Biloxi Begins Work On Small Craft Harbor On September 17
Release Date: September 18, 2007
Release Number: 1604-594
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BILOXI, Miss. -- Community leaders, residents, visitors and boating enthusiasts look forward to Sept. 17 when a $6.5 million FEMA Public Assistance project begins to reconstruct the city’s Hurricane Katrina-ravaged small craft harbor.
“Waterfront access is vital to a city like Biloxi, which is on a peninsula,” Mayor A.J. Holloway said. “It’s important to our local boat owners, to our residents and to our millions of visitors, and we’re very happy that this FEMA project is going to return one of our most important assets.”
The grant and impending construction are overt signs that demonstrate Mississippi’s steady recovery from the Aug. 29, 2005, storm. The harbor construction is one of many funded projects in the partnership of FEMA, the state, and local officials in recovery efforts. To date FEMA has obligated more than $15.6 million toward repair and restoration of Biloxi harbors, docks and piers.
“This partnership is the engine driving the Public Assistance program,” said Sid Melton, director of the FEMA Mississippi Transitional Recovery Office. “Public Assistance is helping to fuel the recovery.”
Holloway said “boats (owners) had to seek whatever dock facilities they could find. Some went up the river (Tchoutacabouffa); others had to operate using generators that use diesel fuel that was scarce right after Katrina hit.”
David Staehling, Biloxi’s director of administration, said that FEMA’s Public Assistance Committee has been great to work with. “With a storm of this magnitude and a recovery of this scale, you’re going have issues, but throughout this process we haven’t had any issues that we haven’t been able to work out. It’s been a great effort, and it’s going to show a great return for both the local community and the taxpayers across the country,” Staehling said.
The FEMA-funded work – part of the more than $140 million obligated to Biloxi – will be done by L&A Contracting of Hattiesburg, the firm that originally constructed the harbor 35 years ago. Design and construction specifications were done by Wink Engineering of Biloxi.
As part of the work, the depth of the small craft harbor’s 141 slips will be dredged to 11 feet, and its two main east-west piers will have concrete-encased utility lines and topped with wooden decking. The boat launch at the harbor will remain open as long as safely possible during the project.
“The contractor promises to work to keep this ramp open as long as it’s safe,” said Frankie Duggan, manager of the city’s harbors and marinas.
Three of Biloxi’s public docking facilities – Point Cadet Marina, the commercial docking facility adjacent to the small craft harbor, and the Lighthouse Commercial Docks on Back Bay – were operating in a makeshift fashion weeks after the storm.
Before Katrina, Biloxi offered more than 500 public slips, including 425 for recreational boaters and 91 for commercial vessels. Today, that number is 141 fewer, with the small craft harbor out of commission. Work on rebuilding the small craft harbor’s fuel dock and bait shop, and refurbishing the Port Division administrative offices will be included in separate projects.
“The program’s tool is the project worksheet or PW,” said Melton. “The PW is a dynamic record of the life of the grant. It’s used to collect information and provide justification for the project. It’s subject to change; cost estimates may need to be adjusted.”
Public Assistance programs pay for eligible land debris removal, for emergency protective measures, repair of eligible roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and equipment, utilities, parks and other recreational facilities.
To date, FEMA has approved more than 20,000 PWs submitted by Mississippi, obligating more than $2.2 billion for the state’s recovery.
“The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has disbursed about $1.2 billion in FEMA funds to applicants,” said Mike Womack, director of MEMA. “We’ve assigned staff to assist with the PW process and accountants to help gather documentation to) satisfy our requirements. It’s a complex process but ensures fairness and accuracy. Grant monies are continually released.”
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: Tuesday, 18-Sep-2007 21:51:09