From: MDA    Filed 6/9/08  GCN

Today the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) has formally submitted for federal review its Hancock County “Ground Zero” action plan.  The “Ground Zero” initiative proposes to invest $200 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies toward recovery and rebuilding projects specifically for communities in Hancock County, Mississippi, where the eye of Hurricane Katrina came ashore and caused the most catastrophic damage.

“The ongoing need in Hancock County is self-evident to anyone with firsthand knowledge of Hurricane Katrina,” said Lee Youngblood, Communications Director for MDA’s Disaster Recovery Division (DRD), which administers Mississippi’s Katrina recovery initiatives.

“We’re confident that additional CDBG monies will be well placed in Hancock County toward specific projects that are locally defined and driven.”

The Hancock County Long Term Recovery Program will assist local governments in Hancock County by allocating $160,000,000 to help rebuild their downtown areas, replace public facilities and make other public improvements related to Hurricane Katrina recovery.  The program will also assist local governments by allocating $15,000,000 to support economic development and $25,000,000 for water, wastewater, and storm water infrastructure needs of Hancock County. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which administers and monitors the CDBG program, is expected to approve the action plan later this month.

(GCN Photo Left: Downtown Bay St. Louis Sept. 2005)

In accordance with federal directives, following the state’s submission of a CDBG action plan, MDA must post the plan and solicit public comment for 15 days.   The plan can be viewed by clicking HERE. 

Public comments may be submitted in writing to the Mississippi Development Authority,  Disaster Recovery Division P.O. Box 849, Jackson, MS 39205 (attn: Tommy Walman).  Or comments can be submitted by email to: hancock@mississippi.org.