Two large land tracts that had been eyed as possible locations for temporary mobile home communities for those displaced by Hurricane Ike look to be off the table.
County commissioners Wednesday deferred considering a plan for the federal government to conduct a detailed assessment of property in front of the County Criminal Justice Center in Galveston and on Monday, the city of Hitchcock rejected a plan to put a community at Jack Brooks Park.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency had eyed those two locations to place mobile homes for 319 of the estimated 1,000 people eligible for temporary housing in government provided mobile homes. A combination of concerns about market value, essential services, security and community image will likely spell doom for the plan.
While the county will push for the FEMA communities on the Bolivar Peninsula and the San Leon/Bacliff area, the majority of commissioners are opposed to using property at the justice center at 53rd Street and Broadway in Galveston.
“My vote would have been no,” said Pct. 4 Commissioner Ken Clark, who did not attend the meeting because he was at the funeral for County Judge Jim Yarbrough’s father Wednesday. “We don’t need that at the gateway of the city. It does not give the appearance of rebuilding.”
While not at the meeting, Clark wasn’t alone in his sentiments.
Earlier in the week, Yarbrough expressed reservations because of the image having rows and rows of trailers would send to residents and tourists alike.
In addition to the image problem, Pct. 2 Commissioner Bryan Lamb said he didn’t have enough information from FEMA about who would be housed in the communities and what screening processes would be used to gain his support.
The biggest objection to putting a FEMA community on the justice center site, though, may be market economics. County Commissioners Stephen Holmes and Pat Doyle said while no formal offer had been made, a developer has shown genuine interest in the property.
“Especially at a time with the economy the way it is and the budget the way it is, we don’t know what our cash flow will be. I think we need to follow through with our commitment to sell that property if we have a potential buyer,” Holmes said.
FEMA said in addition to placing mobile homes on private property, it is also considering agreements for “clusters” of mobile homes on private properties in Galveston. Clusters would be sites of up to five homes in a single location.
“I think what we will find here is that each municipality is going to have to find ways to take care of their own,” Doyle said. “The county is pushing ahead with its efforts in the unincorporated parts of the county.”
Not in my city
Taking care of its own is exactly why the city of La Marque told FEMA that a proposed community near Highland Bayou Park was, “not going to go,” Mayor Larry Crow said.
“We need to take care of our people first. We have our own citizens to take care of, and we need to be focused on taking care of them properly,” Crow said.
The La Marque council did pass an ordinance that would allow for FEMA to place temporary trailers on the private lots of those who had their homes severely damaged by Ike.
Finding viable locations for a community of mobile homes, though, will have to be done elsewhere.
The city of Hitchcock likewise put the kibosh on plans to put as many as 200 mobile homes at Jack Brooks Park.
While the park is county property, it is in the city limits, and FEMA gives final say to the city.
Mayor Lee Sander said problems with mobile home communities after Hurricane Katrina drove his city’s unanimous vote to limit FEMA trailers to private property only and forbid communities or clusters.
“We were afraid once they get in, they will never leave like the one’s in Louisiana,” Sander said. “Once they are in, they may be there forever.”
FEMA insists mobile home communities would last no longer than 18 months from when the federal disaster declaration for Ike was issued.
Even so, Sander said the city is not in the position to support such a community.
“We don’t have the infrastructure to support the water and sewer,” he said. “We don’t have the policemen to patrol.”
Even an earlier proposal to put a FEMA community at the site of the old blimp base on FM 2004 would no longer be an option, even though the city initially gave its OK to the site.
“FEMA already came back and said that it wouldn’t work, so we decided that’s the end of that, too,” Sander said.
