photo by: Jackson Barton/Journal-World File Photo

The Douglas County Courthouse and downtown Lawrence are pictured in an aerial photo Saturday, July 13, 2019.

Small businesses across the country are scrambling to mitigate losses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal stimulus packages have worked to address that need, namely through a $350 billion loan program for businesses with under 500 employees.

Nationwide, enrollment in the Paycheck Protection Program — which is administered by the Small Business Administration and provides funds for up to 10 weeks of payroll costs, most of which can be forgiven — has been fraught with issues. National media outlets have reported delays in cash getting to the hands of needy business owners, and struggles with getting loan approval on antiquated federal technology.

Lawrence, however, seems to have found a way around those problems. Ryan Wedel, regional president for commercial banking for Landmark National Bank, said he didn’t think he’d ever been a part of a process that had evolved and produced results so quickly.

“In some ways this may have been the most important week of my banking career. Although it’s a financial decision for a business owner to apply, it’s been a very emotional event,” Wedel said. “To be able to be the person to deliver what is the first bit of good news business owners or an organizational leader has received in 3-4 weeks has really been humbling.”

Landmark is based in Kansas and has around 30 locations across the state, Wedel said. Since applications for the program opened April 3, the bank has processed 500 applications statewide that would total $105 million in loans.

Around $15 to 20 million of that total comes locally in Lawrence and Douglas County, and around half of applicants have already received a guarantee their money is coming, Wedel said. The program stipulates that participating banks get money to approved clients within 10 days of approval.

“It’s a powerful program that I think is going to work really, really well in terms of meeting the need and getting money into an organization’s hand so they can put it into employees’ hands,” he said.

One of those local business owners is Chad Glazer, who has owned and operated Rudy’s Pizzeria, 704 Massachusetts St., with his wife for over 30 years. Since the pandemic began and dine-in services became untenable, they’ve had to reduce operating and staff hours.

Before the PPP program came on board, Glazer said, their financial outlook was bleak. If the pandemic would have continued for months with no federal relief, they likely would have had to close their doors.

“It was the biggest sigh of relief I have had in months,” Glazer said. “We’ve just been plugging away here for 30 years trying to do the right thing, and I was hoping that karma would catch up with us.”

Now that they’ve been approved for an SBA loan, Glazer said Rudy’s should be able to hang around. But he knows that they are lucky, considering the issues other small businesses around the country have faced.

“I can’t tell you how anxious and stressful it was just trying to run everything through my head and how we need to adapt on a daily basis to everything. The stress level was just incredible,” he said. “This helps take a lot of the stress off.”

Funds in the PPP are expected to run out within the next week, but congressional leaders are already discussing plans to add hundreds of billions of dollars back into the program.

Businesses with under 500 employees are eligible for a loan worth up to 10 weeks of their payroll, and up to eight weeks worth of payroll can be forgiven if the businesses meet a set of standards.