St. Bernard Parish - Community Involvement

Executive Summary

The St. Bernard Citizens Recovery Committee (CRC) was established by resolution of the St. Bernard Parish Council to guide the recovery planning effort after Katrina. The CRC membership has daily contact with parish residents, and has sponsored public input and outreach with LTCR assistance. Additionally, LTCR staff has actively engaged department heads and other parish personnel, as well as the Port of  St. Bernard, Parish Planning Commission and private businesses in the development of the recovery plan. LTCR and the CRC have operated as a team to develop public input and create the LTCR Plan.

For a parish that was physically decimated and lost 100 percent of its population, businesses and public institutions, the local community has risen up to chart its future in ways that are not fully appreciated. The scope of recovery has sometimes obscured the results of five months work since Katrina. The CRC has implemented its own outreach and planning efforts to enhance LTCR activities. Already, a grant has been submitted to support medical activities, LTCR projects have already been presented for Parish Council consideration. The public will have the opportunity to see its input reflected in the projects and have additional opportunity for comment. A CRC newsletter is prepared to go to the dispersed population, and the CRC is beginning with LTCR assistance to issue weekly press releases on the progress of recovery and the outcomes of the planning process.

There is no question that LTCR, the CRC, local government, and the general public have been engaged in a dynamic process that is laying the groundwork for recovery and creating a blueprint for long-term development. Local buy-in to the LTCR process is high and will continue to benefit the process and citizens of St. Bernard Parish.

Local Stakeholders Involvement

St. Bernard Parish was 100 percent flooded, and its citizens were dispersed across the country. In cooperation with the CRC, LTCR has made extensive efforts to include individual citizens and the leadership of the parish in our planning process. LTCR has reached out to parish officials through formal and informal contacts designed to both inform and elicit input for the planning process.

The CRC members have been the primary conduit for continuing contact with parish elected officials. However, LTCR has also maintained contact with council members in informal conversations and updates on our activities, including a facilitated planning session held exclusively for the Council. LTCR has reached out to include other non-elected officials in our process. Listed below is a partial list of individuals and agencies which have been included in LTCR:

St. Bernard Parish

• Parish President
• Parish Council
• Planning Department, Department of Public Works, Emergency Operations Program, Coastal Zone Management, Port of St. Bernard

Education

• St. Bernard Unified School District
• Nunez Community College

State of Louisiana

• State Sen. Walter Boasso

Non-Profit and Service Organizations

• St. Bernard Kiwanis Foundation
• St. Bernard Chamber of Commerce
• St. Bernard Tourist Commission

Business and Industry

• Regions Bank, Hibernia Bank
• Exxon-Mobil
• Boasso America
• Commercial fisheries
• Open door policy for the public
• Public input events in addition to Planning Day
• CRC attendance at public forums and events outside St. Bernard Parish

Local Committee / Task Force

The CRC is composed of 38 parish residents representing a broad background of experience and expertise. This group of citizens has depended on LTCR to structure, facilitate and assist in implementation of their planning process. By the same token, the efforts of the CRC have made the gathering of public input possible to an extent that would not have otherwise been possible.

The CRC developed work groups of its members based on the original LTCR categories of housing, economic development, coastal protection, education and workforce, environment and public safety, financial outreach and stability, infrastructure and transportation, and public health. These workgroups met at least weekly since October, 2005, and have spent long hours on their respective assignments. The work groups and the executive committee of the CRC have encouraged participation of the general public and invited individual experts and parish officials to address recovery concerns of the parish. All meetings have been open to the public.

The CRC has made public input a priority. It has its own website, has planned and executed public information gathering events with additional events planned, reached out to various constituencies (i.e. environmental, fisheries), and spent countless hours in personal communication with parish citizens. Furthermore, the CRC has raised $200,000 on its own to pursue planning and other recovery-related activities.

