Katrina

GULF COAST HOUSING AUTHORITIES
POST KATRINA REPORT

"You can't judge the success or failure at the end of your journey until you have carefully considered the beginning."

Recently we made a call to the five Gulf Coast Housing Authorities to inquire as to their progress in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The participants included the Housing Authorities of Biloxi, Long Beach, Bay St. Louis, and Waveland.

Each of these coast housing authorities are the recipients of a 100 million dollar CDBG grant, administered by the Mississippi Development Authority. The monies that each PHA is to receive is based, at least in part, on the size, number of units, damages, etc. sustained by each PHA by Hurricane Katrina.

It appears that the preliminary assessments, including physical needs, cost estimates, application and draw down procedures, and a myriad of environmental hurdles have been completed or are near completion, paving the way to access those monies.

The CDBG monies and their availability will prove to be a significant milestone in the recovery effort of the PHA's. The Dept. of H.U.D., Miss. Development Authority, and their consultants deserve our congratulations for their hard work.

This, of course, is just the beginning for the coast PHA's as brick, mortar, and occupancy remain on the horizon and much work remains to be done.

The following is a brief "snapshot" of the status of each PHA.

Long Beach Housing Authority -Located immediately north of the east/west running railroad tracks, benefited from their location in that the railroad apparently served as a "buffer" to protect their 75 housing units and office from total destruction.

LaNelle Davis, Executive Director, informed us of their intentions to utilize their CDBG monies to comprehensively rehab their housing units, including the office and community center. Plans and specifications for the project are currently being prepared by the well known and accomplished architectural firm Jones/Zander, Ltd.

Although heavily damaged, the Housing Authority has managed to occupy 42 of their 75 housing units as the date of this writing. Many thanks to LaNelle Davis for her tireless efforts to affectively recover despite her own personal loss of her home.

Biloxi Housing Authority -The day before Hurricane Katrina struck the coast, the Biloxi Housing Authority had 474 units of conventional public housing in their inventory. They also had 384 units of housing under construction under a HOPE VI Program, with 199 Section 8 vouchers issued. The day after Katrina struck, the Biloxi Housing Authority had sustained a loss of 272 conventional housing units with 172 of the 272 housing units being totally destroyed. Their Section 8 Voucher program went from 199 voucher holders to zero voucher holders, and their 384 HOPE VI units were either destroyed or heavily damaged.

Mr. Bobby Hensley and his staff are to be commended on their recovery progress to date. Mr. Hensley reports that as of this writing, they are 90% complete with repairs to the HOPE VI units, have issued 210 Section 8 Vouchers, and report that of the 272 conventional units that were damaged or destroyed, 80 are now completed and occupied.

Waveland/Bay St. Louis Housing Authorities -It is well publicized that to the Waveland and Bay St. Louis Housing Authorities were the recipients of a 100% total and catastrophic loss of their housing inventory.

The Waveland Housing Authority though small with 75 housing units, an office, and a new warehouse was among the healthiest, most successful, and well managed and maintained PHA's in the state.

When Katrina waters receded, all that could be salvaged was the remnants of their maintenance warehouse, which after the storm, apparently served as home and incubator for hundreds of black widow spiders that claimed the warehouse as their home.

In addition, Karen Ladner, Executive Director after sustaining catastrophic damages to her home, now resides in a storage shed on her property that was spared from total loss. The colorful and affable maintenance man, "Poochie" Luxich spent several years building his new home with his own hands and time, spent only one single day in the new home when Katrina came to claim it.

The Bay St. Louis Housing Authority, likewise, was determined to be a total loss with 101 housing units designated for demolition.

Despite the loss, heartbreak, and suffering of residents and staff, the Waveland and Bay St. Louis Housing Authorities have picked themselves up and "soldiered on". They are now completing the process of combining the two former PHA's into one single PHA, hereinafter designated as the Bay/Waveland Housing Authority.

Karen Ladner reports that their reconstruction efforts are forecasted to be completed in stages with stage I targeting 41 public housing units and 39 tax credit units in Waveland and 65 public housing units and 64 tax credit units slated for the Bay St. Louis area. In addition, they will administer 15 Section 8 Vouchers with applications for an additional 160 vouchers scheduled for the future.

What was once thought to be impossible is becoming a reality as these fine dedicated Housing Authority directors facing a myriad of seemingly insurmountable obstacles from personal and family loss, funding shortages, wind pool insurance reported at an incredible 300% cost increase, environmental, elevation and code changes, and competition for expensive and precious property suitable for development, have resurrected life from chaos.

Many battles have been won and some lost, but the war goes on with the final event to be scheduled at some future date, when some fine glorious day we will be participating no doubt in some ribbon cutting or grand opening event, opening the door for the needy people of our beloved community. This, my friends, is when the rubber meets the road. It is what we live and work for and we pray for the continued guidance and dedication of the fine men and women participating in our recovery.

Good luck and God bless.

By: William J. "Bubba" Harper