[StBernard] Grant applications near state estimate

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Thu Mar 8 22:38:46 EST 2007



Grant applications near state estimate

By JOE GYAN JR.
Advocate New Orleans bureau
Published: Mar 8, 2007

The number of homeowners applying for grants under Louisiana's "Road Home''
hurricane repair and buyout program is rapidly approaching the state's
estimate of how many homeowners will be eligible for a share of the $7.5
billion.

The "Road Home'' had received 112,672 applications as of Monday, an increase
of 785 applications since March 1, according to "Road Home'' data. The state
expects the program to service about 123,000 households.

"Even with all the horrible press out there, people are still applying for
it,'' Louisiana Recovery Authority Executive Director Andy Kopplin said
during a meeting Tuesday with The Advocate's editorial board.

The "Road Home'' has been dogged by complaints that it is taking far too
long to aid homeowners who suffered damage from hurricanes Katrina or Rita
in 2005.

Despite the 112,600-plus applications, the "Road Home'' had closed only
2,790 grants as of Monday - an increase of 72 since the end of February.

After closing 2,268 grants in February alone, officials with ICF
International Inc. - the private Virginia-based contractor hired by Gov.
Kathleen Blanco's staff to run the program - cautioned that the installation
of new computer software would slow the process for the first 10 to 14 days
of March.

Blanco has said the state expects 7,000 closings this month and 10,000 a
month thereafter.

The "Road Home'' says more than 84,500 appointments have been held with
homeowners, and benefits have been calculated for nearly 46,600 homeowners
totaling $3.76 billion. Homeowners are eligible for grants up to $150,000
for uninsured losses.

Not surprisingly, more applications (45,540) have come from Orleans Parish -
80 percent of which was flooded by Katrina - than any other parish,
according to "Road Home'' parish-by-parish data.

Orleans is followed by Jefferson with 15,950, St. Bernard with 13,633, St.
Tammany with 8,853, Calcasieu with 7,579, Plaquemines with 3,487, Cameron
with 1,824, Vermilion with 1,673, Terrebonne with 1,541 and Iberia with 931.

"Road Home'' applicants have three funding options: stay (repair or rebuild
in place); accept a buyout and relocate within the state; or sell and leave
the state.

The "Road Home'' data indicate that many homeowners are having a difficult
time deciding which option to choose.

About 30 percent of the applicants from Cameron, which was pummeled by Rita,
say they are undecided, followed by 25 percent of the applicants from
Plaquemines, 21 percent from St. Bernard, 15 percent from Vermilion, 14
percent from both Terrebonne and Iberia, and 13 percent from Orleans.

St. Bernard has far and away the highest rate (35 percent) of applicants who
plan to sell and relocate somewhere else in the state. About 18 percent of
Plaquemines' applicants, 15 percent of Cameron's and 13 percent of
Terrebonne's say they plan to do the same.

Orleans (876) and St. Bernard (497) have the most applicants who say they
plan to sell and leave the state.

Jefferson (87 percent) and St. Tammany (80 percent) have the highest rate of
applicants who plan to stay, while Orleans, Calcasieu, Vermilion, Terrebonne
and Iberia parishes have percentages in the 70s.

In New Orleans, more than 16,000 applications have come from homeowners in
eastern New Orleans, nearly 7,400 from Gentilly, 5,700-plus from the 9th
Ward - where the Lower 9th Ward was devastated - and more than 4,000 from
Lakeview, according to "Road Home'' ZIP code data.

Eastern New Orleans, Gentilly, the Lower 9th and Lakeview were ravaged by
Katrina's flooding.

In the neighboring Lakeview and Gentilly neighborhoods, 57 percent of the
Lakeview applicants say they intend to stay while 71 percent of the Gentilly
applicants say the same thing. About 17 percent of the Lakeview applicants
and 10 percent of the Gentilly applicants say they plan to relocate in the
state, while 22 percent of the applicants in Lakeview and 15 percent of
those in Gentilly say they are undecided. Only 64 of the 4,053 Lakeview
applicants say they will leave the state; 155 of the 7,393 Gentilly
applicants intend to leave.

In eastern New Orleans, which includes four ZIP codes, 72 percent of the
"Road Home'' applicants say they will stay put.

About 13 percent are undecided and 10 percent said they intend to sell their
homes but stay in the state.


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