[StBernard] Citybusiness news on debris

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard gains $30M in fed aid
By CityBusiness staff report

2006-03-29 12:47 PM CST

BATON ROUGE - The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Preparedness today released $30 million to continue cleanup efforts in St.
Bernard Parish.

"We have authorized the release of funds to St. Bernard Parish to continue
its debris removal," said Jeff Smith, GOHSEP acting director. 
"We realize the parish cannot move forward with its recovery without
clearing the debris."

The state will release the money obligated by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to the parish but issues remain regarding the cost of the
debris contract for the parish. The removal of hundreds of tons of debris
left in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita has been slowed in part
because the parish's debris contract was rejected by FEMA as more expensive
than similar contracts for debris removal in surrounding parishes.

For the past several months, GOHSEP personnel worked with St. Bernard Parish
to bring the price more in line with what was spent in the other parishes.
St. Bernard negotiated a reduction of its contract to approximately $335
million for the same work, saving local, state and federal taxpayers an
estimated $235 million.

Negotiations to cut the estimated $35 million the parish owes its contractor
are ongoing. .
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This makes is sound like the parish was going to pay $335 million, but with
the lower, negotiated rates, Unified cut it's prices such that it gets $100
million less.  Wondering if this is correct.

Ddk