[StBernard] Field of Dreams

[Westley Annis]

Thank you Craig for providing the clarifications on this.  Hopefully now the
folks will understand a little more of the process of FEMA funding and the
do's and don'ts.  I'm sure if given the choice, parish gov't would choose
sewer repair as the first or second way to spend any Federal funding.
However, we don't get to choose.  I'm sure the sewer repairs and other
important repairs (gov't bldgs.) are on a project worksheet somewhere.


JLY 

	-----------------------------------------------------
	To All Subscribers to the ListServe,
	
	Please take the next few comments as informational and as an attempt
to help
	understand a small part of the recovery process. Some of the recent
	postings are potentially leading people to question or believe that
the
	parish government can take reimbursement money for recreation or
other
	departments and somehow transfer it to indiviudal assistance. WE CAN
NOT
	TAKE A PROJECT WORKSHEET FOR ANY PROJECT AND SIMPLY CONVERT IT TO
FUNDS TO
	BE DISTRIBUTED TO RESIDENTS. Irregardless of how we think it should
be
	done, that is not how the FEMA program and Stafford Act work. We
have
	continued to request modifications to the regulations and hopefully
this
	congressional session will see some improvement to those issues.
When we
	move project worksheets to improved projects or alternate projects
such as
	is being worked through with recreation and other departments, we do
not
	have the authority to move it to unrelated projects. Also, when
projects
	are abandoned for an alternate project FEMA penalizes the amount the
project
	can be funded. In the case of recreation, the recovery plan
significantly
	downsizes the recreation department to fewer parks. The centralized
park at
	Versailles is part of a whole program to revamp recreation. The
phase in
	plan will take years and the pace of the work for the other phases
past
	phase one will be linked to the growth, needs, and ability of the
parish to
	sustain the facility.
	
	While there are many emotions still being experienced for many
different
	reasons, it is really important that people know that there have
been
	countless hours of discussion and belabored pleadings to make the
FEMA
	system recovery friendly and effective. Because a news article
highlighted
	one particular project should not be interpreted as the only project
that is
	being worked through the system. Remember there are over 400 project
	worksheets being followed at some level. Granted some mis-steps on
parish
	government's part has kept some of these from being properly
obtained and
	the hold up with the state system is a nightmare in itself, but the
bottom
	line is that the ongoing disconnect between the council expressing
its will
	for recovery and the administration choosing to move at a different
pace is
	partly a system default and partly a local internal problem.
Hopefully, the
	internal problem has been resolved so that there is more opportunity
f or
	the branches of parish government to be on one page. As far as the
larger
	system defaults, for now we just have to keep making our case and
playing by
	the Golden Rule- whoever has the Gold makes the Rule and we do not
have the
	Gold.
	
	Good luck and God Bless,
	Craig