October 27, 2005

                                                                                    Lake Charles, Louisiana

            The Police Jury of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, met in Special Session at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 27, 2005, in the Police Jury Meeting Room of the Parish Government Building, 1015 Pithon Street, Lake Charles, Louisiana, with The Honorable Hal McMillin, President, presiding, and the following members present:

Mesdames Mary Kaye Eason and Sandra J. Treme; and Messrs. Francis Andrepont, Brent Clement, Calvin Collins, Mike Danahay, Kevin Guidry, Tony Guillory, Chris Landry, Charles S. Mackey, D.D.S., Don Manuel, Cornie Moon, and Tony Stelly

Absent: Mrs. Elizabeth Conway Griffin

            Also present were Mr. S. Mark McMurry, Parish Administrator; Mr. Bryan Beam, Assistant Parish Administrator; Mrs. Coleen Clark, Executive Secretary; Mr. Richard Gremillion, Director of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness; Mr. Jerry Milner, Director of Finance; Mr. Claude D. Smart, Parish Engineer; Ms. Kathy P. Smith, Recording Secretary; Mr. Jim Vickers, Director of Planning and Development; and Mr. Gerry Trahan, Director of Facilities Management.

            President McMillin called the meeting to order. The invocation was pronounced by Mr. Guidry which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mr. Collins. The roll was called with the result being as outlined above.

            President McMillin welcomed everyone in attendance and asked those who would like to address the Police Jury to fill out a “Request to Appear” form and submit it to the staff. He also asked that all cellular telephones and pagers be turned off or set on a suitable mode so they would not interrupt the meeting.

            President McMillin introduced Admiral Thad Allen, United States Coast Guard, who was present to address the Police Jury with regard to activities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Calcasieu Parish in response to Hurricane Rita.

            Admiral Allen stated that this was his third trip to Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish, the first two having been immediately after the events following Hurricane Rita. He advised that the first trip was for coastal surveillance of Calcasieu Lake and surrounding waterways, and the second was with President George W. Bush. Admiral Allen congratulated the Police Jury and community on the fine leadership being exhibited in and around Calcasieu Parish. He noted that the residents were very resilient and that there was a palpable feeling of community coherence.

            Admiral Allen stated that President McMillin had been in constant contact with him during the last few weeks regarding issues that were very close to area residents. He further stated that he had been heartened when he flew into Chennault International Airport to see 800 travel trailers. Admiral Allen advised that when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans (approximately three weeks prior to Hurricane Rita), the federal government knew there would be a great need for travel trailers for temporary housing, and a national order went out for 120,000 trailers. He pointed out that disbursing that many travel trailers did not happen overnight but that in order to get them where they were most needed – in driveways of homes being rebuilt – the federal government had loosened up the normal procedures and Mr. Lee Champagne, FEMA Director of Area Field Operations, had been given more latitude to disburse them more quickly.

            Admiral Allen stated that with regard to debris removal, the FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., had assured him that the 100% reimbursement for Category A and B expenses under the Stafford Act would continue through the end of November, 2005, and he would be working with the people in Washington to make sure that happened.

            Admiral Allen acknowledged that the issue of expedited assistance (EA) from FEMA had caused a lot of concern in the community, and he had made a pledge to President McMillin to go to FEMA headquarters and revisit any issues that were causing a perception of slow reaction on the part of the federal government or FEMA. Admiral Allen stated that following the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina, the federal government elected to do something that had never been done before for the people who were displaced from their homes and gave them expedited financial assistance to help them through the transitional period. He stated that this money had been advanced to people to be applied to the total amount authorized by law for reimbursement for damages.

            Admiral Allen stated that President Bush had made the decision to extend the issuance of expedited assistance (EA) to the victims of Hurricane Rita. Admiral Allen further stated that it was a bureaucratic oversight on his (Admiral Allen’s) part, but he was not sure what the technical eligibility requirements were for the EA, and he would get with the FEMA officials to find out with absolute clarity what constituted eligibility for those payments. Admiral Allen stated that he would make this information public and position whatever resources were needed to get those payments to eligible recipients.

            In answer to a question by President McMillin, Admiral Allen acknowledged the difficulties people had experienced in communicating with FEMA’s call center and if necessary, an office would be opened in the Parish so that the residents could talk to someone in person.

            Mr. Manuel stated he had received numerous calls for housing assistance, and Admiral Allen stated that the government was dealing with probably the largest displacement of U.S. population for a natural disaster in the history of the country, pointing out that 1.5 million people had been evacuated from southeast Louisiana and were relocated in all 50 states. Admiral Allen advised that if someone’s home had been destroyed and they could put a trailer on that lot, that was something they should do. Admiral Allen stated that the government would and should do everything possible to provide housing options to bring people back to their hometowns but that there might not be a way to completely do that.

            In answer to a question about whether someone who had been previously denied EA would have to reapply, Admiral Allen stated that they would set up procedures and establish criteria to define eligibility requirements, and that would be made clear.

