[StBernard] Parish Update for 12/16/05 - Debris Removal

[Westley Annis]

Editors Note:  This is one of several emails.

PARISH UPDATE FOR 12/16/05

>From Craig Taffaro on behalf of the St. Bernard Parish Council (Mark

Madary,
Judy Hoffmeister, Kenny Henderson, Chairman Joey DiFatta, Lynn Dean, and
Ricky Melerine)Debris Removal

The debris removal process has been ongoing and debris is being removed at a
rate of about 20,000 cubic yards a day and more on some days.

Any debris that is placed curbside should be picked up within about a week,
although there are areas that have taken longer.  Debris sitting out longer
than two weeks should be reported to your council member or directly to the
public works department at 278-4317.

Debris that is in your front yard will also be picked up, but you should
sign a right of entry form to give permission for the debris contractor to
pick up debris in front of your house.  If a pile of debris starts at the
curb and continues onto the front of the property then the pile will be
picked up as one pile.

The demolition process is underway from the paper work process, but there is
still some hold up in terms of the actual plan being approved so that the
process is reimbursable.  Once the plan is approved for reimbursement,
actual demolition will begin.  In the meantime, residents who have made the
decision to have their home demolished, should sign up for the demolition
process in the community development office.

The house gutting issue has also been anticipated to begin after the first
of the year using a 1500 - 2000 man crew from the Habitat for Humanity
organization.  The house gutting will be free to residents and the debris
will be removed by the debris contractor.  Local volunteers should contact
Cheryl Eubanks or Gidget McDougal to sign up to join in the volunteer effort
at 504-208-4045.

Private gutting companies can still be utilized and residents who choose to
use a private company should request funding for this from FEMA (this
request may be denied, but there is a category for homeowners to be
reimbursed for this).  Additionally, some insurance policies may provide a
benefit for partial demolition.  Community development can provide a letter
requiring partial demolition if the insurance company may need this.

Keep in mind that the processing of gutting and demolition paperwork
involves nearly 25,000 residential structures and 15,000 commercial
structures so the task is quite overwhelming.  There are bound to be some
hiccups in the system, but each person will be worked through the process as
quickly as possible.  Call your council-member or me if there is a problem
with getting through the system.

The council is considering a deadline for residents to sign the consent for
demolition.  The proposed date at this time is January 31, 2006.  The
council still must vote to approve this as a deadline.  If the deadline is
set, it would facilitate the process to check the status of property owners
and their plans for their properties.  As proposed, any property that has
not been consented for demolition by January 31, 2006 would automatically be
placed in a blighted/nuisance property category which would then be tracked
and monitored.  Property owners who have legitimate circumstances that are
interfering with repairing their property will be handled individually and a
plan of a procedure to be monitored will be established.  The rationale
behind such a proposal is to assure that properties will not be left
unattended over long periods of time.  Residents who are not sure what they
will do with their property will have to comply with the requirements to
maintain their property at the minimum pre-storm standard.

Also, it is noted that property owners who have their homes demolished and
do not rebuild should be aware that they will be required to maintain their
property for as long as they own it.  Since the slab is not included in the
demolition, property owners may be able to make private arrangements with
the debris contractor to remove the slab at the owner's expense.