[StBernard] St. Bernard council is moving back home

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard council is moving back home
Members had held meetings in trailer Monday, July 14, 2008By Bob Warren
When the St. Bernard Parish Council gavels its meeting to order Tuesday, it
won't just mark the start of another long foray into legislative business. 

Some council members hope residents see it as much more: another signal of
recovery for a parish nearly wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. 

Nearly three years after Katrina pummeled the area's levees and sent a wall
of putrid water into the parish, the St. Bernard Parish Council's meeting
chambers in Chalmette are set to reopen. 

"It looks great," Councilman Frank Auderer said. "It's really nice." 

The reopening of the council's meeting space is the first phase of a $3.5
million renovation of the parish's government complex. The rest of the
building should be completed by November, Auderer said. 

After the hurricane, the council moved its meetings to a triple-wide trailer
in the parking lot of the government complex off West Judge Perez Drive.
When hot issues come before the council, standing-room-only crowds often
spill outside the trailer onto the wooden deck outside. 

"It sure will be nice to have a little leg room," Auderer said. 

The renovated 200-seat auditorium features improved lighting, a better audio
system and a ceiling projector that will allow for much better visual
presentations, Auderer said. "The technology is really a key factor," he
said. "It's much-improved." 

During last fall's parish elections, the state of the government complex --
more than two years after the hurricane it remained gutted and vacant on one
of St. Bernard's busiest thoroughfares -- was an issue in several campaigns,
most notably the parish president's race. In signing a contract for the work
in January, new Parish President Craig Taffaro said renovating the "face of
parish government" would be an important sign of progress for returning
residents. 

Auderer and Councilman George Cavignac agree. 

"It's a landmark of recovery," Cavignac said. 

Like Auderer, Cavignac looks forward to the new digs. But he also will look
back on the days in the triple-wide with a little nostalgia. 

"In a way, it's benefited us because it's gotten us closer," Cavignac said
of the council and residents attending meetings. "We're right there right
across the table from one another, not up on the dais looking down." 

The rededication ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. The council meeting follows at
11 a.m. 

Bob Warren can be reached at bwarren at timespicayune.com or 504.826.3363.