P.O. Box 24378 New Orleans, LA 70184 504.324.2270
District Five Recovery News
Minutes From Infrastructure Committee 4/11/06
The District 5 meeting that was held on Saturday 4/8/06 at Mount Carmel Cafeteria was very well attended by a standing room only crowd. An outline of what the Infrastructure Committee has been able to accomplish in getting information on the state of utilities, transportation, community facilities and storm demolition/clean up in Lakeview was presented. A grass roots group from California also gave short talks on their experiences with recovery from fires that plaque some parts of the state. They agreed that volunteering in each of their groups played a big part in the success that they each had with government funding.
S&WB: There was no reply to the letter sent to the S&WB outlining Lakeview’s problems, there will be a follow up. Water leaks are getting worse and all S&WB projects are on hold.
POSTAL SERVICE: Mail delivery with the rural type curb side mail boxes will be a problem if a car is parked in front of your box when the mail carrier comes by. Will the carrier get out of the truck and put mail in the curb side box is still an issue.
Placing mail boxes in alleys could interfere with debris clean up in back and side yards.
PORTABLE COMMUNITY ADMINISTRATIVE TRAILERS: The mayor’s office has confirmed that District 5 will receive 2 trailers out of the 9 total that FEMA will locate throughout the area. Possible locations are, Delgado Campus and either Harrison Ave. or the Robert E. Lee Shopping Center parking lot which has been offered for use. We are working with the owners of the shopping center on which location will be best. A meeting is scheduled with FEMA on Wednesday 4/12/06 to finalize plans for the delivery of the trailers. Computer equipment and other furnishings for each trailer are ready to be loaded as soon as the trailers are delivered and hooked up.
An essential training session for persons that will be training volunteers is scheduled for Wednesday, 4/19/06 at 11:00AM in the Council Chamber of City Hall. No more than 3 persons from each district are requested to attend this training that should not last more than 2 hours.
EPA:
WATER: Drinking water is okay, except on the lower side of the Industrial Canal. Testing was done by Department of Hospitals. A lot of purified water is being produced. Water pressure is kept high so if water comes to a hole it can get out but other things cannot get in.
SOIL: According to the EPA, lead problems still exist but they are minimal. A good way to change the composition of the soil is to cover with 1 inch of spillway soil. There are also plants that can help with this process.
AIR QUALITY: Depends on where you are. Be careful around household debris. A good tip is to use ground cover plants.
DEMOLITION PERMITS: As of the week ending 4/7/06, 26 new permits were issued bringing the total to 280. Work of all kinds seems to be on the increase in Lakeview, demolitions and new rebuilding included.
FIRE STATIONS: The Harrison Ave. fire house is open with 3 firemen living in a used bunkhouse trailer behind the firehouse. Harrison needs lots of work. It was in bad condition pre-Katrina. There are live termites thru out the building. Robert E. Lee still needs keys. Firemen are still sleeping at a Lakeview Church since the middle of December. Robert E. Lee does not need as much work as Harrison and would take about 2 months to refurbish, possibly with residents volunteering to do some of the work, but materials are still needed. There is a website being put together for help for the firemen.
COX COMMUNICATIONS: The weekly hotline has not been updated since March 20th. Cox is however about to shift into high gear, more information will be forthcoming.
BELLSOUTH: On 4/9/06 BellSouth announced a Wireless Broadband Internet Service with expanded coverage in Lakeview. Wireless does not use a phone but operates on radio frequency. It uses a modem with a battery pack and cancellation is possible within 30 days if the signal is not good. A fixed wireless voice offer will begin 4/19/06. Both plans are temporary and may be canceled at any time.