[StBernard] Free house demolitions offered

[Westley Annis]

Free house demolitions offered
Group vows faster job than government 
Thursday, May 25, 2006
By Karen Turni Bazile
St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau 

In less than two weeks, more than 2,500 St. Bernard Parish property owners
have signed up with the Christian Contractors Association for free
demolition of their Hurricane Katrina-ravaged homes. 

 
The group promises to do the job faster than the government-sponsored
demolition program that began a few weeks ago, and has done less than 20
homes. The group says it will also remove slabs, which the government
contractor will not. 

Robert McKee, director of the Lee County, Fla., chapter of the Christian
Contractors Association, told St. Bernard Parish officials a few weeks ago
that volunteers with his chapter have demolished about 120 homes in
Plaquemines Parish in a little more than a month. Other chapters are working
along the Gulf Coast. Any resident in Plaquemines or St. Bernard parishes
can call McKee's group for a free demolition. 

Group officials will be at the Buras Fire Station on Friday and Saturday for
the last days for Plaquemines residents to sign up. Plaquemines residents
who are out of town or who cannot make it to Buras can call the group's
national office at (800) 278-7703. St. Bernard residents can call that
number as well. 

Plaquemines property owners should bring photo identification and the
property deed although McKee can prove ownership through alternative means
if necessary. 

"In St. Bernard, residents have been very organized and most have proper
documentation ready," he said. 

St. Bernard Parish Councilman Joey DiFatta said he is thrilled by the
program. 

"That's what it's all about, getting the old houses torn down so the people
can build their new homes" if they want, DiFatta said. 

Plaquemines Parish President Benny Rousselle said local FEMA officials refer
to McKee as the "demolition fairy" because he does the demolition under
government's radar without the bureaucratic red tape that includes asbestos
testing. However, Rousselle said he has been advised that FEMA ultimately
might not reimburse the parish when contractors clear the debris from
McKee's demolitions since houses not tested for asbestos in Plaquemines must
be treated as having asbestos, which cost more for clearing. 

"He's good news as long as FEMA stays out of the way," Rousselle said. 

McKee said he is focusing his initial efforts in St. Bernard on property in
the Murphy Oil spill area because FEMA refuses to reimburse the parish for
demolishing those homes. 

He will begin on Gallo Drive in Chalmette, which is inside the area included
in the oil spill, and he also will do homes on Munster Boulevard in Meraux.
McKee said residents on those two streets considering demolition should sign
up as soon as possible. 

McKee said his group uses volunteer professional contractors and heavy
equipment operators. 

At a Parish Council committee meeting a few weeks ago, J.S. Lawrence Green,
the chief operating officer of Unified Recovery Group, the parish's debris
and demolition contractor, said he is happy to work with McKee's group
because his company doesn't remove slabs. Green said his company would pick
up the debris after the demolitions are complete. 

FEMA won't cover the cost of removing slabs because they don't pose a health
or safety hazard. 

The St. Bernard Parish Council last week approved a measure requiring owners
of homes to be demolished to sign up for the free gutting program or the
parish's demolition program, financed by FEMA, by June 9. The council also
said all homes not on the government list to be demolished must be gutted
and secured by Aug. 29. 

About 27,000 homes in St. Bernard were damaged by Katrina. Officials expect
7,000 to 8,000 of those homes to be leveled. 

To sign up for the volunteer gutting or FEMA-sponsored demolition program,
residents can visit the Office of Community Development on the second floor
of the government complex or download forms from the parish Web site,
www.sbpg.net. The forms can be brought to the office or mailed to the St.
Bernard Office of Community Development, 8201 W. Judge Perez Drive,
Chalmette, LA 70043. On the envelope, owners should note "Office of
Demolition" for demolitions, or "Hazard Removal" for house gutting. 

Karen Turni Bazile can be reached at kturni at timespicayune.com or (504)
826-3335.