Jefferson Davis Parish--Priority Issues

Economic and Workforce Development

• Modest economic base slows disaster recovery efforts.
• Good paying jobs are needed to re-attract the migrated labor force.        
• A more diverse, skilled and technically proficient workforce is needed.

Flood Protection & Coastal Restoration

• Prevent repeated localized flooding.
• Stagnant water acting as insect breeding ground and source of disease.
• Address the fact that multiple boards manage what is functionally a single system.
• Need to improve wetlands & wildlife habitat protection.

Human Services

• Seniors on fixed income are not currently able to afford direct living expenses due to costs associated with hurricane damage, even with assistance from the Louisiana Senior Relief Fund.
• Buses were not able to transport bedridden patients.
• Lack of medically equipped vehicles to evacuate the sick and elderly.
• Elderly and disabled lacked transportation to access to Disaster Recovery Centers, medical help and food stores.

Public Health & Healthcare

• American Legion Hospital had extremely limited capabilities (emergency power and safe floor space) to provide emergency and humanitarian care during and after the incident.
• Southwest Louisiana War Veterans home was without power for 161 senior citizens.

Public Safety

• Lack of sufficient and adequately prepared evacuation shelters to handle the volume of evacuees.
• Lack of basic services at the few "shelters of last resort."
• Lack of coordination/communication between shelters.
• Limited facilities to house personnel who were the last ones to leave the southern Parishes and the first ones to return.
• Lack of sufficiently sized and adequately prepared Emergency Operations Centers (EOC).
• Inadequate satellite linkage and alternate cell towers prevented communication between emergency response teams and hindered their efforts.

Transportation & Infrastructure

• Emergency and general operational capacity of water and sewer utilities is a threat to public health and safety and constraint on growth. 
• Emergency evacuation routes do not meet the required standards to handle emergency evacuations.
• Insufficient manpower to enable the Parish to create contra-flow operations on their north-south evacuation routes.
• Many Parish roads are gravel and do not allow for alternate routes of evacuation or fast response times for emergency vehicles.
• Lack of a strategic plan for transportation to be upgraded to accommodate emergency situations and growth from the hurricane evacuees.
• Lack of zoning or building codes anywhere in parish except Jennings.
• Lack of trained personnel to enforce the building codes recently approved by the State, or the money to pay them.

Housing & Community Redevelopment

• Lake Arthur is a beachfront tourist destination -- restoration and protection of the beach is critical.
• The downtown business district needs to be redeveloped and flood protection provided.
• The Town of Lake Arthur cannot provide a high level of public services due to storm damage to public buildings.
• Need improved flood protection for waterfront district neighborhoods that are key to economic recovery and potential location of residents displaced from Cameron and other parishes.
• Additional housing, jobs & other services are required to meet both temporary and permanent needs of evacuees and the desire of existing residents to secure safe communities.