Rio Station Pays Off Township Business Loan

RIO GRANDE — As Ric Rutherford sat at his office desk last month, he experienced something business owners rarely feel while paying bills – relief.
Rutherford, owner of the Rio Station Bar and Restaurant, realized that he was about to make the final payment towards a loan he was given five years ago by Middle Township.
“It was a great feeling,” Rutherford said with a smile. “My wife and I have to figure out how to spend the extra money we’ll have now that the loan is paid off.”
Middle Township Mayor F. Nathan Doughty and former Mayor Charles Leusner congratulated Rutherford when they heard the news. They presented Rutherford with a certificate acknowledging completion of the loan.
“We’re proud the township’s Economic Development loan program and glad that Ric was able to use it to help his business,” Doughty told the Herald.
When he received the loan, Rutherford’s and many other businesses along Route 47 in Rio Grande were experiencing economic difficulties due to major road work being done along the highway. The township saw how local businesses were hurting and decided to step in and help.
At the urging of Committeewoman Susan DeLanzo, the governing body decided to open some low interest Economic Development Loans to struggling businesses in the area of the road construction.
“I’d like to propose we look into using the proceeds to help businesses having hardships, and who are trying to preserve employees,” DeLanzo said at a committee meeting at the time, according to a Herald story.
DeLanzo recently said the loans grew out of the needs of the local business community.
“Businesses said they needed sustainability loans to keep the employees they had,” she told the Herald. “So that’s what we gave them.”
In 2004, Rio Station, Simpson Motel and Country Motel were each approved for $25,000 loans and Baysea Veterinary Hospital received $20,000 to help them retain jobs during their difficult times.
Those loans were an extension of an existing township program that had not been used in several years. At the time, the township had a $300,000 pool of money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the state Economic Development Authority for the revolving loans.
The township’s first foray as a lender was in 1983 when it leveraged a federal grant from the USDA to entice Seashore Foods, a Wildwood company, to build a warehouse and relocate its business to Middle Township.
Charles Leusner, who was on township Committee at the time of the Seashore Foods loan, was very proud of the program that started the township in the Economic Development business.
“That loan brought to the township a large employer offering good jobs and adding to the township’s tax base,” Leusner said. “Since then, many other township businesses have benefited from the program.”
Since then the township has given about 30 loans with different focuses under the programs. The 2004 loan was Rutherford’s second from the township.
A business owner in the township for 23 years, Rutherford also received a loan in the late 1990s after a fire had damaged the Rio Station kitchen and severely injured one of his cooks. He received $95,000 to rebuild and purchase new equipment after the blaze.
“I’m very appreciative to the township for offering these loan programs,” Rutherford told the Herald. “They really helped me and my business during two very difficult times.”
Today, the township’s revolving loan programs work from a pool of over $1 million, DeLanzo said.
“For a few years, banks were giving out loans over the phone and many businesses weren’t using the township programs because of the application process,” DeLanzo said. “But now that it’s harder to get a bank loan, I expect more local businesses to take advantage of these programs.”
She said the loans are “great for small local businesses that really support community in unique ways.”
Currently the township is running two loan programs: the Business Assistance Loan Program, which provides loans of up to $100,000 for the purchase of machinery or equipment, or improvements to commercial or industrial real estate; and the 3-2-1 Façade Loan Program that offers up to $25,000 for exterior improvements to commercial properties.
Jill Zarharchuck, the township’s economic development coordinator, along with the program’s underwriters Jerry Velasquez and Carolyn Zumpino, of Triad Associates, gave a recent presentation on the program at an event hosted by Sturdy Savings Bank.
Zumpino gave some details of the programs and noted that they could be tailored to fit the needs of all types of businesses. She also said there were bank participation and leveraging opportunities.
“We are willing to think outside of the box as long as the loan will help economic development,” Zumpino said. “I can’t stress how easy and flexible the process is.”
Zarharchuck said that these and other development initiatives are under the direction of the township’s Economic Development Council.
“One of the primary goals of the council is to develop and promote programs to assist existing businesses and encourage new businesses to relocate to the township,” Zarharchuck said.
Township businesses that would like more information on the township’s Economic Development loan programs are asked to contact Zarharchuck at (609) 465-8731 or by email at mtgrowth@middletownship.com.
Some local businesses that have taken advantage of the programs in recent years include:
• Court House Motel, Aug. 27, 2009, $25,000
• Economy Motel, Sept. 19, 2007, $25,000
• Delsea Park Condo Association, Oct. 6, 2006, $15,000
• Mattera’s Liquor (Joe Canal’s), Nov. 18, 2004, $25,000
New and existing businesses that need help finding loans and developing a business plans can also contact Joe Molineaux, Director of the Small Business Development Center at Stockton College at (609) 347-2174 or at joseph.molineaux@stocton.edu.
“We’re the first place people should go when they want to start a new business or expand an existing one,” Molineaux said.
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com
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