage customer relations.<\/p>\n

Technicians are still staffing the garage making motorcycle repairs, and the dealership services motorcycles for the Durango Police Department. But retail sales have basically come to a stop. Durango-Harley Davidson will offer interested shoppers a look at new bikes, by appointment only.<\/p>\n

The business, like everyone, is doing a lot more cleaning.<\/p>\n

\"Slade
Slade Boyher, center, service manager, and Jim Kent, a technician, both with the Durango Harley-Davidson dealership, look over a 2011 Ultra Limited on Thursday that they are adding a sidecar to. Trevor Bird, owner of the dealership, was able to secure funding through the Paycheck Protection Program, which allowed him to keep his employees on the payroll without missing a check during the coronavirus pandemic response.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In 2019, Harley-Davidson recognized Bird\u2019s operation as the No. 9 Harley-Davidson dealership in the U.S.<\/p>\n

But with the new reality of COVID-19, Bird said all those traditional business laurels have been put in their proper perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be honest, you know, we were recognized as the No. 9 dealership in the country out of 600 dealers in the United States. \u2026 That was a huge accomplishment for us,\u201d he said. \u201cBut being able to take care and pay my employees \u2013 I\u2019ll be able to pay them through like June 7 \u2013 I\u2019m more proud and more grateful for that than winning that (award).\u201d<\/p>\n

Bird said applying for the PPP went fairly smoothly.<\/p>\n

He completed paperwork for the loan April 10 and was funded three days later.<\/p>\n

He has known executives with his business bank, Bank of San Antonio, for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this has really demonstrated the importance of having a really good relationship with your bank,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I feel really fortunate that I was one of the first ones to get my application in. It was probably a good idea because I heard they ran out of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eric Eicher, president of Alpine Bank in Durango, said small-business owners should be getting payroll documentation and expense documentation ready to present to banks eligible to participate in the PPP program so they can move quickly if Congress funds a second round.<\/p>\n

It is better for small-business owners to wait before going to a bank to begin processing PPP paperwork because the bank will have to deny the loan if no federal PPP funds are available, which is the current state of the program.<\/p>\n

But many business leaders across the country expect additional funding will come through in future COVID-19 relief packages.<\/p>\n

Depletion of the PPP fund was something bankers had suspected might happen quickly, Eicher said. \u201cThree hundred and forty-nine billion dollars seems like a lot of money until you think about how many small businesses there are throughout the entire country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eicher suspects Congress will eventually re-fund the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can imagine there\u2019s probably some pressure on all members of Congress. It\u2019s helping out so much. You know, it was passed unanimously before, and I think we\u2019ll see something sooner rather than later,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Early on, program requirements were constantly changing, creating some frustrations among small-business applicants and bankers, Eicher said. But by the end of the 13-day period when PPP issued loans, the program\u2019s rules had been set and loans were processed smoothly.<\/em><\/p>\n

If a new round of funding is approved, loan applications should flow efficiently, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brilliant thing about the program, is the SBA essentially turned the entire banking system into their employees by allowing us to originate SBA loans directly through them. So, I basically worked for the SBA for a while, putting their loans together for them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was brilliant, and the largest program ever launched by the SBA in the shortest amount of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Paycheck Protection Program<\/h4>\n

To qualify, a small business, nonprofit, tribal business or veterans organization with fewer than 500 employees (there are some exceptions) must have been operating on Feb. 15.
\n All Paycheck Protection Program funds, $349 billion was provided, have been exhausted. However, Congress may reauthorize additional funding for PPP.
\n A business can borrow up to 2\u00bd times its average monthly payroll costs \u2013 up to $10 million. Expect to provide proof of payroll costs for the past 12 months and be sure to track expenses after receiving the loan.
\n The amount spent during the eight weeks after issuance on payroll, mortgage interest, rent and utilities is eligible to be completely forgiven. Seventy-five percent of the loan must be spent on payroll for full forgiveness. In addition, the money is provided tax-free.
\n Interest rates are capped at 1% for amounts not forgiven.
\n The maximum is for a 10-year term.
\n Applicants cannot receive other federal COVID-19 aid for the same purpose, such as paying staff wages or sick leave, between Feb. 15 and Dec. 31.
\n If a business owner already has an Small Business Administration emergency loan, it can be refinanced into the paycheck loan.
\n Expect to be prepared to submit documentation of operating expenses, employment records or how payroll is calculated.
\n More details are posted on the
\n SBA website
\n .
\n The loan is from local banks not the SBA. Durango and Cortez lenders participating in the PPP program are:
\n Alpine Bank.
\n Bank of Colorado.
\n Bank of the San Juans.
\n Dolores State Bank.
\n Four Corners Community Bank.
\n First National Bank of Cortez.
\n First Southwest Bank.
\n Vectra Bank.
\n Wells Fargo Bank.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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