Freda Wood Toups
August 4, 2009
Clara Arabie Hoskins
August 6, 2009The Orlando, Fla.-based disaster management and engineering firm Beck Disaster Recovery will perform pre-demolition work on 650 abandoned structures damaged by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
The project was approved in late July by the Terrebonne Parish Council’s Community Development and Planning Committee.
The parish already has a contract with Beck signed in 2008 to do Gustav and Ike-related debris removal. The council’s latest action expands the agreement.
The pre-demolition work includes confirming the physical location of structures, reviewing parish ordinances, and developing a Geographic Information System map of properties on the demolition list.
Beck will complete a project worksheet on each structure to be demolished, Parish Planning Director Pat Gordon said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse Terrebonne for all of the demolition costs.
Beck must submit the completed project worksheets to FEMA before a Sept. 15 deadline. Otherwise, reimbursement by FEMA could be jeopardized, said Councilman Kevin Voisin. The landowner would retain property rights.
Councilman Clayton Voisin asked whether an extension could be granted by FEMA for the parish to look for another contractor. He cited “possible improprieties” committed by Beck personnel during previous debris removal work.
“Beck does good work but the people sent here are the problem,” said Councilman Billy Hebert.
Parish President Michel Claudet said the structures to be demolished are a blight and he was concerned about meeting the deadline.
“I don’t take the accusations lightly,” he said, “but it’s a big company with a good reputation.”
Gordon said the Parish Planning and Zoning Department was recommending Beck. The parish would have to go through another procurement process looking for another contractor, he said.
Clayton Voisin, Hebert and Councilwoman Arlanda Williams voted against amending the contract for Beck.
Beck vice president Nate Counsell said he arrived from Orlando in response to the July 20 committee meeting. He said Beck has been working with the parish since Hurricane Lili in 2002 on obtaining reimbursement from FEMA.
“We try to do a good job,” Counsell said.
The recent purchase of Beck Disaster Recovery’s parent company R.W. Beck by SAIC will not affect the company’s contract with Terrebonne, Counsell said.
“I request you monitor your monitors,” Williams told Counsell. “I suggest you monitor documents, anything we can do to clear this should be done before the Sept. 15 deadline.”
Also at last week’s meetings, the Policy, Procedure, and Legal Committee gave the parish administration 45 days to come up with recommendations on bringing some full-time employees and volunteers working in Terrebonne’s fire and recreation districts into the parish’s insurance plan.
Councilman Johnny Pizzolatto, who supports the measure, said employees would pay the full cost and would be committed for five years.
Insurance coverage costs the parish $12 million yearly, according to Parish Manager Al Levron. The policy has a mechanism for expanding coverage, he said.
Several council members cautioned that covering additional personnel could cause existing premiums to rise.
“I’d love to see some of these people in,” Clayton Voisin said. However, premiums for firefighters could be different for people in less dangerous jobs, he said.
During the Public Services Committee meeting, the committee approved a $2 million federal stimulus grant to improve transportation in Terrebonne. Parish Public Works Director Greg Bush said approval of the grant by the Department of Transportation was faster than expected, so an add-on was placed on the agenda. Suggestions for using the money included building sidewalks and adding a new bus route from Summerfield to the main library.
Wendell Voisin, Terrebonne’s public transit administrator, told the committee a new $2.3 million parish transit office and maintenance facility is being constructed in East Houma, funded by the Federal Transit Administration.
