Norwich ― City officials said they were informed that the county did not suffer enough economic loss to meet the threshold needed to receive direct federal aid after last month’s flooding.

To help fill in the gap, more than a dozen businesses impacted by the flooding of the Yantic River will receive business recovery micro-grants, after coordination among the state Department of Economic and Community Development, Southeastern CT Enterprise Region (seCTer), and Norwich Community Development Corp.

Norwich Community Development Corp. President Kevin Brown said 13 businesses will receive grants at a presentation at 1 p.m. Tuesday at 50 Pleasant St.

The businesses that will receive grants are: Comfort Suites, Busy Bees’ Play Hive, Coleman Pediatric Therapy, United Community and Family Services, Dave’s Mattress & Furniture Store, Dexter’s Smoothie Coffee Vault, Dixie Donuts, Mill Development, Nailed It, Paragon Salon & Spa, Path 2 Self Wellness, Small Potatoes and Yantic River Plaza.

Brown said that when the Yantic River flooded last month, all businesses in that area were impacted, though some more severely than others. All businesses lost at least one or two days of business, but some had significant structural damage and some may have to reassess the future of their business.

He said the goal is to help businesses turn their “closed” sign into an “open” sign as soon as possible.

The funds to be distributed are state funds that previously had been set aside to help small businesses, Brown said. Five more checks will likely be presented the week after.

The topic of disaster relief was discussed at the mayor's biweekly teleconference with city leaders and legislators on Friday morning.

Municipalities were asked to quantify their costs for responding to the storm and infrastructure damage.

City Mayor Peter Nystrom said by phone Friday that the bottom line was there was not enough economic loss to meet FEMA’s threshold for direct aid.

He said, on one hand, it is fortunate that there was not more property loss, but, on the other hand, it doesn’t minimize the loss to individual businesses and residents.

“The loss to them is very significant,” he said.

Nystrom said the city’s human services staff is continuing to help families affected by the flooding.

In Groton, Capt. James Bee said the town did not sustain any infrastructure damage due to the flooding, so fortunately there wasn’t anything to contribute to the damage totals for the region.

Debra Freeland, public affairs specialist at the Small Business Administration, said the agency visited New London County this week, at the request of the state, as a result of the Jan.10 flooding to see if it qualifies for a low-interest disaster loan program. Freeland said the survey is ongoing so an official determination has not yet been made.

According to the SBA, to qualify, the county must have 25 homes, businesses, renters or nonprofits with “uninsured losses of 40 percent or more of the estimated fair replacement value or predisaster fair market value of the damaged property.”

City Manager John Salomone said while the city has not received official notification the county did not meet the threshold for SBA assistance.

Day Staff Writer Claire Bessette contributed to this report.

k.drelich@theday.com