Iberia Parish - Community Involvement

Executive Summary

The parish storefront opened the week before Christmas, after the Dec. 13 Governmental Workshop.  Introductory presentations and meetings were conducted during January with the Chamber of Commerce, the Industrial Development Foundation, councils, stakeholders and non-profits. At this time, an overall involvement strategy was created with parish leadership, and a set of prominent, diverse stakeholders was identified to provide direction on the five recovery areas. 

This process has brought people and partnerships together across the parish.  People, businesses and organizations in the parish have embraced the LTCR process, have expressed their support, and given freely of their time.  Community involvement has been the central element in all work to date.

The Recovery Planning Day was particularly enjoyed by the 70 attending.  The results were mailed to more than 200 community leaders and have been received with widespread interest, leading to more inquiries and requests for presentations or information

Stakeholders

Local Government

• elected officials
• government staff
• parish OEP
• sewer district, engineers, and permit staff
• school board members and superintendents
• Acadiana Regional Airport, Iberia Port Authority & Twin Ports Authority Board members, engineers and directors

Non-Profit, Community

• Rebuild Iberia (faith-based housing and human service consortium)
• United Way, ARC & Interfaith Distribution Center

Business, Industry and Other

• Iberia Chamber of Commerce Board and director
• Iberia Industrial Development Foundation director and board (bipartisan board with representation from all parish governments and business interests)
• Louisiana State University Agricultural Research, Extension & Sea Grant Center
• banking, insurance and real estate professionals
• Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Southern Mutual Help
• area architects, developers and engineers
• State Wildlife and Fisheries
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Louisiana Department of Labor
• small business owners
• general public

Local Committee / Task Force

The Working Groups began meeting after Planning Recovery Day in January, 2006.

• Working Group meetings occurred weekly or as needed during February.
• Parish team members established informal drop-in’s and phone contacts with working group members and other stakeholders.
• Team members and local meeting sponsors led meetings.
• Working groups reviewed and provided input on all phases of plan creation, project ideas, recovery goals, priorities establishment, and lent overall support to the draft plan.

Input Events

• Scoping Meeting (November 2005)
• Governmental Workshop (December 2005)
• Louisiana Recovery Planning Day (January 2006)

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

Parish team members participated in town and parish meetings, and had additional working meetings with the towns of Jeanerette, Loreauville and Delcambre. 

The storefront is on Main Street next to the Chamber of Commerce, across the street from the IDF, and around the corner from the parish courthouse and the United Methodist Rebuild Iberia meeting room.  Regular visitors on a daily basis and casual interaction with our neighbors occur at their offices on a weekly basis.  Maps and Recovery Day materials remain posted and visible in the front work area, and people stop in to ask questions and peer in the windows during the day.

Several Work Groups meet at the storefront and interaction between members occurs long after the meetings disband. The Main Street location brings people in, and new stakeholders introduce themselves almost daily after they are referred to us by others in the community.

Local leadership of implementation

Projects and plans were developed with local stakeholders and organizations.  While the parish chief administrative officer and emergency management coordinator have taken on the primary responsibility for responding to the hurricanes, parish and town governments currently lack sufficient staff resources to take on implementation of the LTCR Plan.   The parish does not currently have planning, zoning, an adopted hazard mitigation plan, or the ability to implement the required International Building Code.  One of the recovery plan programming priorities is to establish a planning organization that can receive the LTCR work when storefront closes.

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