Bring New Orleans Back Commission
DRAFT- Meeting Minutes
October 24, 2005
Members Present: Boysie Bollinger, Kim Boyle, Cesar Burgos, Joe Canizaro, Scott Cowen, Archbishop Hughes, Mel Lagarde, Rev. Fred Luter, Barbara Major, Alden McDonald, Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Dan Packer, Anthony Patton, Jimmy Reiss, Gary Solomon, Oliver Thomas and David White
Members Absent: Wynton Marsalis
Opening Comments
Mel Lagarde called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.
Jimmy Reiss made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 17, 2005 meeting. Archbishop Hughes seconded the motion and all were in favor.
Mel Lagarde acknowledged all the emails and phone calls that he and all the Commission members have received from so many people interested in helping to rebuild New Orleans.
Mayor Nagins Report
Mayor Nagin welcomed everyone to the meeting and encouraged them to participate as much as possible in the rebuilding process. Hurricane Katrina was an unprecedented event and it will require everyone coming together like never before. Last week Mayor Nagin sent a report to key agencies as it relates to help get New Orleans through the next 3-6 months from an operational standpoint and also to help rebuild critical infrastructures that were damaged by the storm. Infrastructures in the city continue to improve as it relates to electricity and the sewage and water systems. There is running water in New Orleans East now which is great progress.
Mayor Nagin introduced Rod West who is the Governors liaison for the Louisiana Recovery Authority and Boysie Bollinger will be the liaison from this Commission.
Motion was made by Oliver Thomas that New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward would be included in the rebuilding process. Mayor Nagin seconded the motion. Joe Canizaro abstained from the vote and all other members were in favor of the motion.
Old Business
ULI Update Rachelle Levitt, Executive Vice President, Policy and Practices for ULI updated the Commission on the status of their work. ULI is a non-profit organization that provides research and education. They are donating their services to the City to help with the redevelopment of New Orleans. Rachelle discussed a tentative participant list for the upcoming November Summit. She also requested that the Commission members make themselves available the week of November 12-18. Rachelle introduced some senior fellows who attended the meeting and will be helping with the Summit and possibly assisting the Subcommittees.
Vision Statement Update/Revision Mayor Nagin read the revised Vision Statement. Motion was made by Boysie Bollinger to accept the revised Vision Statement. Seconded by Jimmy Reiss and all were in favor of the motion.
New Business
Carl Cook Introduction David White introduced Carl Cook who is Vice Admiral Allens representative for the reconstruction process and point of contact for FEMA.
Sub-Committee Reports
Education Scott Cowen emphasized that the Education subcommittee will focus on pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. They are finalizing their subcommittee members and are having the first meeting tonight. The subcommittee will not be able to redesign post education in the next 90 days.
Infrastructure Jimmy Reiss stated that infrastructure will include police, fire, water and sewage, public transportation, streets, electricity and garbage collection. They will work closely with the other subcommittees. He mentioned that Oliver Thomas, John Lender, Bill Oliver, Robert Boh and Marcia St. Martin will be working on the subcommittee.
Economic Development Dan Packer announced the initial work plan will be completed in two weeks and will be vetted through ULI. We will concentrate on keeping the big companies such as Entergy and Shell but will also focus on the small businesses. We will be going after new companies and expanding current businesses. Economic Development is a long term process. The Harvard School of Business has offered 100 MBAs and faculty to help assist with economic development in January. Dan announced that Bill Hines will be the co-chair of the subcommittee.
Health/Social Services Kim Boyle stated that she will include the poor and elderly people that were most impacted by the storm in her subcommittee. They will put special emphasis on this group. They will also concentrate on the population that has been uninsured and under insured. This subcommittee will overlap with the economic development and education subcommittees efforts. The subcommittee will also look at the Charity hospital issue.
Cultural Cesar Burgos thanked the Commission and the Mayor for the opportunity to chair the subcommittee. The first meeting will be held on October 25. They will include theater, festivals, arts, food, hospitality among getting other groups such as the Mardi Gras Indians involved. They plan to contact all organizations to create a master list of aspects of the City and to determine what damage was sustained. They are going to plan a concert to raise money for the cultural segment and to also gain some positive PR about the City of New Orleans. They are planning on pursuing the Hollywood South industry as well. The master plan will be finalized by year end.
City Planning Joe Canizaro announced the subcommittee will meet on Thursday, October 27. Ray Manning will be the co-chair. They are planning on having 6-7 small subcommittees under the City Planning committee. They have 26 community leaders committed to the committee with approximately 90 members for the subcommittees. They need to gather demographic information regarding what the population was before and after Katrina. He noted that the Rand Corporation has offered to do a proposal regarding the demographic research. Joe Canizaro made a motion for the Rand Corporation to make a formal proposal to the Commission on the demographic study. Dan Packer seconded the motion and all were in favor of the motion.
Joe Canizaro stated that his reason for abstaining from the earlier vote on whether to include New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward in the rebuilding efforts was because he felt it important that we make sure that all of the people in New Orleans East and the lower 9th Ward have an opportunity to have a safe, secure, environmentally sound, and quality home in a location that would not be susceptible to destruction in future disasters. He stated he did not want to see our people build on "quick sand".
Administrative/Governmental Efficiency Gary Solomon updated the Commission on the space at the Energy Centre and informed the group that he has been meeting with the legal, finance, accounting and public relations groups to get things rolling.
Louisiana Recovery Authority Rod West notified the Commission that the first meeting of the Louisiana Recovery Authority would be held on Wednesday, October 26 from 8:00 11:00 a.m. at the State Capitol. The Authority will concentrate on all the areas that suffered damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Public Comments
Public comments were taken from the audience. Motion was made by Oliver Thomas to propose funds be put together to have a memorial service for Hurricane Katrina victims who lost their lives. Seconded by Archbishop Hughes and all were in favor.
Other Business
Anthony Patton made a presentation to the Commission on the state of small businesses. Small businesses are companies with less than 150 employees. Mayor Nagin suggested Anthony get in touch with Don Hutchinson, Fema and SBA to further discuss the ideas in the presentation.
Adjournment
Mayor Nagin recommended the meeting be adjourned at approximately 5:35 p.m
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