BRAITHWAITE, La.
– A multipurpose
athletics facility on
the Phoenix High School
campus in Plaquemines
Parish will be rebuilt
with the assistance of
the Federal Emergency
Management Agency
(FEMA).
FEMA will pay for the
replacement of the old
gym building at Phoenix
High School in
Braithwaite after the
building was destroyed
in Hurricane Katrina.
Heavy winds, rain and
storm surge flooding
caused irreparable
damages to the gym’s
roof, interior, and
electrical and plumbing
systems. The gym was
originally built in
1955.
The gym serves the
school in several
capacities, including
physical education
classes, basketball and
volleyball events and
graduation ceremonies.
Construction on the
replacement facility,
which will be designed
to mitigate against
future storm-related
damages, should begin
late 2008 or early 2009.
“The new gym will make
the school whole again,”
Plaquemines Parish
Schools Superintendent
Eva Jones said. “It’ll
restore the school
community.”
FEMA has obligated more
than
$3.0 million
to replace the Phoenix
High School old gym
building.
When projects are
obligated by FEMA
through its supplemental
Public Assistance grant,
the funds are
transferred to a
Smartlink account. This
allows the applicant, in
this case the
Plaquemines Parish
School Board, to work
with the Governor’s
Office of Homeland
Security and Emergency
Preparedness as quickly
as possible to access
the reimbursement
monies. Obligated funds
may change over time as
the project worksheet is
a living grant that is
often adjusted as bids
come in and scope of
work is aligned.
The Public Assistance
program works with state
and local officials to
fund recovery measures
and the rebuilding of
government and certain
private nonprofit
organizations’
buildings, as well as
roads, bridges and water
and sewer plants. In
order for the process to
be successful, federal,
state and local partners
coordinate to draw up
project plans, fund
these projects and
oversee their
completion.
FEMA coordinates the
federal government’s
role in preparing for,
preventing, mitigating
the effects of,
responding to, and
recovering from all
domestic disasters,
whether natural or
man-made, including acts
of terror.
