Terrebonne gains ground with grants and grit

Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet believes that follow through is every bit as important as great ideas, and has learned that taking advantage of bad situations can set the stage for better things to come.

Now 40 months into his first experience as a public figure, Claudet contends that progress emerging from a term hit by hurricanes and oil spill disasters is only serving to make the area stronger and an increasingly better place to live.

Looking back on projections made at this time last year, Claudet pointed to the October opening of the Marriott Courtyard Hotel, next to the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, as an example of how ground is being gained for better economic days down the road.

“No question,” Claudet said when asked if the Marriott had demonstrated its value during its first few weeks of being open.

“We’ve gotten the police jury convention for the state of Louisiana [scheduled for next year] because of that hotel,” he said. “We could have not gotten that convention, which is one of the largest in the state, had it not been for that hotel.”

Claudet pointed to the complex as an attraction for conventions and tourism events that might be too small for larger venues in cities like New Orleans or Baton Rouge. He, along with other civic leaders, has already identified the facility as a great drawing card for the Houma area that adds to the marketability of Terrebonne Parish.

Plans for a cold storage facility and incubator center have been on the drawing board for an extended period of time. It is a goal Claudet and others have been working toward and one he said is closer to becoming a reality in part because of the hurricanes in 2005 and 2008.

“The Terrebonne Economic Development Authority has been involved. Part of the money [to construct it] came from Katrina/Rita funding that took place for fisheries,” Claudet said. “Another part, about $1.4 million, came from Community Development Block Grant funds that we got after hurricanes Gustav and Ike.”

An original plan involving the cold storage facility was to be part of a larger multi-use parish government facility, a project that has itself been delayed.

“Right now, the money is still in place and we put everything on hold after the [deepwater drilling] moratorium. It was still going ahead after the [BP Deepwater Horizon oil] spill, but the moratorium put it to where we had to put it on hold,” the parish president said.

Terrebonne Parish made its claims for financial help following disasters and has secured $123 million in CDBG funds during Claudet’s time in office. In addition, another $10 million in federal funds was landed to develop affordable housing, and $16.8 million was added to parish coffers following hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

A goal to establish affordable housing was stated 12 months ago by Claudet, but he admitted last week, during an informal interview at his Government Building office, that unforeseen procedural details slowed the process of getting that program off the ground.

“What happened was, we realized quickly, [affordable housing] required more money and expertise than we could utilize on the parish level. The state got a 5 percent admin[istration] fee for the money received. That would give them the money they needed to get the right experts on the project,” he said.

The state has now taken over the affordable housing project.

Claudet noted that the deepwater drilling moratorium caused more of an adverse economic hit on the parish than four hurricanes and the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

The parish president estimated that anywhere between 500 and 1,000 jobs were adversely impacted for every individual platform off the coast of Louisiana that was slowed. “It may be even more,” he said.

Claudet’s concern is that service and support companies that moved personnel to other locations in other states following the moratorium might be hard to get back if federal influences on the oil and gas industry persist.

In the face of those hardships, Claudet said there have also been “many successes” for the parish during the past year. He points toward infrastructure and levee improvements as a bright spot for his administration.

“You know we have put levees all up and down Ward 7. We heightened levees and made them stronger all around the Montegut and Pointe-aux-Chenes area,” he said.

“Right now, we have new road, bridge and turn lane projects all over the parish,” Claudet said. “We have been very progressive.”

Claudet admitted that the past five years have not been easy for Terrebonne Parish, but said that should not be an excuse to not live up to its potential.

“Please understand, we are accustomed to doing better than average,” he said. “I tell my staff all the time, if there is another parish that can do something, we can do it as well if not better. Our goal is always to be one of the leaders.”

During the coming year, Claudet wants to see projects that are now works in progress reach completion and see efforts made to move forward beyond work that is not being seen by the general public.

“I want to see Westside Boulevard completed. We will see the Enterprise Drive Bridge completed,” he said. “My goal over the next three years is to construct Valhi Boulevard to Savanne Road, and Bayou Gardens to Bayou Blue Road as the two goals for infrastructure. For drainage we have many parts of the parish that probably have not been addressed for drainage in 30 to 40 years and we’re now starting to do that.

“In addition to that, we have to be fiscally responsible and be on top of any changes that might take place in the economy,” Claudet said.

As for oil and gas production, Claudet predicted that drilling would not return to pre-moratorium levels until late 2011 or early 2012. But he insisted that such a situation should not slow the parish from doing what it can to make living conditions better for its residents and visitors.

“I don’t think that the people of the parish truly understand how we’re positioning ourselves,” Claudet said.

The parish president pointed to efforts being made to make Terrebonne Parish a priority for state officials, including a recent tour given to insurance commission officials in an effort to attract a more diverse group of businesses to the area.

“[When we get current projects done] you are going to see a Terrebonne Parish that not only are you going to be proud of, but it is sustainable for the future,” Claudet said.

This parish president said that often the key to getting projects accomplished is to aggressively push the issue. He then joked that he could be as pushy as anyone when it comes to doing the job.