 
Gulfport City Council Hears from FEMA on Flood Insurance
Problems in City Story and Photos by Keith Burton - GCN 2/19/08 In a busy and lengthy Gulfport City Council meeting Tuesday, the councilmembers heard from FEMA officials over a their city's lack of compliance regarding the National Flood Insurance Program. Mary M. Blocker, a Natural Hazards Program Specialist with FEMA in Atlanta, visited the city and explained the risks of not complying with the requirements of the program. She said many of the issues facing the city could be "easy resolved," but the problems were serious. Blocker met with Mayor Brent Warr and other city officials earlier in the day to outline what needs to be done. Blocker told the city councilmen that there are some 165 incidents of non-compliance with the program. Part of the problem stem from the city not applying its own codes in allowing reconstruction permits, or permits for new construction. Most of the problems are post-Katrina, however FEMA acknowledged that some of the problems go as far back as 1994. The agency's concerns follow what they call a Community Assistance Visit (CAV) conducted in October 2006, and in subsequent visits and outlined in a letter sent to the city Nov. 14, 2007. The letter noted three major compliance problems, though it alluded to others, and was meant as a communication of concern to discuss the issues with Gulfport officials. This followed months of requests for extensions filed by the city, which were granted by FEMA.
In the Nov. 14, 2007 letter, reported in a
previous
GCN story, FEMA officials noted that on Nov. 2, 2007
and Nov. 6, 2007, that the agency had tried to discuss the letter
and FEMA's concerns in person with a representative of the city. The letter says that as far back as Jan. 2007, FEMA had "asked the City to resolve the issues and provide a progress update..." While the city did eventually respond to portions of the concerns on May 18, 2007 many of the issues remained unresolved, which triggered the Nov. 14, 2007 letter from FEMA to the city. FEMA officials have noted that a number of structures have received
permits to build that were not in
"The Yacht Club, Gulfport Lake and the Bait Shop developments are high profile developments and carry significant weight in the overall effort," reads the FEMA letter. "These issues need to be addressed expeditiously and effectively." FEMA's concerns over whether the city applies its building codes and height requirements will likely have a huge affect on any future development plans envisioned by Mayor Brent Warr, especially in waterfront locations subject to FEMA and the city's build height requirements. FEMA insists that the city apply its code requirements uniformly. Several city councilmembers acknowledged that the problems were not just within the administration, but the council had given approvals that also went against the city's own regulations and those required by FEMA for the National Flood Insurance program. The city promised to implement a plan with FEMA's help to address the issues. Meanwhile, later at the City Council meeting, the city's independent auditors released their most recent audit of the city's finances to cover fiscal year 2005-2006. The report was significantly late as they are usually delivered during the previous summer. Auditors with the firm Wright, Ward, Hatten & Guel said they had several issues that affected the late delivery, including a death within the company, and that the process was unusually complex as a result of the post-Katrina conditions. The auditors had numerous findings, some small, but there were several
more significant findings. The city's auditor said that among the findings
was that the city has nearly $11 million in uncollected fines, but the
auditors said only around $7 million was considered collectable.
GCN will
have a separate story on the details of the
During the citizen comments portion of the council meeting, several residents expressed concerns that the city's building and zoning codes are out of date and convoluted. The council also heard concerns about dilapidated buildings, including the downtown Markham building tower. There were also complaints that the city is not doing enough to rebuild downtown and that the past efforts were described by one resident as "impotent" and that if something is not done soon, Gulfport's decaying downtown will become an even greater eyesore than it is now. One resident spoke emotionally over how that lack of adequate zoning
regulations are ruining her neighborhood. Another resident spoke about the
need for the city's leadership to do better at listening to its residents,
and not Mayor Brent Warr was at the meeting until around 5:00 p.m. he left reportedly to attend the grand reopening ceremonies at the Gulfport/Biloxi International airport. Warr is facing questions about his receipt of a state Homeowner Grant, which is the subject of a Federal Grand jury inquiry. He was largely subdued during the meeting. No one at the meeting discussed Warr's problems.
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As the months stretched out, it turns out that eventually, FEMA
officials with the program had difficulty finding someone to talk to in
Gulfport.
compliance with the regulations. Among
the structures was the bait shop at Jones Park, some structures at the
Gulfport Yacht Club built underneath the elevated new yacht club building,
and some structures at the Trinity development at Gulfport Lake.
findings
Wednesday. The council did vote Tuesday to accept the report. City
Councilwoman Barbara Nalley was the sole "no" vote.
just
those who are wealthy or are developers. The overall tone of the meeting
expressed by residents describe a city in deep trouble with serious, and
nearly overwhelming and complex problems. Usually the public comments
portion is only about a half an hour, but the council didn't get to the
regular agenda until nearly 4 p.m. The meeting started shortly after 2:30
p.m.