St. Bernard's Grand Ballroom Receives Additional FEMA Funding
Release Date: January 26, 2009
Release Number: 1603-831
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ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. -- While St. Bernard Parish's grand ballroom is completely repaired and has held community events since its reopening last August, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has continued to work diligently to ensure that all repair-work costs associated with the community facility are fully reimbursed.
"After close coordination with local and state officials, FEMA is happy to provide the maximum federal funding for all restoration work to the parish's grand ballroom," said Jim Stark, director of FEMA's Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office. "The ballroom and the St. Bernard Civic Center provide a gathering place for community members to come together and enjoy social events."
The 14,000 square foot grand ballroom, which is located in the St. Bernard Parish Civic Center, will receive more than $3.7 million in additional federal public assistance grants to cover the actual costs of the repair work. Repair work to the grand ballroom included the installation of new kitchen equipment, lighting and sound systems and upgrades for handicap accessibility, which were all completely funded by FEMA.
The repaired grand ballroom has been greatly utilized since its reopening nearly 6 months ago, providing a place for community banquets, dances and even a toy give-away this past Christmas. The St. Bernard Parish community can also look forward to future events at the ballroom, including a Super Bowl party, the Knights of Nemesis pre-parade party, the Lourdes Ball and an Islenos dinner, which are all currently scheduled to take place in February.
Counting the recent additional federal funding of $3.7 million, FEMA has provided more than $4.9 million in total to date toward the restoration of the St. Bernard Parish Civic Center.
When project funds are obligated by FEMA through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are transferred to a federal Smartlink account. Once the funds have reached this account the applicant can request reimbursement from the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) for eligible work completed. 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.
During his first day in office, Governor Bobby Jindal issued an Executive Order directing the LRA to be responsible for the state's actions with regard to FEMA's Public Assistance program. The LRA is working in conjunction with GOHSEP and its federal partners to identify ways to streamline the Public Assistance process and improve efficiency, with the ultimate goal of cutting in half the length of time that applications spend in the process.
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, 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: Thursday, 29-Jan-2009 12:35:17