Timnwendy Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 (edited) Here's a link to the article from the Pearland Journal, but I'll repost it below for archival here at HAIF.Pearland Considers FEMA HousingBy NATALIE TORENTINOSUpdated: 10.27.08While Hurricane Ike is long gone, its aftermath continues to inconvenience local homeowners who soldier on despite flooding damage or damaged roofs, making their homes uninhabitable.To aide those in need, Pearland City Council members are considering a temporary housing program geared towards Ike victims through FEMA which could begin in a matter of weeks.Karyn Wolfe, a FEMA municipal community specialist, told Council members at their regular meeting Oct. 27 that three options are on the table: mobile home parks, private home sites and community sites on FEMA-leased land in the city.Trailers would measure 14 by 60 feet, and park models on private sites would measure 12 by 40 feet, Wolfe said.FEMA's time frame for housing is 18 months Edited October 28, 2008 by Timnwendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy76 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 It's a continuing trend in the area of poor leadership and poor decision making aimed at making a quick buck to profit those who are not vested in the areas that would be and have been affected on the west side. I feel sorry for those that ignored the trends in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timnwendy Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 (edited) It's a continuing trend in the area of poor leadership and poor decision making aimed at making a quick buck to profit those who are not vested in the areas that would be and have been affected on the west side. I feel sorry for those that ignored the trends in the area.How can you be certain that this will definitely happen, and that it will affect the west side. Do you have inside information? Or are you speculating? Edited October 28, 2008 by Timnwendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 It's a continuing trend in the area of poor leadership and poor decision making aimed at making a quick buck to profit those who are not vested in the areas that would be and have been affected on the west side. I feel sorry for those that ignored the trends in the area. Hmm. I thought it was simply an attempt to help those who lost their homes to a hurricane get back on their feet by providing temporary housing. Shows how much I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy76 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Hmm. I thought it was simply an attempt to help those who lost their homes to a hurricane get back on their feet by providing temporary housing.Shows how much I know. You are quite the humanitarian, but we are talking about the possible negative impact of temporary shanty homes/trailers on the already slipping demographics of pearland. Maybe we should throw up some trailers in the heights for a couple of years. Really, though, I was just trying to make a point that has been made before about my concerns for the west side of Pearland. And yes I am hypothesising that this would be happening on the west side. It is where all the existing trailer parks I know of are located in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 You are quite the humanitarian, but we are talking about the possible negative impact of temporary shanty homes/trailers on the already slipping demographics of pearland. I'll be sure to tell that one to my shanty-town aunt and uncle who are living in their trailer after Ike, or their neighbors, who are living in their house, which resembles a lean-to, while they argue with the insurance companies and wait their turn for contractors and building supplies. Of course, for the non-displaced such as yourself, it's only natural that property values trump habitable living conditions in the aftermath of natural disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsienk Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Gosh. Where do I start?We lived in Galveston 2002-2007 and moved up here to SCR last year. Our former neighbors from across Church Street had 21 inches of water inside their elevated house, and they are camping out in a tiny apartment in Sugar Land while they wait for a contractor to made their home habitable again. That will take months. Another neighbor is sleeping on a couch in a storeroom upstairs from her job. It's going to take time for people in this situation to repair their homes or find new permanent housing, and all my neighbors -- the rich and the poor, the good and the bad -- are suffering.It's a 100-mile round trip from my new home to my old one and back. I'd be very surprised to see temporary housing located this far away from the places where people need to be. Those who have jobs or businesses down on the Island need to be closer for commuting. People want to be close enough to work on their property. Whoever they are -- job, no job, East End mansion or public housing -- most of the Galvestonians I've met have deep ties to their home and really don't want to be made to leave.Having said all that, I imagine some people are scared because they recall the experiences with some of the Katrina evacuees in Houston. It's worth remembering that only a small fraction of those were troublemakers or criminals. You may also remember the long-term FEMAtowns around Punta Gorda after Charlie. If Pearland or any other jurisdiction agrees to lease an area for temporary -- repeat, temporary -- housing, the local officals can look back at what worked and what didn't, and can negotiate stricter conditions on the size, placement, security, and eventual removal of the housing. And those local officials, and the state and Federal ones, can be held accountable throughout and after the processAt this point, we don't know what will be proposed, where it would be located, or any other details. It's a little early to say no. It's not too early, though, to think about what we can do -- as individuals and as a community -- to keep helping our neighbors in need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Good luck with "temporary". There are MANY temporary trailer parks still booked full in LA with "evacuees". Most capable people with ambitions past mooching will be trying to get out as fast as they can, but you can't totally avoid the lazy asses who see it as a lottery ticket or something they deserve for as long as they want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citizen4rmptown Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 i dont go to pearland often, but it seems that they have put a lot of attention, or at least some of you Haifer's have towards IKE relief, was the damage extensive in pearland? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Our office had minimal damage. There aren't any real trees down there so not as much to fall on lines and houses. Just mud everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timnwendy Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 I haven't been able to find any further news about this, so maybe it's all over. Maybe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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