Stores pretty much back to normal, official says

SCOTT WYLAND, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Mar. 11

From time to time, The Olympian will check on the progress of one of downtown's most-affected businesses.

OLYMPIA -- Gary Sandgren was pre-paring a going-out-of-business sale at his outdoors store in Aberdeen when the sports equipment began rattling and bouncing and swaying.

Outside, cars were bobbing around like buoys on rough water.

Sandgren's thoughts began racing frantically. How badly had the earthquake thrashed his Skookum Bay Outfitters in Olympia? Was his family safe?

After the quake passed, he jumped into his car and headed for Thurston County.

His cellphone didn't work, compounding his fears.

When he arrived at his downtown store, he was relieved to see his daughter. But he winced at the sight of three plate-glass windows lying in shards on the sidewalk.

Dread welled up inside him.

As Sandgren walked to the alley, his son-in-law told him that he wouldn't like what he saw. He was right.

The side of the building had deep gashes at the top. Rubble littered the alley. The damage looked severe.

To regain some sense of control, Sandgren helped his employees clean up the glass.

The city tagged the building red that afternoon, signifying it was unsafe to enter. Still, Sandgren was hopeful that the store, which employs several family members, could reopen soon.

That evening, he and his family took refuge at his home at Lost Lake, near Shelton.

"After all that, we were all emotionally drained," he said.

-Thursday, March 1 -- Sandgren hired a private engineer, who confirmed that the building was unsafe and should be red-tagged.

Sandgren also learned that he would have to do extensive repairs before he could reopen.

The entire wall by the alley would have to be rebuilt and the roof replaced. Metal girding would have to be installed in the upper part of the walls to strengthen them.

The price tag: $500,000.

He realized that renovating the building would take months, even if he got the permits the next day. So he let his 12 employees go.

He would also have to keep paying the $6,700 monthly mortgage, despite losing $60,000 a month in revenue because his store was shut down.

-Friday -- Sandgren called the Federal Emergency Management Agency to inquire about low-interest loans.

He was told that the Small Business Administration oversees most loans to disaster victims.

He explained to the FEMA representative that his only chance for restoring his business was to get an SBA loan large enough to cover repairs and buy out his current $600,000 mortgage.

That way, he could have one monthly payment on par with what he was already paying.

But if he took on a separate loan, it would add $2,000 to his monthly mortgage. "That would slowly drive me under," he said.

The FEMA representative told him that the SBA would probably refinance his loan.

-Monday -- Sandgren called an SBA representative and was told that the agency couldn't refinance his current loan because he had gotten that one through SBA. The agency won't buy out its own loans.

Sandgren was stunned.

He was already closing the Aberdeen store because it was unprofitable. Now he might lose a store that was making money.

"I'm 55 years old; I've run a business there 12 years," he said.

Because he had used his house as collateral for the store, he would lose that if he was pushed into bankruptcy.

-Wednesday afternoon -- Sandgren and a few dozen other property owners had a private meeting with Ken Black, city community development coordinator.

He described his plight but came away with no answers.

Two hours later, he met with Rep. Brian Baird at the downtown Starbucks and discussed his quandary. Baird offered no encouragement but promised he would look into the matter.

-Friday morning -- Sandgren attended a public meeting at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. He asked SBA official Bob Belloni about the SBA possibly refinancing the loan.

Belloni stood firm about SBA's policy against refinancing its own loans.

Sandgren drew laughter when he suggested a way around the technicality: He would get a private lender to take over the loan; SBA could then take over the loan from that lender.

A few hours later, Sandgren visited Belloni at the FEMA field office. Belloni had done some research and told Sandgren that SBA could refinance his loan after all.

The agency's restriction applied to loans made using SBA money. Sandgren had received his loan from a private lender; SBA merely guaranteed it.

Sandgren would still be taking on another half-million dollars in debt, but his monthly payments would be palatable.

That evening, relief could be heard in his voice.

"Things are looking better than they did this morning," he said.

Sandgren now must find a temporary site to run his business while he rebuilds his store. He's having some difficulty, but nothing can compare to his weeklong ordeal.

"It's like being at the edge of the plank," he said, "wondering whether you'll go in."

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