About 30 business owners and Butler County officials met Tuesday morning at the county Government Center to learn about resources that can help businesses.

These resources come in the form of Small Business Administration loans and assistance from a myriad of small business experts on the federal, state, regional and local levels.

Sponsored by NexTier Bank based in Evans City, the meeting was held on behalf of the county commissioners.

Wendy Leslie, coordinator of the county's Community Development Block Grant Program, said the commissioners wanted to hold the meeting for two reasons:

One was to again explain the commissioners' support of the $35 million state and federal loans to help keep the Boscov's department store chain in business.

Second was to present sources of financial and planning help to small business owners in the county.

Leslie said when the commissioners last year approved $5.8 million in county backed loans for Boscov's, they received telephone calls from business owners "asking where the money or their help was."

"The commissioners thought it would be helpful to explain the process again to business owners with financial concerns, and to also educate them as to resources they may not know about for their own businesses," she said.

Walt Haglund and Karl Haglund, both with Urban Design Ventures in Pittsburgh, helped develop the deal for each county that has a Boscov's store so those counties would support loans to allow Albert Boscov, the original owner of the chain, to buy the company back from a management group who controlled it in 2008.

The loans approved by every county involved except one came from the federal government and are financially secured by the state.

Haglund congratulated Commissioner Dale Pinkerton, who was at the meeting, for the foresightedness of the commissioners as Boscov's reported its first quarter revenues are higher than they have been in three years.

The second part of the meeting introduced the service and retail business owners and the one manufacturer at the meeting to the individuals and organizations that can help them.

Here is a partial list of those resources:

n Small Business Development Center at Duquesne University, 412-396-6233, www.sbdc.duq.edu, free consulting on both business development and environmental regulation;

• Community Development Corporation of Butler County, 724-283-1961, assists businesses with loan applications, state and local funding and site development and location;

• U.S. Small Business Administration, 412-395-6560, acts as an advocate for small businesses by assisting, securing and directing federal government procurement contracts;

• Service Corps of Retired Executives, Butler office, 724-283-2222, general information 800-634-0245, www.score.org, retired business executives who offer confidential, individualized and free management counseling and training;

• State Department of Community and Economic Development, 800-280-3801, www.dced. state.pa.us/PA_Exec/DCED/business/starting.htm;

• Pittsburgh Regional Alliance Business Resource Center, 877-392-1300, www.pittsburghregion.org/brc;

• Pittsburgh Technology Council, 412-687-2700, www.tc-p.com.

For more information, business can contact the county commissioners at 724-284-5100; the Butler County Chamber of Commerce at 724-283-2222; or the Cranberry Area Chamber of Commerce at 724-776-4949.