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"When will the harbor restoration be finished and the boats back in? ...
I believe it
will be in the second to third quarters of 2011."
This is the first of what will be a series of short (at least after
this one) articles, by John Manard, president of the Municipal Yacht
Harbor Management Corporation, on what is happening with the recovery at
West End. The focus here is on the instrumentalities of change and the
broad directions. Future articles will focus on what is hot then.
In 1906 the State gave the City the right to administer and manage the area between the 17th Street Canal and the New Basin Canal, outside of the levee/floodwall. The State law provides that any revenues derived from the area must be used within the area. In 1915 the fountain was built in West End Park during one of several park improvement projects. In the period 1938 to 1940 Municipal Yacht Harbor (“MYH”) was built as a WPA project by the construction of the breakwater on which Breakwater Drive sits. Commencing in the 1950’s, the boathouses were built around MYH. The boathouses, until the lease term ends, belong to and are the responsibility of the tenants. The current leases run through 2030. In 1958 the City ceded its rights to the area that became Orleans Marina and the surrounding boathouses/businesses to the Orleans Levee Board, allowing Orleans Marina to be built.
In 1979 the City created a public benefit corporation, the New Orleans Municipal Yacht Harbor Management Corporation (“MYHMC”) and in 1981 MYHMC issued a $3.5million revenue bond, which was purchased by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”). Major improvements were made to MYH. The NOAA bond costs $220,000 per year now, with the last payment due in January 2012 (MYHMC has petitioned for forgiveness of the remaining bond debt – only Congress can forgive the debt, NOAA has suspended payments in the meantime). MYHMC is a Louisiana corporation with the Mayor being the sole stockholder. He appoints the members of the Board, subject to City Council approval. The terms are three years and there can be up to14 Board members. From 1979 until Katrina, MYH was run by a combination of the MYHMC Board and the City’s Department of Property Management. Staffing from the Harbor Master down was Civil Service, reporting primarily to the Department of Property Management.
Then came Katrina and the world changed. In 2006 the City leased all of its West End property to MYHMC for 99 years - all property between the two canals outside of the levee/flood wall, except for Orleans Marina, SYC and a sliver of Jefferson Parish along the 17th Street Canal. The direct roles of the Department of Property Management at the harbor ended, as did the roles of Parks and Parkways for West End Park and the City’s Real Estate Department as to Coconut Beach and the commercial properties in that area. The area must be self sustaining – all expenses at West End must be paid for by funds generated at West End. The City can take no cash out, but puts no cash in. The revenue sources are slip rents, boathouse rents, rents from NOYC and SYC, commercial property revenue and miscellaneous fees. Significant expenses include staff, grass cutting, trash pick up, maintenance, insurance, repairs and various operating expenses. With the 2006 lease came meaningful expenses for West End Park and no revenue from commercial properties. Until slip rents (more than provided by the 157 West Pier temporary leases) come back with harbor restoration (close to 600 slips), MYHMC will be sustaining itself by eroding cash reserves.
What is important in all of that? Two things long term -- management improvements and economic challenges. Management of the whole area is now vested in one body, not scattered among several City departments. In 2009 MYHMC improved upon that by transforming itself to the model of the French Market Corporation – its money was separated from that of the City; top two staff positions established as “unclassified” (meaning not classified Civil Service, as before); and security guards will be moved to a private security company. Once the harbor is restored, the new management structure should bring more effective financial and facilities management. But, added costs (the Park, insurance and some added operational costs) will put pressure on to restore the commercial/restaurant area as promptly as is prudent, after the Corps’ situation with the pumping station settles out.
MYHMC has also implemented a strong shift in focus to encourage and allow stakeholder involvement and participation. First, MYHMC conducts public meetings monthly on detailed agendas that are broadly disseminated in advance. In 2009 attendance has ranged from 40 to70 in the audience at each meeting – far more than before Katrina. The audience is encouraged to speak out and participate, which they do. Second, MYHMC has worked closely with the two tenant associations – Slip Tenants and Boathouse Owners. Both have been given meaningful input and play a significant role. Third, Friends of West End, Inc. (“FOWE”) has been formed – incorporated and given 501(c)(3) status by the IRS. Each of the constituencies making up FOWE has a seat on the FOWE Board of Directors, as do a lawyer and an accountant. Those constituencies are SYC, NOYC, MYH Slip Tenants’ Assn., MYH Boathouse Owners Assn., Lakeview Civic Improvement Assn., Orleans Marina Tenants’ Assn., West Roadway Boathouse Owners Assn., West End Business Owners Assn., Pier 8, Marseilles and Lake Marina Tower Condo Assns., Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and MYHMC. FOWE has two primary purposes – raising private money for capital projects to make West End better, and volunteer labor for such things as planting, fostering of events and the like. All such “friends” organizations wed their ambitions to those of government through a jointly developed, multi-year Master Plan. The development of a Master Plan for West End Park is underway now. There has been one public meeting, with more planned for 2010. To learn more about FOWE, to join or to contribute go to the website www.friendsofwestend.org .
