[StBernard] Parish Threatens To Tear Down Renovated Home

[Westley Annis]

When the teams of inspectors were first put together, I really think the
were fly by night inept workers.  I questioned them when they were putting
Red Xs on my neighbors homes who were rebuilding.  Their reply was they were
only looking for houses that were being lived in.  Everyting else was being
considered for demoliton.  One only has to look through windows to see
sheetrock, floors, etc. I thank God that we were able to get back in our
house within a year despite all of the indecisions and constant rule
changing & avoid all of the bull people have to deal with now. One of our
neighbors rebuilt his mother's house, had to work on his business building,
is in the process of rebuilding his residence and is getting flack about his
double close to Village Square.  When he tried to explain to "the board" why
he wasn't as far on his double as they would like, he was told they didn't
want to hear about his other properties, they were only interes ted in this
one.  Now here is a man trying to bring his immediate & extended family
back, get his business back in the parish plus get rental units available
again & instead of help & understanding, all he gets is grief.  I guess we
had the same type of workers when our street signs were put back up.  There
are still streets with no signs & some with incorrect signs.  No wonder
there are horror stories about inspectors viewing the wrong house for
demolition.  They are on the wrong street ! When the parish put out a number
to call to report this, I called numerous times & they still haven't been
corrected.  After a while, you just give up because it seems as if they
don't care about these minor things.  They just go through the motions. And
what about the house on the corner of Karen & Genie ?  Started being gutted
over a year ago,  gutted material is still sitting on the patio and
driveway.  Lord knows how many families of rats & snakes are now living in
the pile.& nbsp; And guess what ? ! NO RED X N THE HOUSE ! There is a
modular house on our street that was started 1 and 1/2 years ago,  Still not
finished & not being worked on.  What are the rules on this type of
situation ?  I was told by a worker for the company that they moved their
people to work in other ares of the Gulf Coast where there was more work..
So this house just stays unfinished ? Again complaints were made & nothing
done or answers given. To me, this is the same situation as houses that  are
being worked on & are still demolished.  Sorry I went off on this tanget,
but when one gets started it is hard to stop, even though I can still keep
going. Thanks for letting me vent.  

Syl

-----Original Message-----
Jer,

Thanks for expressing what needs to be said. I have noticed also that those
that were online before the election now rarely submit any comments or
information. I have seen a post only a time or two when the answer someone
was seeking was either one that was pretty simple to answer or a positive
message regarding the progress in the parish or the administration.

I find it unbelievable that citizens, most born and raised here, are being
treated so unjustly.
I can understand the need to demolish homes that were never touched or
probably never will be rehabilitated, and the time restraints involved. But
to cause such stress to homeowners with threats from the elected officials
to residents who are doing their best to get their homes in order is not the
St. Bernard that I was born and raised in or wish to live in.  

What I do not understand is why? Why demolish a house that has been started
and is being worked on? Is it that hard to see if it?s being renovated? Does
our leaders not know that thousands of dollars have been spent in order to
do so? Why are we told at the government complex, or by various councilmen
that as long as we are showing progress, there should be nothing to worry
about, and then two weeks later, receive threatening mail from the parish
government office? Mail that states we have three months to get a final
inspection or face thousands of dollars in fines, or community service, or
demolition. We are not criminals because we still have work to do to
recover. Why when we watch the parish president on the news is he saying
something different than what we are being told? We were never told we need
a restraining order to stop demolition. I thought that's why we paid for a
building permit. It seems that the money is much better spent on repairs
than on a thousand dollar piece of paper from a lawyer. We were told also,
there would be special considerations if one is still awaiting Road Home or
elevation grants. If we received a grant only three months before the
imposed deadline, how can we possibly rebuild a house to completion in three
months time? It's not possible. Residents that moved elsewhere and had new
homes built had to wait much longer than three months for new construction,
which does not involve tearing out the old first, as renovations do. Most
folks do a lot of the repairs themselves, not being able to meet the costs
of a contractor, or not satisfied with inferior work that is now seen in
some houses or the possibility of being ripped off of which so many have
become victims. Some are in that field of work and would prefer to see that
it's done to their satisfaction.

I remember sitting in a hotel room three and a half years ago and hearing of
the mass flooding and damage. They said then it would take five to ten years
to rebuild. Never did I dream this would be taking place here in my
hometown. There is more than enough work involved to rebuild, why can?t we
be given a chance without the stress? I would like to know who we can depend
upon in this parish to give us answers to these very important questions.

EH