GALVESTON — Red tape, endless paperwork, slow or no help for housing, arbitrary rules, disjointed efforts among federal agencies, piecemeal federal funding for infrastructure repairs and a dismal approval rate for small business disaster loans are hindering recovery a year after Hurricane Ike, elected officials and business owners testified at a hearing Friday.
U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat and chairwoman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, presided over the hearing, which was preceded by a tour that included Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and other city officials.
A motorcade escorted by police rolled through neighborhoods and stopped at businesses hit hard by the storm, which struck Sept. 13, 2008, blowing off roofs, felling walls and pushing saltwater into more than 17,000 homes and businesses.
Funding Difficulties
Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency has disbursed about $667 million to Galveston since the storm, and nearly 13,000 area residents are receiving federal help either in rent subsidies or temporary housing, aid has been hard to get and slow to come, Landrieu said.
Federal response to disasters has improved since Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and Mississippi in 2005, Landrieu said. But it still needs much improvement, she said.
“A senseless bureaucratic maze of paperwork can get in the way as victims are directed from one agency to another only to find none of the agencies will help,” Landrieu said.
About 20 percent of the island’s 58,000 residents haven’t returned — 4,000 of those because of flood-damaged houses or apartments, officials said.
About 180 of the city’s 3,500 businesses have closed for good, some after being denied federal help.
Frustrated By Bureaucracy
Thomas and Dr. David Callender, president of the University of Texas Medical Branch, the county’s largest employer, testified that while they appreciated FEMA funding, they were frustrated by slow-moving bureaucracy.
FEMA’s piecemeal approach to funding infrastructure repairs and lack of coordination of its programs is abysmal, Thomas said. Confusion about which program is responsible for such things as traffic lights, school zone signals and bridge repairs has bogged down recovery, she said.
The storm severely damaged the city’s sewer, wastewater treatment and water systems. The medical branch’s badly damaged John Sealy Hospital was closed for months after the storm, resulting in about 3,500 layoffs.
The hospital couldn’t function without proper water and sewage service, Thomas said.
“Had necessary city infrastructure been repaired proactively as part of a planned mitigation by the city and UTMB with FEMA before the storm or expeditiously after the storm, it is possible that the hospital and UTMB would not have been threatened with drastic downsizing and subject to the turmoil it went through to recover,” Thomas said.
“Nor would the city’s business interests have suffered the shock of economic disaster threatened by UTMB’s downsizing.”
Private Loans Praised
The tour went through Bayou Shores subdivision, near Offatts Bayou, where more than 6 feet of saltwater surged through some homes.
The tour also took the federal lawmakers to Farmer’s Copper Ltd, a metals distributor, 202 37th St.
Farmer’s Copper took in about 8 feet of storm surge. The company, with about 60 island employees, had $500,000 insurance on the building and another $500,000 for contents, the maximum available through the National Flood Insurance Program.
The $500,000 contents coverage was only enough to cover one vital piece of equipment, Greg Harrington, vice president of operations, said.
Both FEMA and the Small Business Administration rejected Farmer’s request for financial help, Harrington said.
Lawmakers also met with Charley DiBella, whose DiBella’s Italian Restaurant, 1902 31st St., took in 4 feet of water.
DiBella credited a private bank loan with saving his restaurant.
Disappointing Statistic
Hutchison praised community banks that stepped in to make $40 million in recovery loans to businesses hit by the hurricane.
In contrast, the Small Business Administration made 280 loans totaling $21.8 million in Galveston County, a disappointing statistic, Landrieu said.
Curtis Gillins and wife, Sharon Batiste Gillins, were among small-business owners who testified about a lack of federal help.
The Gillins own Y’a Bon Village Coffeehouse, 2828 Church St.
Y’a Bon took in 5 feet of storm surge, which destroyed supplies, furniture, fixtures, appliances and refrigerated boxes and badly damaged the historic building.
The building was insured for wind and flood damage, but its contents were covered only for wind damage.
The couple repaired the building but needs money to replace thousands of dollars of equipment, Curtis Gillins said. The business was only 3 years old and couldn’t show an ability to repay a loan. So the Small Business Administration rejected the Gillins’ loan application, he said.
“We’re so far from where we need to be,” Landrieu said.
Improvement Urged
Landrieu urged administration officials who attended the hearing to be more aggressive in tracking down and helping businesses. She also urged officials with FEMA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to do a better job of coordinating efforts.
Still, federal agencies were better prepared to respond to Hurricane Ike than previous catastrophic hurricanes, Landrieu said. Loans were approved much more quickly after Hurricane Ike, Landrieu said.
Federal agencies worked hard and did their best, given the scope of damage, their representatives said.
Landrieu said all levels of goverment must be prepared to work together after disasters “so the families and businesses who need help the most have quick access to the tools they need to rebuild their lives.”
