Heavy equipment rests next to a recently cleared lot at Tropic Lane and Avenue H. Property owners have been hiring demolition firms to knock down structures that were heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey, but no FEMA-funded demolitions have taken place, despite the fact that people have signed up for them on dozens of lots around Port Aransas. Staff photo by Dan Parker
They’re still waiting.
Since last fall, the owners of more than 60 Port Aransas properties have signed up a program that was supposed to provide free demolition of buildings heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey.
While folks have had their houses knocked down all over town by personally hiring contractors, the free program hasn’t been responsible for a single structure being demolished, according to City Hall.
City Manager Dave Parsons said the program hasn’t moved forward because FEMA has been “nitpicking” the city over wording in documents involved in the process.
A FEMA spokesman said the hold-up has occurred because his agency’s requirements simply haven’t been met.
Attorneys for the city and FEMA are battling each other over it all, Parsons said.
Conflicts have erupted over a variety of matters, according to Parsons.
“It’s over whether or not the correct forms are used, what kind of declaration the city needs to declare a disaster, what kind of declaration the county health inspector needs to declare – I mean they’re hitting us with every possible thing they can,” Parsons said.
With regard to the county health inspector declaration, a written statement is required from the inspector for every property, Parsons said.
The statement needs to say that the debris is a problem and needs to be addressed immediately through the city’s debris contract, Parsons said.
But the inspector “used the word ‘debris,’ and FEMA counters and says, ‘Oh, she is talking about debris that’s already on the ground. She needs to also make a declaration that the substandard housing that is still erect is also a problem.’ So they are just nitpicking us on all this stuff,” Parsons said.
Then there was the mayor’s disaster declaration.
“(FEMA says) it’s too general,” Parsons said. “It doesn’t include the magic words ‘structural demolition.’ So they’re going back to all these things we did in September, October, all these different declarations and saying, ‘Oh, the magic word isn’t in there. You didn’t identify structural demolition by itself. You never used that language.’ So they’re going back, ad nauseam, to find out.”
Why would the language matter so much?
“FEMA regulations,” Parsons said. “Somewhere in some FEMA regulations, it says this statement has to be made about this by X, Y and Z people.”
Asked for comment, FEMA spokesman Robert Porreca responded with this:
“I checked with the Public Assistance Branch, which oversees the debris removal process. The hold-up for Port Aransas is that requests for private property demolitions and debris removal need to meet strict guidelines due to the many legal issues that might be involved and can only be approved if it is necessary as an emergency protective measure. These requirements have not been met to date. No decisions can be made and until the necessary documentation is completed as required.”
Parsons said that city officials got a briefing from a FEMA representative last year, when the city first was trying to get the program going. He said the representative explained what the city would need to do.
Later, however, higher-ranking FEMA officials “didn’t like” what the first representative did, and began “unraveling” things, Parsons said.
If the demolitions take place, FEMA is supposed to pay for 90 percent of the cost, with the city responsible for the rest, according to Parsons. The state has signed on to take care of the city’s part, he said.
Parsons said he doesn’t know how long it will take for the city and FEMA to hash things out. Some people who signed up for the program already have moved on and hired someone to demolish their buildings.
Folks who do that should push the debris to the curb so the city’s debris hauling contractor can scoop it up and take it away, Parsons said. The service, which is free to the property owner, has been operating since last year.
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