Mississippi Governor Barbour Announces $41 Million Awarded For Go Zone Disaster Recovery Projects

April 15, 2008 -- (JACKSON, Mississippi) — More than $41 million in disaster recovery grants is being awarded to 39 Mississippi counties and municipalities for individual projects involving disaster recovery, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Disaster Recovery Division announced today.

Hurrican Katrina damage, Mississippi: Photo by Chris Metcalf (CC)

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“Hurricane Katrina truly impacted our whole state, and this funding will help key communities in South and Central Mississippi rebuild vital public facilities which were damaged,” Governor Barbour said. “This package will touch most of Mississippi’s disaster declared counties, and it will be used for everything from repairing water and drainage systems, to environmental mitigation to rebuilding public buildings.”

The projects are funded through Mississippi’s $5.48 billion federal Katrina recovery package, composed entirely of flexible Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies, which may be used for a variety of public infrastructure purposes.

“These are projects fitting very well into the CDBG program’s traditional scope of work,” said Gray Swoope, MDA Executive Director. “MDA worked closely with mayors, county supervisors and other local officials to ensure their project proposals would be well planned and ultimately qualify for federal CDBG funds. This included extensive documentation and site visits to verify that each proposal is directly linked to Katrina recovery.”

As a result, 39 out of 49 total applications passed all the federal CDBG requirements. Each of the cities and counties impacted by this package are in the Gulf Opportunity Zone or “GO Zone,” a federally defined area eligible for special tax breaks and supplemental federal investment designed to promote and hasten hurricane recovery.

Of the almost $5.5 billion federal Katrina recovery CDBG package approved for Mississippi, more than $2.3 billion is appropriated specifically for community revitalization projects similar to these, with the rest primarily allocated to various housing recovery programs. MDA, the state agency administering Mississippi’s CDBG recovery package, works closely with the CDBG program’s parent agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to determine applicant eligibility and disburse all Mississippi CDBG awards.

APPLICANT PROJECT DESCRIPTION AWARD AMOUNT

Bay Springs Debris removal/drainage improvements $265,600

Brookhaven Debris removal/drainage improvements 665,000

Carthage Debris removal/drainage improvements $3,977,125

Centreville Demolition of damaged public building and construction of community center $544,000

Decatur Repair and improvements of wastewater treatment lagoon $909,040

Edwards Repair/rehabilitation of Town Hall $320,000

Forest Repair and renovation of Head Start/nutrition site $311,800

Hattiesburg Construction of fire station to replace one damaged by the storm $1,437,900

Hattiesburg Improvements to water treatment plant $2,364,210

Jasper County Repair of courthouse $160,480

Lamar County Expansion and construction of fire stations $1,931,130

Laurel Demolition/construction of senior citizens building $234,000

Laurel Construction of water treatment plant administrative building $1,104,300

Louisville Repairs to Louisville Coliseum $606,000

Lumberton Demolition of damaged buildings and creation of green space $1,159,712.82

Magnolia Downtown revitalization/streetscape repair and improvements $633,949

Magnolia Repair and improvements to elevated water tank $344,500

McComb Construction of elevated water tank $2,000,900

Meridian Bonita Lake dam repair and drainage improvements $1,786,000

Oktibbeha County Demolition and reconstruction of damaged county education building $1,690,125

Osyka Restoration and repair and Town Hall $260,000

Pachuta Drainage repair and improvements $580,150

Pelahatchie Streetscape repair/improvements; building rehabilitation $1,810,985

Pelahatchie Repair and renovation of Town Hall $231,500

Philadelphia Replace damaged nutrition site $1,120,000

Purvis Repair and improvements of the wastewater treatment facility $916,200

Ridgeland Water system improvements $2,654,881

Shubuta Debris removal and repair of wastewater treatment lagoon $121,250

Stonewall Removal and disposal of storm debris $405,300

Summit Downtown revitalization/streetscape repair and improvements $1,004,752.60

Sumrall Drainage improvements $430,700

Taylorsville Structural repair of Watkins Museum $152,305.36

Union Construction of water treatment plant to replace the one damaged by the storm $2,000,000

Vicksburg Construction/repair of the damaged fire station and terminal building at city airport $1,305,750

Walnut Grove Debris removal and drainage improvements $916,680

Warren County Drainage improvements for various bayous $3,985,863

Waynesboro Development of new landfill to accommodate debris from Katrina $796,583

Wesson Debris removal and drainage improvements $202,500

Wesson Sewer system repair and improvements $209,500

Source: Mississippi Governor