[StBernard] Government Decisions

[Westley Annis]

Westley,
 
Your review of the Grand Forks issue is going to mislead people.  The
differences between Grand Forks and St. Bernard are monumental and your
review doesn't get to these issues.  The size of the communities and the
percentage of people damaged and needed to move and the level of insurance
for the owners, and the amount of federal support needed and the economic
impact on the community.
 
Very different situations.  The issue of just naming areas to move using a
program that is voluntary in its nature, without the funds to force the
issue adds some potentially insurmountable obstacles.
 
Craig
 
-----Original Message-----


A lot of his been said over the past week about the new deadline on
gutting/demolition's.  It is probably 50/50 with those that support it and
those that don't.  For those that don't agree with it, I believe the biggest
problem is that there is no clear indication from parish government what
direction the parish is headed after the storm.

Much was proclaimed and heralded about the Citizen's Recovery Committee
coming up with a plan and the Duany plan.  Both of which are fantastic in
their ideals and have a lot that can be used as they are brought down to
Earth and implemented.  The problem is that local government has endorsed
the plans but has done nothing to implement them.

I realize that money is a factor, but how many times have any of us
personally been "low on funds" yet still managed to find a way to do or get
something we really wanted?

We are not the first municipality to get smacked by a flood in recent times.
Read this story, from Forbes Magazine, on Grand Forks, N.D. that got smacked
by the Red River eight years ago.
<http://tinyurl.com/zfljh>

Compare Grand Forks to St. Bernard:  11,000 homes and businesses damaged or
destroyed.  13,000 livestock killed and deposited throughout the valley.
Over six feet of water.  Only 20% had flood insurance.  In 2003, 28% of
businesses still carried flood related debt.

The city, which had a population of 47,000, had $2 billion in damages from
the floods. After the flood, they lost 3,000 residents.  But they recovered
that loss in two years.  Since then they have added another 6,000 residents.
What is to stop St. Bernard from doing this?

Let's look at what the Grand Forks government did.  To protect themselves
from future flooding they built a new $400 million levee system (with the
aid of the federal government).  The new levees were further back from the
old levees which meant they had to remove existing neighborhoods.  Last
April, when the levees were only at 85% completion, the Red River crested to
its sixth-highest mark on record and still held.  The mayor called it a
"nonevent".

The local government of Grand Forks did what was necessary to protect their
city and its residents.  If St. Bernard officials were to tell some folks
not to rebuild their houses because the space is needed for flood
protection, they would understand.  They might get upset and yell, but I
think after venting they would realize it is for the greater good and be
ready to move forward.

Yes, those home owners are going to ask what their compensation would be and
for that there is no answer at the moment.  It may take looking for a land
swap.  There are many wealthy land-owners in St. Bernard who could afford to
swap a piece of their land for a flooded property and sit on it until the
parish comes up with a funding mechanism.  Although a minimal amount,
waiving property taxes would be one way to entice them.

Grand Forks did have two things going for it, jobs and education.  People
are going to move to wherever they can find work.

St. Bernard Parish had some of the best education you could find in
Louisiana.  The public schools were good enough to force the private and
parochial schools to make sure they were properly educating our children.
It wasn't just a matter of tuition costs that saw a decline in enrollment
among the private schools.

The refineries have been begging for skilled labor for years and was
actively working with Nunez Community College to get that labor.  St.
Bernard had plenty of opportunity for anyone who was willing to learn and
work, now it is just a matter of not letting those  opportunities disappear.

The simple fact is that allowing residents to rebuild the parish exactly as
it was pre-Katrina is not going to bring anyone back to St. Bernard.  You
will be left with those who cannot afford to leave, those who are trying to
milk the system, and a handful that would never leave St. Bernard except by
boat.

There was a lot to love about St. Bernard before Katrina, but there was also
a lot to desire.  Katrina has given St. Bernard a chance to address those
desires and I only hope that parish officials do not squander the
opportunity.

Westley

http://www.cajuncrossfire.com/