[StBernard] For the Parish President

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Fri Sep 14 18:31:48 EDT 2007


JR,

If you can provide the addresses of these homes I'll check with the
compliance office. You are right in that we need to work first on resolving
the ungutted homes and then move to the gutting but non complent ones. The
Rediscoverdistrict C (RDC) effort can help get information to the public on
these kinds of issues. Just visit our website, or better yet come to one of
our meetings.

Thx

H

----- Original Message ----
Last month on the Channel 6 News it was reported that Jefferson Parish had
applied for an received an extension of six months, for FEMA reimbursed
demolitions. Nothing was mentioned about St. Bernard, as is usually the
case. I have since learned that St. Bernard has been given the same
extension period, even though we have hundreds more condemned properties
that Jefferson Parish. I make it a point to drive around daily, and find
little, if any, demos taking place. Why? The home around the corner from
me on Charles Drive has yet to be gutted, coupled with the debris and
overgrown weeds in the 20 arpent canal between Campagna-Corinne-Charles, and
the rats are having a field day. I can identify at least six houses with
two blocks of me that have had demo stickers on them for over a year.
Fortunately, they were at least gutted, leaving nothing for the rats to
feast on. Why can't the councilmen for each district provide you with a
list of properties that their constituents have identified, for
verification, and establishment of a demolition date? Is this too much to
ask from someone who is requesting our vote to "finish the job", when there
is quite a bit of evidence that the process is not completely started, or if
so, has been poorly conceived and maintained.

St. Bernard may have felt the worse of Katrina and Rita, but the strength of
its residents is bringing it back together, better than ever. We need to
have progress reports on what is being done, not what everyone running for
office is claiming that they will do. We need to see on-going demolitions,
placing emphasis on those homes that have not been gutted. We also need to
investigate the purchase of a "pot hole killer" such as the one that the
City of New Orleans purchased to make quick repairs. We have many streets
needing minor repairs that can delay total replacement until some future
date. We need to have street sweepers in operation daily, to pick up the
nails and loose debris that is helping the tire business, but frustrating
car owners. Last, and most important to me, is the removal of FEMA trailers
from the Government complex and Lacoste Elementary. There were aggressive
plans to utilize these two schools together, to provide maximum
opportunities for students. Instead, these are simply trailer parks with
additional perks.

I could go on to question the need to have the destroyed public vehicles
housed on Paris Road. Pictures of the vehicles from each angle, their
license plates and pink slips, should be more that sufficient to provide
proof to FEMA that the vehicles were destroyed. The first step is for
parish leadership to sit down with FEMA and anyone else that can sign off on
this process. Had we completed this task some time ago, the information
could have been presented to the president, who I am certain would have the
matter addressed and resolved.

I realize that you and other parish workers are exhausted. With the limited
time-frame we are operating under however, we need to outline our
priorities, starting with those houses that are not gutted, and move forward
from there, advising the public of each achievement along the way, to boost
morale.

Thank you for allowing me to vent my frustration.

JR





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