The CRC is recognized as the citizens’ voice and has demonstrated independence in keeping with this responsibility. Yet it has maintained continual contact with parish officials and will submit the LTCR plan for adoption to the Council. The CRC has formally endorsed a list of LTCR projects developed by the individual workgroups and will present the projects to the Council on Feb. 20.

Input Events

St Bernard Public Citizens Meeting (Dec. 11, 2005) Approximately 120 St. Bernard Parish residents came to the courthouse to share their input on large easels. Their ideas were tabulated into a worksheet and included in the visioning exercises for later development

Governmental Workshop Meeting (Dec. 12, 2005) Forty people integral to the process of governing the parish attended a meeting held on the Scotia Prince Cruise Ship to share their ideas regarding recovery issues. All ideas were tabulated into a worksheet and included in the visioning exercises for later development.

Facilitated Parish Council Planning Workshop (Dec. 17, 2005) The St Bernard Parish Council, the LTCR Team Lead and other staff held an open public meeting at the St. Bernard Parish Governmental Complex Building to discuss long-term recovery issues. This input also was included in early plan development.

Back to Business Workshop (Jan. 7, 2006) Over 110 small business owners interested in returning to St Bernard gathered at the St Bernard Parish Courthouse to engage in SWOT Analysis, open-ended questions, and discussion. This information was added to the visioning exercise for the Economic Development Sub-Committee.

Louisiana Recovery Planning Day (Jan. 21, 2006) About 160 St Bernard Citizens walked through six stations that gathered issues, choices, treasures and vision. The tabulated information was sent to the central LTCR office in Baton Rouge and it formed the basis for Louisiana Speaks Bulletin #3 being used as an educational piece.

Day-to-day interaction with local decision-makers, general public

As mentioned, the CRC has been the primary conduit to elected officials and LTCR the primary conduit to department heads and boards. This division of labor has allowed the CRC to maintain the confidence of elected officials and allowed LTCR to gather hard data and other necessary planning information. However, LTCR members have recurring contact with council members and the parish president. We communicate daily with parish department heads and have set up numerous appointments to discuss recovery. We have been able to assist department personnel with information and maps secured through LTCR.

The general public is welcomed into the storefront daily to inspect the planning maps reflecting CRC work and Louisiana Recovery Planning Day results which cover the interior walls of our storefront trailers. LTCR had the assistance of  FEMA Community Relations in the distribution of  invitation flyers to residents inside the parish for Planning Day/Storefront Grand Opening.

Local leadership of implementation

The Kiwanis Foundation is the fiduciary agent for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant request for emergency operating capital for the medical community. The Parish Redevelopment Commission will be responsible for implementing redevelopment and new activities involving federal and state funds. The local medical community is working with the Franciscan Order to implement the proposed medical village. The Parish president and department heads, Planning Commission and the Port of St. Bernard officials are involved and knowledgeable of LTCR projects and will be oriented to implementation responsibilities. Although there are issues with parish implementation capacity, the CRC is expected to continue as an advisory body to the council.

For a parish that was physically decimated and lost 100 percent of its population, businesses and public institutions, the local community has risen up to chart its future in ways that are not fully appreciated. The scope of recovery has sometimes obscured the results of five months work since Katrina. The CRC has implemented its own outreach and planning efforts to enhance LTCR activities. Already, a grant has been submitted to support medical activities, LTCR projects have already been presented for Parish Council consideration. The public will have the opportunity to see its input reflected in the projects and have additional opportunity for comment. A CRC newsletter is prepared to go to the dispersed population, and the CRC is beginning with LTCR assistance to issue weekly press releases on the progress of recovery and the outcomes of the planning process.

There is no question that LTCR, the CRC, local government, and the general public have been engaged in a dynamic process that is laying the groundwork for recovery and creating a blueprint for long-term development. Local buy-in to the LTCR process is high and will continue to benefit the process and citizens of St. Bernard Parish.

View the Parish Summary Page from Louisiana Planning Day (PDF)