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October 7, 2008
I would like to congratulate the many citizens who offered themselves as candidates in the past weekend's election. Also congratulations to Mr. Wayne Landry on his election to the Parish Council. I look forward to continuing the work that we have done with the council with Mr. Landry's involvement and commitment to the Recovery and Growth of St. Bernard Parish. I would also like to take a moment to specifically recognize Ms. Polly Boudreaux for her willingness to serve as an interim council member. Ms. Boudreaux served with the same commitment as a council person as she has in every project that she has been involved. Thank you Ms. Boudreaux for your service and leadership. Once past the first yes, but vote your performance was professional and valued. Demolition related issues include the start up of the front end process of residential demolition. A small number of demolitions will start this week and the numbers will increase over the next month. A new link on the web site is being added to announce the scheduled for demolition addresses. We have also issued a notice to the Louisiana Land Trust of our order to begin demolition activity on properties that are in their possession. The Building-A-Week Demolition program is continuing with the second Taco Bell having been taken down. This week's structure is anticipated to be the Ginger Bread Cottage on Paris Road with the building adjacent to the Chalmette Taco Bell or the former daiquiri establishment across from the government complex in the near future. To this end, I have created a local business committee- Businesses Against Blighted Enterprises. BABE will assist in identifying the most problematic commercial properties, making contact with owners, and monitoring the corrective action taken by parish government. This will be another step toward accountability for both business and land owners and for parish government in addressing the business blight and neglect. The group will not only focus on demolition issues but business upkeep, beautification, promotion, and a review of legislation to accomplish the goal to clean up blighted commercial property. Any concerned business owner interested in being a part of the solution can call the Office of the President at 278-4227. Recovery related projects continue to move forward. We have received some indication that several of the lift station projects have been delayed and will likely be completed after the end of the year. A more specific and accurate schedule is being devised currently. As part of a comprehensive audit of the entire recovery process, we are hosting a working conference with FEMA, GOHSEP, CDM, and our staff. The conference is being held tomorrow in lieu of the building mitigation meeting and is anticipated to encompass most of the day. The goal of the meetings is to audit projects, resolve questions, and review funding capacity for each project. Our website upgrades are nearly complete and offer a greater ability to navigate to more information. The finishing touches are underway and should be complete this month. Ms. Bazile in my office is the point of contact for website information and updates. The goal is to keep timely and up-to-the-day information. Any information that is requested to be posted should be submitted in a word document or a pdf for ease of editing and posting. An update on CDBG projects includes the application for submission for the Water Treatment Plant and the Val Riess projects have been signed. At our next council meeting we will do a updated review of the projects as they currently are identified. At this time the project list includes Water Treatment Plant- 35 million, Hospital- 25 million, Val Riess- 11 million, Drainage 10 million, Village Square Acquisition/Development- 6million, Old Arabi Historic District Revitalization- 2million, Bio-Diesel Plant- 1million, Seafood-Farmers' Market- 500,000.00, Visitor/Welcome Center- 250,000.00, Gateway Plan- 50,000.00. The Cooperative Endeavor Agreement for the hospital funding was delivered to the Hospital Services District two weeks ago but there has been no signed agreement reached. The HSD forwarded a resolution to parish government relative to the requested independent review panel for their RFP submissions relative to the management contract suggesting the use of Ericksen, Krentel, and LaPorte Accounting Firm. Mr. Gorbaty has been assigned this task and has been in contact with Eriksen, Krentel and other potential firms/individuals which could serve in the panel capacity and which have no standing relationship with any potential respondent. The identity of the panel will remain undisclosed until all proposals are received and the review completed. I have not received the identity of the panel, nor will I until the process is complete. Should the HSD Chairman wish to know the identity of the independent panel, Mr. Gorbaty has been directed to reveal such in a confidential disclosure. Obviously, the commentary of the panel will be made public after the completion of the review process. The Army Corps of Engineers will be kicking off a Feasibility Study for Eco-Restoration on November 3 at 6:30 p.m. This will be a three year study to identify the projects that will be suggested for funding, primarily in the WRDA Bill. This study will serve as a vehicle for continued public input and we have requested that the activities related to the information gathering include school visits in addition to the many public meetings that will be hosted. This study does not and is not intended to disrupt projects that are already in place or the progression of funding for those projects. The cost of the study is 5 million dollars. There has been some recent discussion from the maritime industry to continue to amend the MRGO closure plan. We The parish government complex building is nearing completion and some of the final reviews are being completed as flooring, ceiling, and doors are being installed. Office furniture has been ordered and the coordination of the occupancy of the building will take place over the next four weeks. We will schedule an open house for the new building in November. The trailers in the parking lot and the remaining travel trailers are being set for auction in anticipation of the completion of the complex building. In response to the council's request to identify a deadline date for trailer demobilization plan, it is recommended that we immediately begin an advertisement process and posting of the demobilization date will be January 7th, 2009. In order to accomplish this, the Parish Council will have to pass a resolution lifting the waiver of the recreational vehicle ordinance that prohibits such vehicles being placed in the front yards of residences. We suggest that any appeal process to this waiver be accomplished well prior to the end of the year and the suggested grounds for individual exemption be based on documented progress against a submitted work schedule to the property on which the trailer is placed and/or valid documentation that a resident is awaiting Road Home funds for repair. These guidelines can be accomplished without a hearing process as the requirements are based on submitted information. The Resident Services Department can assist in monitoring progress of construction based on the submitted and approved schedules and the Permits office can assist in tracking inspections for completed work on properties which house a temporary living trailer. The rescheduled Katrina Monument Rededication program is scheduled for this Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. at the Shell Beach monument site. We will officially dedicate the monument and read the list of residents' names who perished during and of causes related to Hurricane Katrina. Respectfully submitted, Craig Taffaro, Jr. |
