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Napa Valley Register -- SBA loans now available for damaged soundwall repairs

September 9, 2015
News Articles

By Barry Eberling

Rep. Mike Thompson announced that seemingly long-gone earthquake disaster loans are still available to local residents faced with rebuilding a sound wall rocked by the South Napa earthquake.

The deadline to apply for the low-interest U.S. Small Business Administration loans passed in December. But Thompson said the residents along Highway 29 between Sierra and Trower avenues need only note on applications that they thought the city or state would rebuild the wall.

That belief turned out to be mistaken. Instead, the city said that residents owned each individual section of the 800-foot-long wall along their backyards. They must each replace their section, if they still want a wall.

While some residents tried to sort out the sound wall situation — they thought a government agency must be responsible such a wall — they seemingly lost their chance to obtain federal South Napa earthquake financial assistance. Thompson's office recently contacted the SBA to discuss the situation.

"Federal assistance is still available, and eligible homeowners should apply," Thompson, D-St. Helena, said in a press release.

Mike Wynn lives in one of the eight or so homes that had a sound wall segment damaged or destroyed. His backyard now has a close-up view of Highway 29 traffic that backs up from the Trower Avenue traffic signal.

Wynn said securing an SBA loan to help pay for a new wall would help.

"Anything is better than nothing," he said.

But he's still trying to find out who owns the land on the other side of the sound wall. He's hoping that agency, be it the city or state Department of Transportation, will pay half the cost of a new sound wall in keeping with the traditional "good neighbor" policy for fences.

On Friday, Caltrans spokesman Vince Jacala said his agency is responsible for maintaining the state right-of-way that extends from the highway to the fence line. But, while empathizing with the residents who lost the sound wall, he didn't volunteer the state to pay half the cost for a new one.

"The fence is on private property, and at this time Caltrans can't really do a project there because we don't have jurisdiction," he said.

Nor is there funding, he said. Residents could work with local representatives and transportation officials to try to change this.

The old, pale-colored sound wall was constructed of concrete a few inches thick and stood about 6 feet tall. It proved no match for the Aug. 24, 2014 South Napa earthquake. Some sections toppled to the ground and some are leaning.

Wynn said the developer who built the subdivision in the mid-1970s apparently also built the wall.

People improvised in the wake of the quake, leaving a patchwork of temporary fences and gaps. Other residents still have the old sound wall, but worry their leaning sections will at some point come down.

Pete Munoa didn't wait for the sound wall ownership issue to be sorted out because he has children who use his backyard. He obtained a low-interest SBA loan before the December deadline and erected a $20,000 cinderblock wall that meets Caltrans standards.

Wynn would like to build a similar wall at some point.

"Keep it matched," he said. "We're trying to keep it uniform."

The SBA offers loans with interest rates of no more than 4 percent in some cases and no more than 8 percent in others. Repayment terms can be as long as 30 years, an agency fact sheet said.

Residents can go to https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela to apply for a loan and can call Thompson's Napa office at 226-9898 for more information.