The three Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers that sit in the front yards of two Camellia Drive houses in Slidell stick out like sore thumbs amidst the quiet, middle-class neighborhood in the southern part of the city.

Though some residents are still rebuilding and cleaning up after the floods from hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September 2009, the FEMA trailers in front of 2915 and 2937 Camellia Drive have been there since Hurricane Katrina three years ago, and some residents, like Ken Johnson, want to know when the trailers will be removed.

“What does it take to get FEMA trailers out of Slidell?” Johnson asked in an e-mail to members of the Slidell City Council and Mayor Ben Morris. Johnson has been writing to city authorities since November 2008, and he is getting frustrated.

These two FEMA trailers at 2915 Camellia Drive in Slidell have become a nuisance for several neighbors on the street. (Staff Photo by Erik Sanzenbach)

Johnson has lived on Camellia Drive for 24 years, and he and the homeowner’s association want the trailers gone.

“We got to get those things out of here,” he said.

Certain City Council members are also getting frustrated. Warren Crockett, who represents the residents on Camellia Drive, said the problem is federal bureaucracy.

“We are aware of the problem. It’s been going on for awhile,” Crockett said. “But these things move very slow.”

The problem for Crockett and Councilman-At-Large Landon Cusimano is FEMA’s response.

“It always comes back that this is for FEMA to handle,” Cusimano said. “But I’m sick and tired of the administration saying they cannot do anything.”

There are two trailers in front of 2915 Camellia Drive. Both are still connected to the city’s sewage system, and so is the electricity. On one of the trailers is a message from a FEMA recertification advisor begging the owners to give FEMA a call so the agency can decide what to do. That notice was put on the door Jan. 19, and the edges are curled up, looking like the owners have not read it. The windows on the brick house behind the trailers still have plywood over them, and the grass is overgrown. Crockett said neither the city nor FEMA can locate the owners.

Brenda Smith, a neighbor who lives across the street, said she believes a disabled man lives in one of the trailers. However, there is no answer to knocks on the doors of either trailer. Johnson said he sees someone sitting outside the trailer every now and then.

At 2937 Camellia Drive, things look a little better. The back of the trailer has been fenced off, and a dog warns off people who come too close. However, like the other residence, this house doesn’t look like any rebuilding has started. In fact, the big “X” left by first-responders after Katrina is still on the front of the house. But the grass is also overgrown here, and there is no answer to knocking on the door of the trailer.

The electric line to the trailer is disconnected, but a long orange extension cord connects the trailer to the house. Crockett said the city has learned the owner of the house now lives in Tennessee, and the owner’s son and grandson live in the trailer.

Smith said the man and his son don’t have any other place to go.

Crockett said the deadline to get FEMA trailers out of the city is in March. FEMA spokesman Andrew Thomas said March 1 is when FEMA will stop disaster funding for housing, and FEMA is trying to find out who is staying there and what their housing status is.

“We will work with the parish and city to help out,” Thomas said. “But FEMA does not set up time limits on when these people can leave.”

He said most FEMA trailers in the parish have been removed, but there are still people who need them because they do not have other housing.

“Some people take longer than usual to rebuild, and that is understandable, and there are others who just don’t want to leave their property unattended,” Thomas said.

He said FEMA doesn’t just take a trailer until they find out the circumstances of the occupants. He said the deactivation process takes awhile, and though he did not know the specifics of the Camellia Drive situation, they are trying to find the owners.

“We want to make sure we are not taking someone’s housing away,” Thomas said.

In an e-mail from FEMA Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist Amy Webbeking to the Slidell City Council Office, FEMA said that until the March deadline, the agency is allowing people to stay in the trailers if “they are making progress toward repairing their damaged dwelling.”

However, Crockett and Cusimano think something can be done because there may be code violations.

But even the city said there is just so much it can do. A notice of violation was posted at the 2915 Camellia Drive location, but the owners of the property have not responded.

Crockett said the city is requesting injunctions against both homeowners. The injunctions instruct the owners to either start repairs on the houses or have them demolished. If the injunction is ignored, the city can step in and have the properties condemned.

We want to make things better,” Crockett said. “There is so much we can do. It is locating the owners that makes it so hard.”