Orleans Parish Prison Restoration Gets FEMA's Financial Backing
Release Date: May 23, 2007
Release Number: 1603-641
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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The ongoing restoration of the Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans has gained a foothold. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has recently obligated funds to repair the four-story building, which became uninhabitable after Hurricane Katrina flooded it with five feet of water.
The 700-bed jail, almost filled to capacity at the time of the storm, suffered major damages affecting the housing of the maximum security inmates for which it is designed. This situation is expected to change in a few weeks. The prison will resume normal operations immediately after repairs are completed in July, said Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman.
"The Orleans Parish Prison is critical for the public's safety and is a key facility in the safe provision of court services. Its adjacency to the criminal court building is essential in securely transporting inmates to and from the court building through literally a tunnel system," said Gusman, whose office manages the jail. "The restoration of the beds at the Orleans Parish Prison will reestablish our full court service capacity and will allow us to give court access to a greater number of inmates per day."
In fact, the movement of inmates to the courtrooms has already improved thanks to repairs to holding cells and passageways completed in January.
The inmates' cells on the facility's second to fourth floors did not flood. However, the water destroyed the ground floor-used for receiving and processing inmates, receiving food services and visiting with the public-including its architectural structures and fire suppression, mechanical, plumbing, ventilation and electrical systems. The heating and air conditioning, jail control systems and locking devices for the whole building were run from the ground floor as well.
Almost $5.2 million in recently obligated FEMA monies will reimburse the city of New Orleans, which owns the prison building, for repairs to the 85-year-old Orleans Parish Prison. This brings the total obligated to the prison to nearly $13.4 million.
When projects are obligated by FEMA through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are transferred to a Smartlink account. This allows the applicant, in this case the city of New Orleans, to work with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as quickly as possible to access the reimbursement monies. The state may require additional documentation from the applicant before disbursing the funds. Obligated funds may change over time as the project worksheet is a living grant that is often adjusted as bids come in and scope of work is aligned.
The Orleans Parish Prison is the oldest facility in the parish's Criminal Sheriff's Office complex, which includes 12 prison facilities and several administrative buildings.
"FEMA has been a vital participant in the assessment, recovery and rebuilding process of the Sheriff's Office and the prison system," said Gusman.
The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations' buildings and recreation centers, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 23-May-2007 11:15:40