Harrison County Long Term Recovery Plan Rollout Set
Release Date: August 25, 2006
Release Number: 1604-429
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BILOXI, Miss. -- Harrison County's Long Term Recovery Plan will be unveiled to the county's Board of Supervisors and the community at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28, at the Harrison County Courthouse in Gulfport . Jae Park, chief policy analyst for the Governor's Office for Recovery and Renewal and Robert Haywood, senior community planner with FEMA's Long Term Recovery Planning group, will lead the discussion of the plan.
The plan was developed by the State of Mississippi with the assistance of the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). At the state's request, FEMA gathered input for the plan through a series of community meetings, focus groups and interviews with elected officials and citizens of the Harrison County community.
The plan provides major advantages to aid Harrison County in the recovery and rebuilding process:
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It lists the projects the community identified as critical to the recovery process.
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It provides information needed by policy makers and managers to implement their comprehensive plans, area plans and, perhaps, downtown development plans.
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When Harrison County approaches the state for funding of projects, the state will look to see if the proposed project is in the Long Term Recovery plan.
Additionally, the state of Mississippi is evaluating the feasibility of placing recovery managers and financial resources in communities to help them develop projects and find funding sources for their recovery and rebuilding efforts.
The five major categories identified in the Harrison County plan are economic development, housing, infrastructure, public services and emergency services.
"Harrison County suffered significant damage to its schools, industry and housing," said Nick Russo, federal coordinating officer for the Mississippi disaster recovery. "For example, more than 24,000 homes were substantially damaged or destroyed. While there has been enormous improvement, much is left to do. The Long Term Recovery Plan for the county addresses the critical needs the community has identified as essential to full recovery."
"Throughout this disaster, Harrison County officials along with General Joe Spraggins, emergency management director, have done an outstanding job in making sure they are doing everything possible to help their citizens by taking an active role in the recovery process," said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Interim Director Mike Womack.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 31, 2003.
Last Modified: Friday, 25-Aug-2006 10:06:36