[StBernard] Governor, LRA Board Expand Road Home Options for Seniors

[Westley Annis]

Governor, LRA Board of Directors Expand Road Home Options for Seniors

Board also approves resolution to provide rate relief for Entergy New Orleans customers

GRAY, La. (October 12, 2006) - Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) board of directors announced today that homeowners 65 years of age or older will be exempt from a financial penalty, should they decide not to repair their home or buy a new house with their Road Home grant. 

"Today we announced a major policy change to benefit our senior citizens participating in our program," said Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. "Those 65 or older will not be penalized for choosing not to rebuild or buy a new home. We saw that our senior citizens were making different choices - moving from their own homes to assisted living facilities or moving in with their children. Because they are at a different point in their lives, rebuilding and homeownership may not be the best choices for all seniors."

The Road Home homeowner assistance program was designed to encourage families to remain in Louisiana and reinvest in their communities. Therefore, homeowners choosing to leave the state, or remain as a renter not reinvesting in property, are subject to a 40% reduction in potential compensation. 

Based on feedback from the Road Home pilot program, it was decided that elderly homeowners should not experience such a penalty. Many applicants aged 65 or older are facing unique challenges and currently living with their children or entering assisted living facilities. 

As of this week, more than 37,000 Road Home applications have been recorded in the program database. More than 21,000 appointment letters have been mailed out to applicants and nearly 7,500 counseling appointments have been held. The average grant currently stands at $48,546 based on a total of 372 awards. 

In other action, the LRA board endorsed a resolution to allocate $200 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to Entergy New Orleans (ENO) to defray gas and electric utility system repair costs in an effort to provide rate relief for ENO customers. 

"Our citizens are working hard to rebuild their homes, restore their businesses and get back to normal. They have enough hard work ahead without adding skyrocketing energy bills to the equation," said LRA Infrastructure Task Force Chair John T. Landry. "Today's action guarantees that every dollar we contribute will be a dollar that residents will not have to see on their bills."

Hurricane Katrina caused unprecedented damage to the electric and gas system infrastructure in the city of New Orleans. As a result, ENO lost electric service to 100% of its customers immediately following the storm. 

In early 2006, ENO requested CDBG funds from the LRA to cover electric and gas utility costs, gas system infrastructure rebuilding costs and un-recovered fixed costs through the end of 2007 that are expected due to the loss of customers in New Orleans. By the end of 2006, ENO will have incurred nearly $200 million of the estimated $640 million in total restoration and rebuilding costs related to repairs necessitated by Hurricane Katrina damage. 

Now the proposal will be developed as an action plan amendment and published for public comment. Once public input is reviewed and considered, the final plan will come before the LRA board, Governor Blanco and the Louisiana Legislature for approval before moving to HUD. 

Also included in the resolution: 

- No CDBG funds may be used to profit ENO's parent, Entergy Corporation.

- ENO must agree that all restoration, reconstruction, and rebuilding costs claimed for CDBG funding must be certified as reasonable and necessary through an independent process approved by the LRA.

- ENO must not claim in any forum capital assets paid for with CDBG funds as additions to the rate base for ratemaking purposes or for the valuation of ENO's assets in connection with the city's perpetual option to purchase set forth in the applicable 1922 Ordinances, as amended.

- Any CDBG funds awarded to ENO should be exempt from existing or future liens held by any of ENO's bondholders and, except to the extent necessary to reimburse audited expenditures for restoration, reconstruction, and rebuilding, the Entergy Corporation debtor-in-possession loan to ENO.

The board also heard an update on improvements to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) process for rebuilding roads, sewer and water systems and other key infrastructure critical to the recovery. At the request of Governor Blanco, LRA Chairman Dr. Norman Francis and LRA Vice Chairman Walter Isaacson, President Bush has directed Gulf Coast Recovery Chairman Donald Powell to become directly involved in reviewing delays in the PA process and speeding the flow of funds to communities in need. The streamlined review process resulted in a 53% reduction of outstanding critical repair projects being considered by the Federal government, thus expediting the allocation of nearly $330 million in funding. 

The board also received an update on the status of efforts to redesign the health care delivery and financing system in Greater New Orleans. A joint meeting of the LRA Infrastructure and Health Care Committees was held last week to consider the future of healthcare infrastructure in New Orleans, including the rebuilding of the Medical Center of Louisiana.

LRA representative on the Health Care Redesign Collaborative Donna Fraiche reiterated the board's expectation that the redesign proposal due out next week will detail criteria for a more efficient, quality-driven, modernized delivery system accessible by all citizens of all means. 

"Our role in working with the Collaborative is to ensure that all voices in and outside the room are being heard and listened to as the blueprint for change is being developed," said Fraiche. "We are committed to continue moving this process forward so that Louisiana does in fact seize the opportunity that stands before us to develop a system for delivering care that will serve as a model for the rest of the nation."

In other action, the Board received an update on the recent planning activities from lead planner, John Fregonese of Fregonese Calthorpe Associates.

Through its long-term planning initiative, Louisiana Speaks, the LRA hosted a series of stakeholder workshops across the state this summer. Led by Fregonese and Peter Calthopre of Calthorpe Associates with support from the Center for Planning Excellence and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, these workshops continued an ongoing conversation with citizens across the region regarding South Louisiana's long-term recovery and future growth. 

The goal of the workshops was to discuss possible scenarios and solutions to address regional issues such as coastal restoration and storm protection, community growth and transportation infrastructure and regional economic development. Nearly 1,000 stakeholders participated in hands-on workshops that were hosted in Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Houma and Covington.

Participant consensus emerged on many issues critical to creating a long-range vision for South Louisiana. Among them: 

On coastal restoration and storm protection, there was overwhelming support for a combination of aggressive coastal restoration and strategic levee protection. A majority of participants supported regional coastal wetland restoration strategies that combine slower, more sustainable natural river diversions and water management with faster-acting pipeline conveyance of sediment to create new wetlands and barrier islands. 

Strategic levee alignments that concentrated protection around urban areas were also generally preferred to coast-wide solutions. 

On community growth and transportation infrastructure, participants overwhelmingly favored a shift toward more compact, less car-dependent development patterns across South Louisiana. 

Louisiana Speaks planners are now working with the ideas generated from these workshops to develop a number of scenarios with associated costs and benefits that will be presented to the public for a preference vote in January 2007.

The board also received an update on the LRA's Request for Ideas (RFI) released in recent weeks, related to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Alternative Housing Pilot Program, often referred to as the Katrina Cottage program. 

The Alternative Housing Pilot Program is intended to address ongoing housing challenges created by the 2005 hurricane season in the states of the Gulf Coast region, specifically Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas. 

The proposal is in response to $400 million appropriated by the U.S. Congress in the 2006 Emergency Appropriations Act for the pilot. The RFI will be used to identify the best possible alternative housing models available for inclusion in the State's proposal to FEMA for funding consideration due on October 20, 2006. 

Board resolutions and presentations for today's board meeting are available on the LRA website at www.lra.louisiana.gov <http://keelson.eatel.net/websites/la.gov/action.cfm?md=communication&task=addClick&msg_ID=2630&ID=dQiIe7i8nZnO&redirect=http://www.lra.louisiana.gov> . 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana.

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