For the past three years, the battles between Slidell Mayor Ben Morris and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been long, loud and contentious.

But an article in the Feb. 9 issue of USA Today about hurricane aid money to the area has really raised the hackles of the outspoken mayor.

At a Thursday press conference, Morris, who always speaks his mind, lashed out at FEMA, not only for the article but also on FEMA’s response to the attempt to get the Municipal Auditorium either repaired or replaced. “I’ve been dealing with three years of roadblocks, and these people are making things up,” was the mildest invective Morris threw at the FEMA leadership.

He takes issue with a statement by Jim Stark in the USA Today article about local officials. Stark is the head of the FEMA recovery effort in Louisiana and Mississippi.

When Stark was asked why $3.9 billion in recovery money has not been used, the article states: “Stark says most of the delays are caused by local governments trying to wring more money out of the federal government, sometimes ignoring legal limits on what disaster aid can apply for.”

The mayor’s immediate response was salty to say the least. Later, he did say, “I’m not looking for more money, I’m just looking for what is right.”

The newspaper article comes on the heels of a FEMA project worksheet about work to be done on the Municipal Auditorium that said FEMA would pay up to $2 million to repair the building, but with the caveat that the city would have to build a 6-foot floodwall around the entire structure to mitigate flood damage in the future. The mayor plans to appeal the ruling, because the city would like the Municipal Auditorium rebuilt from the ground up. He said an engineering study done by the city on the floodwall was not feasible.

“The wall is ridiculous,” Morris said.

To construct the wall, pilings need to be driven into the ground. However, the auditorium butts up against the Olde Towne fire station, and engineers said the wall would have to also surround the fire station, which is more expensive and would endanger the response of the fire department to fires.

Morris said FEMA officials disagreed with the engineer’s study, and they insist a floodwall is the most cost effective way to mitigate flooding.

Without the flood mitigation, Morris said the city would be in danger of losing its flood insurance policy with the National Flood Insurance Program, which is under the auspices

If the wall is not built, the city is left with two choices, either elevate the auditorium to meet FEMA standards or demolish the building, because the structure more than 51 percent damage.

“There is no way to elevate the auditorium,” Morris said. “The only reasonable thing to do is take it down.”

Morris assumed FEMA would pay for demolition and to rebuild the auditorium if the new structure was elevated, but he is not sure.

Morris was also incensed that FEMA disagreed with the city that a storm surge damaged the auditorium. In the project worksheet, FEMA states, “The rise of water at the auditorium was 4 to 6 inches per hour and not a tidal surge.”

“Not a tidal surge? Hah!” Morris lashed back. He showed a video tape of the water rising quickly in Olde Towne as Lake Pontchartrain waters washed over the city.

“My wife’s office, which is two blocks away from the auditorium, got 7 feet of water,” Morris said.

The mayor said the newspaper article and FEMA’s insistence on the floodwall are just obstructions to getting things done.

“They put out a lie like this so it will delay our appeal for several months,” Morris said. “And then they accuse us of trying to get extra money.”

In an e-mail response to the mayor’s comments, the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office of FEMA stated the agency has done a lot in helping Slidell recover from Katrina.

The release said FEMA has spent $4 million in the last month to raise and rebuild homes and to repair sewers in Slidell, plus provided $1.1 million in reimbursement for the city’s work on cleaning the sewer system after the storm. FEMA officials said more than $3 million of FEMA money has gone to rebuilding and elevating 20 residential homes in Slidell.

Morris said FEMA has also provided funds to rebuild the Slidell Senior Center and to construct the new Municipal Building next to City Hall.

FEMA spokesman Andrew Thomas released a statement saying, “FEMA remains committed to the city of Slidell’s recovery and assuring it recieves every eligible dollar available within our program. FEMA’s commitment to the taxpayer is no less, in assuring that every dollar is wisely granted.”

However, Morris said FEMA has not reimbursed the city for the work of cleaning the storm debris out of the city’s drainage system. He admitted that this and the Municipal Auditorium are the two big FEMA-related issues left to be resolved.

He is not optimistic about the appeal process on the auditorium, which has to be completed by Oct. 2.

“Yes, we have won some appeals, but every appeal is with a different group of people, so I don’t know what they will decide,” the mayor said.