For Immediate Release, Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Contact:  Suzanne Parsons Stymiest @ 985-898-5243

 

State of the Parish  – June 2006
Parish President Kevin Davis
 

It is my goal to give to you, the citizens of St. Tammany, a report on the status of our parish. 

In 2005, we experienced the worst natural disaster in American history.  We also experienced generosity, heroism and kindness, exemplifying the best of both St. Tammany citizens and the citizens of the world.  It is now nine months since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in our parish, forever changing the face of our St. Tammany.

Hurricane Katrina struck St. Tammany with unimaginable force.  Over 48,000 homes were damaged.  Every road in the parish was impassable.  Over 7 square miles of protective marsh land was lost. 

Due to communications breakdowns in the aftermath of Katrina, many citizens are still unaware of the catastrophic damage that occurred in every corner of St. Tammany Parish.  From the terrible flooding on our coast line to the wind damage across the parish, no part of our parish went undamaged.

Within three days, 90 percent of our roads were opened for emergency traffic, all our hospitals were accessible, and utility crews were on the ground working. 

Then, in a strange twist of fate, while many are still without proper homes, St. Tammany experienced a population boom that far exceeded our 2010 population projections.

We are all still recovering from Katrina.  Some of us are still without homes or jobs.  Many are housing friends and relatives from our neighboring parishes who are unable to return home.  Many are mourning lost friends and relatives.

While Katrina was the most significant event of the past year, it is not the only 2005 event shaping the future of St. Tammany Parish.

2005 began with the adoption of our 10-Year Capital Infrastructure Plan, the result of several years of research and planning by the administration.  The Parish Council adopted this plan to guide our road development, drainage improvements, utility improvements and cultural resource development through 2015.

Because of our increased population, we are now fast-tracking our ten-year plan.  Using the dedicated road sales tax that you renewed last summer, we are moving ahead on a number of road projects to ease traffic congestion.  Some of these roads include:

• Connecting Airport Road, west of Slidell,  to Highway 11
• Widening Allen Road, east of Slidell
• Extending Falconer Drive and Emerald Forest Blvd,  south of Covington
• Adding turn lanes where Hwy 1085 meets 1077 and also Hwy 21
• Widening Helenbirg Drive, Brewster road and Brownswitch road

In all, 27 capacity road projects are being processed for 2007 construction.   These projects will improve traffic flow on these roads. For a complete list of road projects, check the parish website at www.stpgov.org.

In addition, 89 parish roads will be overlaid or improved in 2006.  These roads are located across St. Tammany Parish.

In April, the Parish Council approved $170 million in road projects to be supported by a combination of local, state & federal funds to expedite road construction in St. Tammany. 

The projects will be built in phases.  The first phase of $50 million will begin in 2006. This phase will be funded by a bond issue from existing taxes. No taxes will be raised.

We are also working cooperatively with the State Department of Transportation and Development to improve state roads in St. Tammany Parish.  All numbered roads in the parish are state roads, such as Highways 11, 22 and 190. In 2001, the State of Louisiana only spent $9 million on state road improvement in our parish, while we sent approximately $25 million to the state in gasoline taxes. 

At the end of 2002, we began our Road Warrior campaign to bring our gasoline taxes back to St. Tammany Parish.   DOTD has allocated $47 million in St. Tammany Road improvements to date in 2006.  An additional $379 million is allocated for a new I-10 bridge over Lake Pontchartrain, An additional ten St. Tammany projects are scheduled for bid by DOTD in 2006.

Drainage is a major concern in St. Tammany.  At this time, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Coast Guard, and FEMA are all helping St. Tammany clear existing waterways.  Projects are underway in all areas of the parish, affecting every major parish watershed.  You can track the status of these projects on our website. 

The Louisiana Fish & Wildlife Service opened the West Pearl River for us after Katrina.  However, we continue to see high water on the river.  We just completed a reconnaissance of the Pearl River basin and have identified additional projects to relieve the water levels in the West Pearl River and adjoining areas.  We are seeking federal assistance at this time to undertake these projects.

In addition, our public works crews continue cleaning roadside ditches and laterals.  They have worked continuously on this project since Katrina struck.

We do not have the manpower or funding to clean every ditch in St. Tammany Parish.

You can help us with the project.  Please clean the drainage ways in front of your property. We need to keep these ditches clean from debris so that water will flow freely away from homes and businesses.  Everyone needs to pitch in and help with this project.

Please help elderly or disabled neighbors who cannot clean the drainage ditches in front of their homes.  If we all work together, we will improve our safety in the coming summer.

If your civic group or homeowner’s association wants to hold a neighborhood clean up day, please call our Department of Environmental Services at 898-2535.  We will provide free trash bags for your clean up project and lend you gloves and litter grabbers for the day.

We have picked up over 8 million cubic yards of storm debris, parish-wide.  We are beginning to wind down the debris pick up program with the goal of finishing before June 30^th.  

Another major project to keep St. Tammany clean involves the consolidation of wastewater treatment.  It is our goal to develop five major, regional wastewater treatment facilities in St. Tammany Parish that will process household waste in an environmentally safe manner.

As each regional facility comes on line, we will be able to reduce the number of septic tanks and other household treatment plants that are discharging into ditches.  In 2005 alone, St. Tammany Parish inspected over 1900 treatment plants. 