            In answer to a question by Mr. Guidry, Mr. Vickers stated that no permit fee was being charged to people who formerly had electrical service, and that service was operational, however, in cases that involved extending lines, resetting damaged service, or putting up new utility poles, the Parish would need to inspect those situations, and a fee would be charged for an electrical permit.

            Mr. Clement asked if the reason the EA was discontinued was because the amount issued exceeded the number of households in Calcasieu Parish. Admiral Allen responded that the discontinuance of payments was not related to any population circumstances, that the EA payments were advances on benefits that were normally paid by FEMA after an emergency and that there was a certain period after an event where people should be able to get home and assess their property for damages. Admiral Allen further explained that the EA was an effort to get needed funds to people who were displaced while benefits were being assessed, or an advance payment on benefits “further down the road”.

            Mr. Clement stated he knew of people who had applied for the EA two days after the storm and were denied, and he wondered what prompted FEMA to stop the payments. Admiral Allen advised that if they were eligible and did not get assistance, he needed to find out the reason why. He pointed out that President Bush had been anxious to make the announcement about the EA but that when that announcement was made, FEMA should have had a 24 - 36 hour time frame during which the call center operators could have been educated about the eligibility requirements before having applicants call in.

            Mr. Clement asked if the Hurricane Katrina evacuees were eligible to receive the EA twice (for both hurricanes), to which Admiral Allen responded that they were not. Mr. Clement advised that he had heard that had happened, and Admiral Allen stated he could not say that it had not happened. He pointed out that FEMA had tried to err on the side of getting the money to the people who needed it in an expeditious manner. Admiral Allen stated that they would not make any judgements based on parametric data but instead on need and/or certain criteria.

            Mr. Clement asked if any time lines had been established for removal of building material debris. Admiral Allen explained that the contracts for debris removal were awarded by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers on FEMA’s behalf based on models involving such factors as wind velocity, and those contracts were based on removal of a certain number of cubic yards of debris. Admiral Allen stated that there was no specific time line since it was a performance-based contract which sometimes meant more equipment, or less equipment, had to be brought in.

            Mr. Clement asked if the contractor could start picking up building debris before all of the vegetative debris was removed. Mr. David Parks, FEMA’s Response Operations Branch Chief, stated that the contract for debris removal was negotiated between the Corps and the local jurisdiction and normally did not include removal of building debris but that in this case, the mission was to remove all disaster-related debris as soon as possible, no matter how many “passes” it took. Mr. Parks also stated that normally they liked to see it completed within four to five months but that the cut-off would be when there was primarily construction and demolition debris along the roadsides which should be covered by homeowners’ insurance. He pointed out that currently they were in the process of emergency debris removal, and the Corps was being encouraged to pick up everything if it was placed in the correct location on the road rights-of-way.

            Mr. Andrepont stated that he had been inundated with telephone calls and visits from people who did not receive the EA and for informational purposes, he wanted to let the proper authorities know that the general perception from the people he spoke to was that they did not receive it because they waited until they got home to apply for it, instead of applying for it while they were evacuated. Admiral Allen stated that it would boil down to how FEMA would demonstrate whether a person was evacuated, i.e., hotel receipts.

            Mrs. Treme expressed her appreciation for Admiral Allen’s presence at the meeting on this date, as well as the mobile disaster recovery center (DRC) which had visited her area. She stated that the Vinton and Starks area had been hard hit by the hurricane and while 110 people in Starks had been served by the DRC, there were 500-600 people who still needed help. Mrs. Treme asked if the DRC could stay longer in one locale and serve everyone before moving to another location. She pointed out that many people in her area had to take off from work and/or pay someone to drive them to the DRC located at the former Trinity Baptist Church on Ryan Street in Lake Charles. In answer to Mrs. Treme’s question, Mr. Parks stated that said location was open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

            President McMillin thanked Admiral Allen for attending the meeting, pointing out that it was very important to the citizens of Calcasieu Parish. Admiral Allen assured the members of the Police Jury that once there was an answer on the policy issues related to criteria for the EA, he would get that to them in writing.

            President McMillin then asked for an update on the DRC’s from Mr. Lee Champagne, FEMA Director of Area Field Operations. Mr. Champagne advised that the DRC on Ryan Street in Lake Charles would remain open until it was no longer needed and that another fixed site would be opened in Vinton. Mr. Champagne explained that he had created the mobile DRC’s with his own staff, and he stated that there was another one available for Cameron Parish. In response to Mrs. Treme’s comments, Mr. Champagne stated that the mobile DRC would be sent back to her area and would stay there until all of her constituents’ needs were met.

            There being no further business, motion was made by Mr. Andrepont, seconded by Mrs. Treme and carried unanimously that the meeting be adjourned.

                                                                                    /s/ Hal McMillin, President

/s/ S. Mark McMurry, Administrator &

Ex-Officio Parish Secretary