FEMA agrees to build new senior center

Senior citizens in the parish got some good news Wednesday from Slidell Mayor Ben Morris.

After three years of fighting the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Morris told members of the East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce he had just received a letter from FEMA stating it would start a work order to demolish the storm-damaged Senior Citizens Center near Hollow Possum Park and replace it with a brand new building.

Getting the senior center back into operation after Hurricane Katrina has been an ongoing battle for Morris and the Council on Aging for St. Tammany.

The storm tore off half the roof to the center, and it took several feet of water three years ago. Since that time, senior citizens, who used the center to get together with fellow seniors for recreation, food and education, have had to use several local churches as meeting places. However, COAST Executive Director Mary Toti said the churches have been bursting at the seams and are running out of room for the parish’s estimated population of 17,000 senior citizens.

At first, FEMA estimated it would take $455,000 for repairs to the center, with the city picking up $90,000 of the cost. However, officials said the money was put on a back burner because FEMA did not consider the senior center a critical facility. Plus, FEMA was reluctant to repair or rebuild the center because the city did not have flood insurance on the building. FEMA also claimed the center did not sustain the necessary 51 percent or more damage to qualify for the money, a claim Morris has disputed for the past three years.

Toti made several emotional appeals to the Slidell City Council, FEMA and Morris to get the center repaired. A year ago, a FEMA representative came to a council meeting to say that $91,000 would be available to renovate the senior citizen center in three weeks. That was in October 2007.

Wednesday’s announcement by the mayor drew a large round of applause from the audience at the monthly Chamber luncheon. The mayor said Friday that FEMA has offered to rebuild the center for $1.84 million.

According to Morris, FEMA has changed the rules on what is considered more than 51 percent damage, and that is why it has agreed to pay for the demolition and construction of a new senior center. He told the audience he had no more details and did not know the timeline on the demolition.