We are working with both federal and state agencies to provide funding for regional wastewater treatment projects in both the Mandeville and the East Slidell areas.  These projects have been recognized by the LA Speaks Recovery plan as projects having a high impact because they deal directly with the after effects of Katrina.

During the past seven months, I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to continue improving our emergency operations plans.  When Katrina hit, we implemented the emergency plan that was six years in the making.  It worked.  We are making it work even better with improved recovery response, improved communications, and expanded scope.

St. Tammany is recovering faster than many of our neighbors.  Many people share the responsibility for that recovery.  I want to acknowledge

• all of our first responders
• the American Red Cross
• our churches
• the men and women who worked tirelessly manning the Emergency Operations Center

and all the citizens of St. Tammany Parish who followed evacuation and return orders.  Everyone played an important role.

As we continue to clean up after the storm and assist citizens to the best of our ability, St. Tammany Parish is looking to the future by speeding up the implementation of key projects in the 10 Year Plan, and launching economic development projects to assist businesses in keeping jobs in our parish and region.

Many of you have asked about levee protection for St. Tammany Parish.  We have held a series of meetings with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop the concept for levee protection for St. Tammany Parish. 

It was important that we meet with the Corps on this issue early in their conceptual design process.  Any levee system for St. Tammany Parish must include moveable components at key locations.  Storm water must drain freely from St. Tammany except in the case of tidal surges.  Levees need gating structures, such as are used in Europe, to allow storm water to flow freely to the Gulf.    I am optimistic after our initial meetings and am waiting to see the Corps of Engineers’ conceptual plans.

The conceptual plans are scheduled to be delivered to Congress this summer.  Federal agencies could take further action on a levee system as early as next fall. 

This winter, as another part of our comprehensive recovery process, we held a daylong planning session to discuss economic development issues.  Leaders of local businesses, governments, community groups and non-profit organizations participated in the sessions.

The ideas growing from this event include:

• infrastructure improvement projects to alleviate traffic congestion and encourage business growth;
• re-examining zoning to stimulate the development of environmentally responsible and community-friendly housing;
• creating partnerships among education institutions at all levels to provide a solid training base and a seamless transition from elementary school all the way through college;
• matching employers with potential employees;
• and expanding healthcare services for all sectors of the population. 

Many other ideas and projects are in the works to address improvements to our quality of life.

We have continued improvements to our Emergency Operations Center.  We have added additional communications channels, improved our operations and expanded our preparations for the summer storm season.  We have taken the lessons of Katrina and used them to make us stronger.

For the 2006 Storm Season, WWL Radio, 870 AM, one of the official State of Louisiana emergency information radio stations, will have the ability to broadcast live from our Emergency Operations Center.  We have also improved our internet backbone and are working on partnerships with other media to ensure St. Tammany’s ability to get information to all our citizens.  Please remember to monitor Access St. Tammany, Cable Channel 10, and our website, www.stpgov.org, for St. Tammany emergency information.  This channel also broadcasts live from our Emergency Operations Center.

If St. Tammany citizens evacuate, they may call 1-866-898-2323 for re-entry information after a storm.  The parish will also post re-entry information on our website, www.stpgov.org.

Hurricanes Cindy, Katrina and Rita were a catalyst for change in St. Tammany.  We have approximately 60,000 new residents in our parish.  To those new residents who have taken refuge with us, we welcome you, and hope you will find comfort in St. Tammany until you are able to rebuild your homes.  

To all the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy, thank you for keeping your business in St. Tammany.   To those businesses that have taken refuge with us in St. Tammany, you are welcome for as long as you wish to stay.

It is important that we look at recovery regionally.  Southeastern Louisiana needs businesses on both shores.  We need to work together.  The rebuilding of eastern St. Tammany Parish is as important to our entire region as the rebuilding of St. Bernard Parish, New Orleans East and the Ninth Ward.

Every resident, every business, every community, counts.

I want to publicly thank the employees of St. Tammany Parish who worked tirelessly this past year under very difficult conditions.  They have demonstrated the best in public service.

I want to salute the members of our Finance Department who have received the highest award available for excellence in governmental accounting for two consecutive years. 

This April, Standard and Poor's reconfirmed St. Tammany Parish’s  A+ sales tax bond rating. This is particularly good news since many public bodies in the hurricane affected areas have been downgraded. A high bond rating means that we pay less interest when we need to borrow funds, thus saving taxpayers thousands of dollars in interest payments.

On behalf of all the citizens of St. Tammany and all those who have taken refuge with us, I want to thank the churches and non-profit organizations who continue to provide aid to storm victims.  You were there when we were most in need.  We cannot adequately thank you.

In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, the leaders of St. Tammany met every morning at the Louisiana Heart Hospital to coordinate relief operations.  Madisonville loaned gas utility parts to Abita Springs, Pearl River sent Sun a generator, and emergency personnel from across the parish converged on the flooded areas of Slidell and eastern St.  Tammany.  Mayors, council representatives, deputies and police all worked as a team.  We may have regional differences, but when it really counted, St. Tammany acted as one parish with one goal:  To rebuild together. 

I am proud to serve as your Parish President during this time.  I pledge to continue to work with you to build excellence in St. Tammany Parish… every single day.

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