August 30, 2013
Dear Resident,
It has been one year since Hurricane Isaac invaded our coastline with constant wave action for
over 36 hours damaging our homes and property. Flooding topped Katrina in many parts of our
city. The receding waters left marsh grass, dead animals and alligators for us to battle in the
furthest corners of our yards. It took weeks to clean streets and property in order to return our
city to its natural beauty.
Hurricane Isaac left an impression that lingered throughout the year filling our minds with fearful
anticipation of the upcoming hurricane season. We can now breathe a sigh of relief as the
anniversary is passing and our hurricane season seems to be on the downward movement. In
order to diminish those fears and be best prepared during this time of year, we must be proactive
to deal with hurricanes in the future. We cannot wait for the promises of a great wall at the
Rigolets or Chef Pass to protect Lake Pontchartrain’s coastal communities.
We have taken action on two fronts- Coastal Protection and FEMA Elevation requests. Solutient
is the contractor we have chosen to help our residents navigate through the FEMA elevation
grant process through national competitive grants and GOHSEP/ St. Tammany grant funds.
We have sought and been awarded a grant from UNO / Lake Pontchartain Basin Foundation to
study coastal protection/ flooding. GEC Engineering will be working with the city to establish
levels of protection, costs of the projects and funding sources available. Our schedule brings
GEC’s contract to the council for approval in early September with a public meeting September
30th to review scope of the project and get public input. I hope to meet again in early February
to discuss solutions and a firm course of action. We will try to compress the engineer’s
schedule, but we do need time to provide an effective solution.
I look forward to seeing you on September 30.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Villere
Mayor