While that is all good for the future, what about getting the facilities, most notably the harbor, restored? Most of the capital to repair or replace what was there before will come from FEMA. What does not come from FEMA will have to come from MYHMC, perhaps by new debt. So, it is important for as much as is appropriate to be paid for by FEMA. You can get much more as to the FEMA process from the MYHMC website (nomunicipalharbor.com ).
But, here is a summary. The City, not MYHMC, is the FEMA claimant. Until the last couple of months, MYHMC has had limited involvement. That involvement has increased in an effort to speed the process and get the best available information in the City’s hands as the City prosecutes those claims. FEMA’s program is a reimbursement program – the City must get the work done before it can be reimbursed. But, before the City does the work, the City must (1) present a well documented (by architects and engineers) claim to FEMA (a Comprehensive Damage Report) and (2) agree with FEMA on what FEMA can and should pay for. To pay the architects, engineers and construction companies the City needed money. In 2008 the City got money from the State, which served those two purposes – got the CDRs done and furnished the necessary Revolving Fund for the City to pay contractors and later be reimbursed by FEMA.
The harbor related CDRs went to FEMA in early 2009. There are several – harbor & piers, east bulkhead, administration building, two boathouses owned by MYHMC, fishing pier & boat launch, Breakwater Drive shoreline and West End Park. They were prosecuted as a group until late summer, when it became apparent that dredging issues would slow the process as to the harbor – no need to hold up the rest, pending resolution of that issue. FEMA has agreed to amounts as to almost all except for the harbor. The contract for restoring the administration building is out for bids and that work should be done in the first half of 2010 (more on that below).
Reasonable debates developed as to the dredging – the legal applicability of certain standards and the factual issue of how much of what would be dredged out came in with Katrina. MYHMC is working with the City to help get beyond those issues so that the claim as to the harbor can be resolved. But, it is an important issue. Whatever dredging FEMA does not pay for MYHMC will have to pay for (though some pre Katrina bond funding may help). Once that issue is resolved, it is likely that the other issues associated with the harbor can follow close behind. One part of this will be the disposition of the material dredged from the harbor. Tests have shown it to be safe to place in the Lake. MYHMC, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and Friends of West End are working on using that material to build a linear park and constructed wetlands along the North/South run of Breakwater Drive.
When will the harbor restoration be finished and the boats back in? No one really can know just yet, but, from what I know now, I believe it will be in the second to third quarters of 2011.
MYHMC was able to get part of the harbor back in action on a temporary basis in mid 2009 – 157 slips on the West Pier were leased, after a public allocation process that was heavily participated in by the Slip Tenants’ Association. Lighting was installed, along with safety equipment. Unfortunately, water and power did not make sense as it remains unclear what harbor restoration will involve and there was no sense to putting it in just to tear it out.
The administration building restoration will be the next visible step. It will involve fully rebuilding the facilities on the 1st floor – laundry, showers, rest rooms, guard office, staff break room, meeting room and storage. The heating and air conditioning will be removed from the front of the building and placed on an elevated platform on the East end. The MYHMC offices upstairs will be restored. And, the balustrades along the seawall, running out both to the East (all the way to the boathouses) and West (to the corner), will be completely restored.
After a lengthy public process as to location, it appears likely that the Corps of Engineers will permanently take the land that Coconut Beach is situated on (including the building and land running North to the parking lot) in 2010 to build the new pumping station. MYHMC has met with UNO to facilitate the principals of Coconut Beach (a private business) having another place to go, if that happens. Additionally, it appears that the Corps will take about half of the parking lot (until 2013) to use while building the pumping station. MYHMC is coordinating with the Regional Planning Commission, Jefferson Parish and the State and retaining a planning consultant to best develop the commercial/restaurant potential of the area once the situation with the Corps becomes better defined. And MYHMC is working with the Corps, S&WB, Jefferson Parish and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation on a pedestrian/bicycle bridge across the 17th Street Canal North of the Hammond Highway bridge and South of the new pumping structure.
And what of those wrecked boathouses? The are 133 boathouses in private hands. Many have been restored. About 25 have not. The default/demand for restoration letters as to those 25 go out in January. Plans and specifications are required by April 30. After some considerable work (MYHMC retaining an architect and collaborating with the Boathouse Owners’ Association), clearly delineated rules now exist in MYHMC Design Criteria and revisions to the City Code to insure that what comes back and what is built in the future will be consistent and nice.
More is going on, but those are meaningful highlights. And, hopefully, this initial article gives you insights into key things all of us think important – knowing what has gone on that you cannot necessarily see, knowing why it is taking so long to get beyond FEMA claims/rebuilding and having a sense of how, indeed whether, West End can be made better and kept better.
For what one person’s views might be worth, here are mine: It has taken an awfully long time to get through the FEMA process, but it is moving now. It is very good for the area to have separated the direct management of West End from City Hall, as has been done in the French Market. Greatly increased stakeholder involvement will insure that real improvements are made and that management, over time, does not falter or slip. And, finally, we will all begin to see some real improvements over the next year, but this is still going to take a while and much more work. Stay tuned.
John Manard is a long-time member of SYC and an attorney with Phelps Dunbar LLP.
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